Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupé 300 4MATIC review: dressed to thrill

The Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupé is something of a multi-tasker. This new two-door coupe sits in place of both the C-Class coupe and the E-Class coupe, bringing a little of both into its extremely good-looking form. 

While four-door saloon cars, like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and C-Class, are designed for executives and families, coupés are for younger, more fashionable singles and couples. Yes, they have back seats, if you really must take passengers, but the two-door sportier design says this is all about me. 

By slimming down the number of coupés in the range, Mercedes has focused on bringing the best of both worlds to the CLE. There are still powerful AMG versions of the CLE, including a 4-door model, and a new cabriolet with a soft-top roof, but this standard hard-top model has a lot to offer those seeking a bit of flair. 

I spent a week behind the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupé to see how it drives and what it’s like to live with. 

How much does the Merces-Benz CLE cost?

Price-wise, the CLE Coupé starts from £46,605 on the road ($60,000 estimated in US). That’s just £1.5k more than the C-Class saloon model and nearly £11k less than the E-Class saloon. The two biggest competitors right now on the market – the BMW 4 Series Coupé and the Audi A5 Coupe – both start fractionally cheaper, especially for equivalent spec.

The CLE comes with a choice of three main engine variants, which aside from the AMG models are all 4-cylinder and all mild hybrids. The entry-level C200 has a 2-litre petrol, while the C220 d has a 2-litre 4-cylinder diesel. The C300 also has a 4-cylinder 2-litre petrol engine but with more horsepower and torque. All are paired with a 17kW battery to boost both power and fuel economy. 

I tested the Mercedes-Benz CLE 300 4MATIC AMG Line Premium Plus Coupé, which retails at £60,760, which included the special Patagonia red paint but not the optional £1695 Driving Assistance Package Plus. 

What's new?

The front of the CLE looks very similar to the C-Class saloon, with the long bonnet, the short grill made up of small three-pointed stars and the elongated digital lights, accented by the daylight-running LEDs that sit like eyebrows within them. The front of the E-Class isn’t that different, but it’s more upright. This feels sportier, especially from a side profile. 

With just the two doors, the CLE is very front-heavy, and while the rear slopes gently, it still has a shortened, flat rear. Those doors are much longer then those on the four-door models to allow easier access to the rear seats, which does make them quite heavy and needs a bit more breathing space in a car park. There are no flush door handles like on the E-Class here either. 

At the back, that C-Class styling returns, with rear lights that narrow towards the centre and are joined by a black strip. This gives the impression that the rear lights might go all the way across here, but the centre section doesn’t illuminate. 

For a coupe, the CLE does have a decent-sized boot, though not the largest of openings, due to the shape of the rear. The wide, twin exhausts on the bottom add to the sporty feel. In fact the car does sit a little lower, and in the case of the CLE 300, on its 20-inch AMG multi-spoke alloys and low-profile tyres. 

Interior and tech

Inside the car, you get a cockpit more akin to some of the other two-door Mercedes, such as the SL models. The dash layout is almost identical to the C-Class here too, with a vertically mounted 11.9-inch display in the centre and a generous 12.3-inch driver display behind the wheel. There’s also a head-up display that offers both navigation and driving dynamics to keep your eyes on the road at all times. 

Large air vents above the central display give a slightly retro feel, especially compared to the current trend of hiding them in the dash. The central divide does a good job of keeping everything hidden away, with a sliding section covering the phone charging tray, USB ports and cup holder, while a separate section by your elbow gives more storage and more USB ports, with a split folding lid. 

The upholstery is finished in leather, with a choice of black, cream and tan, which extends to the top of the doors. However, the side armrests which contain the mirror and window controls have a textured plastic finish that’s designed to look like metal. 

To get to the rear seats in the CLE, you need to lift the leather handle to fold the front seat forward and then wait while the electric motor moves the seat forward. It’s an elegant solution but not a fast one if you need to get in and out, plus is still a little tight. Space in the rear seats is decent, though you don’t get a huge amount of headroom – a better option for kids than large rugby players. 

While the MBUX system here is still impressive, the layout for this screen doesn’t feel as easy to use as the larger horizontal screen in the E-Class. It’s a shame there wasn’t an option for the new Superscreen in this car, which provides an additional display for the passenger. 

You do still get the new parking cameras here though, which on top of the birds-eye view, give you a three-quarters view of the car that you can then spin around the vehicle to focus on any likely obstacles when parking or navigating tight manoeuvres. 

The other good news is that on the CLE 300, you do get the breathtaking Bermester sound system (though without the 4D sound or Dolby Atmos). This is certainly one of the best systems on the market, and even without the Spatial audio, it’s still incredibly immersive. The model I tested didn’t have a data connection, so I wasn’t able to log in to music services directly, which was one of my favourite features on the E-Class. You can still get this as an option though, as well as the Vivaldi browser and games package. 

Adding the Driving Assistance Package Plus package gives you active steering control and lane changing in addition to the adaptive cruise control, bringing this up to level 2 autonomy. Even without it though, the speed limiter and cruise control help to destress those longer or busier drives. The screen provides quick access to turn off those driver safety speed warnings, which is a welcome relief, should you stray over the limit a little. 

How does it drive?

While it only features a four-cylinder engine, the CLE 300 4MATIC has plenty of poke. This model will give you up to 281hp and a 0-62mph acceleration of 6.2 seconds (the CLE 450 will give you 404hp and a 4.4sec 0-62mph). That battery adds a small burst of power pushing up that acceleration but also helps the CLE achieve its 39.3 mpg fuel economy. This mild hybrid tech doesn’t need charging – the battery takes power from the braking and coasting. 

The downside is that this small battery cannot be used to power the car on its own like the Plug-in hybrid E-Class model can, so you always need that engine running. It would have been nice to see a PHEV version of the CLE in the range, though with this smaller form, the practicalities of that might not have been straightforward. Ultimately though, there has to be an all-electric coupé at some stage, and that will be incredible. 

That said, one of my favourite parts of the CLE is the engine noise. In Sport mode, you get a bit extra too, pumped into the cabin for the effect. I haven’t tested the AMG version with the six-cylinder engine but I would wager that it sounds even better. 

Overall, the CLE is fun to drive around town and on longer journeys. Despite being a two-door coupé, this is still a big and heavy car, so you don’t get SL-level performance, but as a luxury cruiser, it’s ideal. By default, the car powers down at a standstill, and can take a second to come to life again, so you will need to turn that off if you want to be quick off the mark. 

Should I buy the Mercedes-Benz CLE?

While the CLE is designed to replace both the C-Class and E-Class coupés, it’s clearly leaning heavily towards the more affordable of the two. That makes sense, and if you want an affordable two-door version of the C-Class, it’s stunning. Those who would have bought the E-Class coupé can look at one of the higher specced models, such as the AMG CLE 53, or the upcoming CLE Cabriolet, which looks even better. 

The Mercedes CLE coupé provides that perfect middle ground for those who don’t need the practicality of a four-door saloon but equally need a bit more than a two-seater. While it costs fractionally more than some of its competition, it is arguably the better looking and is packed with tech inside. 

Until we see a PHEV or a full battery electric CLE, the 350 and 450 4MATIC models are the sensible choice while giving a bit more power. I suspect that it will be the cabriolet though that will appeal to most.