Filed under: Sedan, Europe, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury



A lot has changed since Mercedes-Benz busted open the four-door coupe segment with the introduction of the original CLS-Class back in 2004, with every competitor keen to copy the Silver Star formula with chopped-down sedans (or stretched out coupes) of their own. And Mercedes has been wise to stay ahead of the competition and not rest on its proverbial laurels, rolling out an all-new model in 2010, bolstering the line with the Shooting Brake wagon version (at least for other markets) shortly thereafter. And now Benz is back again with another revision (albeit minor) for its sleekest four- and five-door model line.

Set to debut later this month at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the new 2015 Mercedes-Benz CLS (in both four-door coupe and Shooting Brake wagon body-styles) benefits from a number of low-key enhancements. The front bumper features larger air intakes, and the interior includes some new features like a floating eight-inch infotainment screen and a new three-spoke steering wheel. Mercedes has also designed a new headlight system for the CLS. The Multibeam LED headlamps use 24 individual projectors, coupled to a camera system that allows the headlights to illuminate the road as clear as possible in one of 255 stages of brightness without blinding oncoming drivers.

We're waiting on word of just which powertrain options will be available to US buyers. The current CLS is available here only with a twin-turbo V8 - either the CLS550 with 4.6 liters and 402 horsepower or the CLS63 AMG (now sold here exclusively with 4Matic all-wheel drive) with the 5.5-liter engine producing either 550 hp or (in the S-Model) 577 hp. European customers also get an array of BlueTec diesel engines. There's also the new CLS400 with Benz's new 3.5-liter V6 being launched overseas, and since that engine is already set to arrive Stateside in the new SL400, we'd say the chances of its arrival here look good.

Whichever engine you pick, the seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by a new nine-speed unit in every model but the CLS63, which continues to use the more robust seven-speed AMG gearbox. Watch this space as we await confirmation on US availability, and scope out the details in the press release below in the meantime.Continue reading Mercedes reveals subtly updated new CLS-Class

Mercedes reveals subtly updated new CLS-Class originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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06-18-2014 11:20 AM