Mercedes' new version of the CLS is a dream to drive

There is one German premium brand that I have to give top Mercs to for reinventing itself!

Many years ago at the international launch of the Mercedes Benz CLA, the head honchos of the brand told the motoring world that it had a brand-new vision and strategy and was going to target younger buyers in the future.

It is fair to say that the brand has definitely delivered on its promise.

Mercedes Benz designers are now producing some of the most stylish cars and SUVs on the market.

Its range of cars no longer just attract the more mature buyer, the Google generation have jumped on board now too.

Updated for 2022, the new Mercedes Benz CLS is one of the stylish models that every executive craves.

To the untrained eye there are very few noticeable differences to the exterior apart from new wheel designs, new paint options and revised bumpers and lights. In fairness, there is not a whole lot more you could improve on the looks anyway.

The revised CLS has been treated to range of updates and it now shares a lot of its interior with the E-Class saloon.

Inside, there’s a wider variety of leather and trim combinations as well as a new three-spoke steering with modernised touch-sensitive functions.

Inside the cabin, space is at a premium for the front two passenger and the seats are extremely comfortable.

However, the saloon’s coupe-like roofline contributes to the compromises when it comes to passenger space in the rear and the head room on offer for taller passengers is very tight.

The CLS now has a three-seat layout in the rear. However, the middle seat is a very tight squeeze and it certainly wasn’t designed for my rotund buttocks – I certainly wouldn’t fancy a long-distance drive sitting in it anyway.

On the road, the CLS is a dream to drive. My test car was powered by an old-school two-litre diesel engine with an nine-speed automatic gearbox.

Despite what some car brands say, diesel is obviously not dead yet and the economy figures I got during my week-long test drive are astounding. I mean this big block would give you close to 1,200 kilometres on a full tank.

And, with diesel almost hitting the €2-per-litre price mark this weekend, it is a fine return for a big old-school internal combustion engine.

Pricing for the Mercedes CLS starts at €83,090 for the CLS 220d , which was my test drive for the week. Power for this model comes from the aforementioned 194bhp four-cylinder turbo-diesel with a 0-100km/h time of 7.5 seconds.

Sitting above that is the CLS 300d 4Matic, which features four-wheel drive and the same 2.0-litre diesel with some fine tuning to make up 265bhp.

This can sprint from 0-100km/h in 6.4 seconds.

Next in line is the CLS 400d 4Matic, which uses a 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel that produces 340bhp. This model can sprint from the starting line to 100km/h in just 5.2 seconds.