Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe (2023 - 2024) review

The main headline is that Mercedes-Benz has offered a 2.0-litre diesel in an age where diesel is as on-trend as a tribal tattoo. It makes sense though, giving you a 60.1mpg engine option and a theoretical tank range of 800-plus miles. The CLE 200 and 300 are powered by a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine which offer economy at either side of 40mpg, while the high-performing CLE 450 uses a six-cylinder 3.0-litre engine whose economy will start with a two if you’re careful. Something for almost everyone, then. The price variance from bottom to top is very wide, stretching from around £50,000 for a CLE 200, to £72,000 for a top-of-the-line CLE 450. All of them sit in relatively company car tax bands (BiK) too, 34 percent to 37 percent, and won’t be cheap to insure. On the 1-50 insurance scale, you’re looking at groups 35 to 44. Ultimately, running a CLE is never going to be inexpensive, but you can mitigate the costs by choosing engine and spec wisely.

The CLE is a brand-new model, but it’s built using a reassuringly long-serving collection of parts. The chassis goes back to the 2014 C-Class, and the interior is to all intents and purposes the same one you’ll find in the current C-Class. Same goes for the engines, which are used extensively throughout the Mercedes-Benz model range. All this is to say that these parts are tried-and-tested over a long period of time, and although the CLE is a complex car – both electrically and mechanically – there’s nothing to suggest your CLE will be unusually problematic. The Mercedes-Benz warranty is shorter than you’ll get from a lot of manufacturers these days, at three years, but it's unlimited mileage.

A massive amount of safety kit is included as standard in a CLE. In fact, the only thing classed as a safety system that’s reserved for higher trim cars is a 360-degree parking camera – although you might consider a head-up display a safety feature too, which is also mid-spec and above. Still, all cars come with 11 airbags designed to cushion every part of all occupants, as well as active lane-keeping assist, automatic cruise control, road sign recognition, blind spot assistance, ISOFIX, and a Pre-Safe system that will take steps to mitigate injury if the car senses a crash is imminent – adjusting the head restraints, for instance. Euro NCAP hasn’t crash-tested the CLE, but because it’s very closely related to the five-star rated Mercedes-Benz C-Class, it’s fair to assume the CLE would achieve the same score.

For all that Mercedes has listened to E-Class Coupe customers who wanted a “sportier” experience, the CLE is still most suited to long-distance cruising. It’s an extremely comfortable, quiet and relaxed thing to drive. The driving position is fantastic, with a huge range of adjustment for all shapes and sizes, but sinking you low into the cabin on beautifully contoured seats. As an example of the CLE’s deference to comfort, it features a kinematic system that will automatically adjust the chair ever-so-slightly over long journeys to prevent aches and pains. The standard adjustable Dynamic Ride Control suspension gives the CLE a wallowy feel in ‘comfort’ setting, more akin to a luxury saloon, which combined with the super-light steering and a smooth automatic gearbox, make this a very easy car to drive. Switch into the car’s sportier modes and things stiffen up a bit (harsher ride quality and heavier steering), but it never quite feels like a truly focused driver’s car. A BMW 4 Series is more involving to drive. As you’d expect, the rear seats don’t offer a massive amount of head- and shoulder room, but as far as four-seat coupes go, it’s acceptable. There’s more space than you’ll find in the rear of an Audi A5; the CLE has a longer wheelbase than the A5, which means legroom is better, albeit the Audi has a Sportback option with rear doors, which this doesn’t.

Probably the most satisfying thing about the CLE is how lovely the cabin feels, both to look at and to use. The ambient lighting is remarkable, framing the main parts of the dashboard and backlighting the air vents – and with dozens of colours to choose from. The 12-inch instrument panel is customisable too, so you can choose how you want to see your data. And the 12-inch infotainment screen is infinitely more intuitive to use than the click-wheel system Mercedes was using a generation ago. As with all these things, there are times when sub-menus are distracting, but the air con and stereo volume controls are pinned to the bottom of the screen so you can always get to them. The four haptic spokes on the steering wheel look like overkill, but they quickly become intuitive and will likely become your go-to method of controlling things. The main trim levels all have ‘AMG Line’ in the name, derived from Mercedes-AMG and designed to give the car a ‘sporty’ feel – rear spoiler, AMG-branded wheels, stuff like that. All cars get leather upholstery, wireless phone charging and smartphone mirroring, electrically adjustable seats with a pre-set memory function (including for the steering column) and navigation. The only convenience feature that you might miss in a basic car is keyless entry, and although you might want your wheels to be bigger than the standard 18-inchers, bigger wheels do have a negative impact on ride comfort.

Every engine option in the CLE has ‘mild hybrid’ tech, using a small integrated electric motor to boost fuel economy. All feature a nine-speed automatic gearbox too, which despite all those gears never feels like it’s shuffling around trying to find the right one. It’s slicker than a self-help TED Talk. Other than that, the CLE’s power options are unusually old-school: no plug-in hybrid or fully electric version and, again, a diesel. That’s the one to go for if you’re covering long distances, offering 60.1mpg (WLTP average) and strong performance. It hits 62mph in 7.5 seconds, but feels quicker because it has a massive amount of torque from very low revs. The 204 horsepower 2.0-litre petrol engine in the basic CLE 200 is a good one too, and a little quieter than the diesel, but it’s rated at 44mpg and in reality will give you closer to 35. The CLE 300 uses the same engine, basically, but with a power bump to 258 horsepower for a 6.2-second 0-62mph time, and it’s four-wheel drive as standard. We’d suggest that if you really want your CLE to feel like a performance car, though, the CLE 450 is the way to go, because it uses a much better-sounding 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine. It’s remarkably quick (4.4 seconds to 62mph) and only a few mpg less efficient than the 2.0-litre engine in the CLE 300 (36.7mpg).