If every moment you spend in a car needs to be a screamer, buy a BMW. But if you are inclined to appreciate the many other subtleties of fine motoring, you'll find the new Mercedes-Benz CLK500 to be a real sweetheart.
We are pleased to say the pillarless hardtop CLK looks better in person than we were led to believe; it's not as fluffy as pictures had indicated. The hood dips dramatically between twin bulges that open into a robust collection of headlamps (Bi-xenon are a must-have option), and the ubiquitous three-pointed star has dropped from hoodtop to mid-grille.
The interior sports a higher level of cush than your basic Spartan Bimmer, with puckered-leather door inserts, vents and gauges ringed in chrome, and flared chrome that sweeps across the glovebox and the burl walnut door trim panels.
Instrumentation is black and white; the speedo, tachometer, and clock are all round and boldly numbered, and auxiliary instruments are vertically hashed. The air bag housing in the center of the steering wheel is smaller than usual, and four big oval thumbpads offer remote control of the radio and telephone.
The CLK seats fit snugly, and we can say that, as luxurious as you would describe its ride, the CLK is far from a mere luxo-barge. Our morning commute includes a nicely cambered set of turns that the CLK flew through neatly, with not a bobble or sidestep. We have emerged faster in Porsches and Bimmers from that section of road, but we didn't miss the extra exit speed once we saw the county sheriff parked in the weeds aimed directly at our driver's license. He pulled behind us, ruining the fun for another five miles, but eventually gave up and let us have our head for the rest of the drive.... Read full article