2013 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

Our jaws collectively dropped at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show when the Vision CLS concept debuted. Had Mercedes-Benz decided not to build it, there might have been hell to pay. But build the W219 CLS-Class starting in April of 2004 it did, and the accolades never ceased for that first-generation model until it was replaced in the summer of 2010. The W218 second-generation model is still loved, though seemingly much less so than the groundbreaking original, And, as though it knew this reaction was coming, Mercedes showed us all the Concept Fascination at the Paris Motor Show in September 2008, which was ultimately massaged into the Concept Shooting Brake shown at the Beijing Motor Show in April 2010. Mercedes couldn't do just another wagon with the CLS; it had to be something that echoed of pure styling exercises, and perhaps excess. Eyeing up this production version of the Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake built in Sindelfingen, we remain largely pleased, even when our professional objectivity changes to cold subjectivity. Keeping in mind the point of this lower volume lifestyle hauler, there are only two tangible bits on the car that we're not in love with, and that's not bad at all. Whereas on the CLS coupe – *a-hem* – we would have loved to see a real two-door happen, for this new wagon style (sorry... shooting brake), Mercedes could never do a true shooting brake with just two forward doors; that would have been silly and might have sold in similar numbers as many a shooting brake in history has sold – frequently in single digits. No, it had to be a more useful wagon but with a lot of impractical swoosh. Deliveries of the CLS Shooting Brake start in Western Europe in early October, in the United Kingdom in December, and then all other markets by late January of 2013. There were five engine trims of the X218 shooting brake available for our drive around central Italy, and we managed to have an easygoing tour in what would be a 402-horsepower CLS550 Shooting Brake trim if it were to make it to North America. And that was nice enough, but our holy grail came in the guise of the thoroughly distinctive 528-horsepower bi-turbo CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake. A CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake feels a lot like a $92,400 E63 AMG Wagon, only better. Of course, the thing goes like stink, getting to 60 miles per hour from a stop in just 4.3 seconds thanks in no small part to the total torque of 516 pound-feet between 1,750 and 5,250 rpm. Not surprisingly, a CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake feels a lot like a $92,400 E63 AMG Wagon, only better when the demanding curves start to show up beneath the tires. Going by the 8.4-percent average price increase between the cars on the German price list, the CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake would start at about $100,150 if it were meant for American roads. The various physical reasons for the better dynamics of …
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