Mercedes CLS Grand Edition

Mercedes CLS Grand Edition - Lots of Designo features

The CLS has been with us for 5 years now, and has been a real success story for Mercedes. It really started the trend for 4-door coupes, and its success has made this a really busy niche of late – VW Passat, Aston Martin Rapide, Porsche Panamera and the soon to be reality Audi A7, amongst others.

The CLS had a mid-life freshen-up in 2008 to keep it on the ball, and we now see this special edition launched from today – a typical manufacturer response to a model getting near the end of its life – the new CLS, based on the new E-Class, is due next year.

Despite its E-Class underpinnings, the CLS has never felt like an E-Class. Its looks are its ace – it is probably the best looking Mercedes for a very long time. The interior, although a little short on leg-room in the back (and a pure 4-seater), is different enough, and the performance and handling are pretty decent. So what’s on offer with this ‘Grand Edition’?

Well, it’s a cosmetic, rather than mechanical, limited edition. Heavy use is made of Mercedes Designo features, and includes as standard a Designo Magna Platinum Matt paint finish, which does make the car look pretty impressive (and on a more prosaic note, it hides dirt and scratched really well!), BiXenons with a dark casing, good looking 18″ AMG alloys with grey pockets and big rubber, and the required ‘Grand Edition’ badges.

The interior gets the Designo treatment as well, with a choice of matt or gloss for the laurel wood trimmings. A decent standard spec includes COMAND APS Multimedia, comfort telephony and Parktronic.

Euros prices start at around €67k for the CLS280 Grand Edition, although it’s anyones guess what they’ll be for a UK Car, such is the exchange rate.

Good looking car, though.