Even dating back to the brand’s early days, Mercedes-Benz has been known for its luxurious, sleek coupes, and the new CLE-Class is the latest car to join the storied line of desirable two-doors with three-pointed stars on the nose. Whereas in years past Mercedes-Benz positively spoiled the public with the choice between numerous four-seat coupes across the C, E, and S-Class lineups, the CLE takes the place of both the previous C-Class and E-Class coupes, yet is actually slightly larger than both.
I had the pleasure of masquerading as a new Benz owner for a few days with the entry-level CLE 300 model, and it was a delight to be pampered by the brilliant massaging seats and aided by Mercedes’ always-exceptional driver-assistance tech. Long drives aren’t even the slightest bit intimidating when you know your car is a rolling massage parlor slash music venue that can do some of the driving itself, but if you’re looking for a fun and engaging drive, the CLE 300 will leave you wanting.
Full disclosure: Mercedes-Benz dropped off a 2024 CLE 300 4MATIC with a full tank of gas at my apartment for me to keep for a few days and review. I drove it all around Los Angeles, and got showered with compliments by friends and neighbors. There’s just something about a brand-new Benz that makes folks think you’ve made it. Thanks for letting me look like I have my shit together for a few days, Mercedes.
The CLE looks great; long, wide and low like a good coupe should be. It has the all-important frameless windows (though, unlike the old E-Class, it’s not a pillarless coupe), but I couldn’t help but feel that it could just as easily have an Infiniti badge on the nose. Now, is that a read for Mercedes or a compliment to Infiniti? Definitely more of the latter — the Q60 is a visually striking coupe, but I’d hope that a Mercedes would be more easily identified as such without hunting for the three-pointed star.
My tester had Power Red leather upholstery that made the seats look gorgeous. Beyond just the look of the seats they’re all very comfortable, and even the rear seats are almost big enough to fit normal-sized humans if your front-seat passengers aren’t as tall as me. The dash looks good too, in alignment with the rest of the new Mercedes-Benz lineup with a dazzling ambient light array, a big vertical touchscreen, and sweeping simple lines.
Once you get past the interior’s dramatic appearance and start feeling around, things start to go a bit sour. My tester had the standard metal weave interior trim, which has always looked tacky to me, but even worse, everything below the door handles is hard, scratchy plastic. Hoping to find felt or leather or rubber inside the door pockets? Not here, and despite looking big, the door pockets aren’t ergonomically shaped to hold things like large water bottles. Well, the glove box has to be leather-covered, right? Wrong, it’s also hard plastic. This is a base model car, but with nearly $14,000 in options added on, its total MSRP came to $70,220 including $1,150 destination, so it shouldn’t have this many hard plastic surfaces.
Driving the CLE was either pleasant or boring based on your persuasion. The entry-level CLE 300 model has a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 with mild-hybrid assist that produces 255 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. The powertrain was adequate, but it has lots of lag down low in the rev range despite the mild-hybrid system, so it never feels peppy. It is, however, silent at idle, and engine sound is negligible until you dig deep into the throttle pedal when it starts sounding a touch uncivilized. I say it’s either pleasant or boring based on your persuasion because I always envision coupe buyers to want a sportier driving experience than a sedan, but the CLE felt more adept at cruising than canyon carving.
When things got twisty, the CLE got plow-ey, much to my chagrin. This CLE 300 was on all-season tires, though, which do no favors for road-holding, but I was still disappointed with the car’s front-end response. The nose just felt heavy and lazy, never eager to turn in or fun despite having just a 2.0-liter four-cylinder under the hood. You can induce some lift-off oversteer if the corner camber is right, but in corners that make me smile in other cars, the CLE left me uninspired. I’m sure more power and better tires would help, but with the base powertrain at least, the CLE feels big and heavy, not fast and fun.
As a cruiser, the CLE is more successful. The seats are frustratingly comfortable; I don’t have a bad thing to say about them aside from their $3,020 total price including the cost of the upgraded material, multi-adjustability, massage and ventilation. Lovely thrones, these. The CLE’s ride on standard passive dampers is composed most of the time, but over broken pavement, it feels busy, like the wheels are doing a lot of bouncing and scrambling with the occasional sharp bump. The body structure felt solid, and the standard sunroof was a nice touch despite eating into the already minimal headroom.
A nice stereo is usually something Mercedes-Benz would make you pay a pretty penny to upgrade to, but the Burmester Surround Sound System comes standard on the CLE and sounds impeccable, windows up or down.
I was shocked by the excess of legroom I had up front, too. I’m convinced there are actual acres worth of legroom, yet in a massive oversight, simply not enough headroom. I am 6-foot-8-inches tall with a 40-inch inseam so I’m all legs, but my head still hit the ceiling even with the seat in its lowest position. Why give a car so much legroom and so little headroom? Most tall folk will likely ask the same question.
So then, what’s the verdict on the CLE? It’s a big coupé, inside and out, but in condensing the C-Class coupé and the E-Class coupé into one model, it brings the quality of the old C-Class and most of the cost of the old E-Class. If your new car checklist prioritizes style and tech, and you can afford the steep price, then I say go for it. The convertible top or the upgraded engines are likely to make the CLE a more compelling package, but with the base powertrain, it’s a mixed bag. I’d personally save about $10,000 and go with a C-Class, but if your heart yearns for a big sleek Mercedes-Benz coupé, and your bank account is fat enough, the CLE is the car for you.
