Key strengths: None
Areas for improvement: Poor quality paint job
The car is a disgrace to the 3 pointed star marque. What is even more disgraceful is the arrogance of the people at the head office of Daimler Chrysler U.K. they didn't even bother to come and inspect the vehicle. I have been driving top of the range Mercedes for nearly 25 years and to be treated in this manner is astonishing.
When the car was 12 months old I noticed that rust had appeared on the driver's rear quarter panel. The dealers resprayed it without an argument. Two years later rust has re-appeared on both rear quarter panels. The dealers have offered to respray the panels again without any argument. I demanded that the defective panels are replaced. They had to consult with Mercedes Customer Services, who have refused to replace them.
The running costs for Mercedes CL Class 5.0 Automatic are high
Safety: 73
Equipment: 70
Reliability: 61
Driving: 71
Comfort: 81
Design: 52