Mercedes, like a lot of other car manufacturers, used to have a wide variety of convertibles and roadsters on its books, yet over the years dwindling demand has seen many of them die off - not just within Mercedes itself but from the line-ups of many rivals too. Chief losses from the three-pointed star’s stable include the compact C-Class, midsized E-Class and grandiose S-Class Cabriolet models, and it falls on the shoulders of this new CLE Cabriolet to consolidate the product lines of the former two, while even bringing with it a whiff of S-Class-like glamour.
However it is positioned, though, the fact remains that - alongside the SL roadster - the CLE is now the only open-top Mercedes you can buy new, and its only real direct rivals are the BMW 4 Series and Ford Mustang Convertible. Nevertheless, the CLE Cabriolet must prove its worth regardless of the paucity of competitors and while we’ve not driven the Mercedes soft-top in its highest AMG 53 specification, we have tried the next best thing - the 381hp CLE 450, on roads around the Cotswolds area of the UK.
How much is the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet in Ireland?
The Mercedes CLE Cabriolet starts from a little less than €83,000 here, for the sole diesel model, the CLE 220 d. That isn’t too much more than the cheapest BMW 4 Series Convertible (from €77,175) and, given that the Merc is trying to blend C-Class and E-Class together, the latter car from a market segment above the BMW 4 Series, then the bare numbers don’t seem too high for the CLE. Admittedly, a 450 model like our test vehicle has a higher CO2 output despite its mild-hybrid assistance, so its figure with VRT mixed in swells to a more eye-widening €121,530, but then cars this grand and powerful are rarely to be found cheap.
There is an entry-level CLE 200 Cabriolet for €90,435, while the other 4Matic variant in the lineup is the CLE 300, at €100,425. All cars are sold in AMG Line Plus specification in Ireland.
What’s different about the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet?
The Cabriolet takes all the usual CLE signifiers, such as the double-straked bonnet, sleek front-end styling and full-width rear light strip that’s reminiscent of the company’s EQ electric vehicles, and then adds to them with the glamour of a multilayered soft-top roof. The integration of this key element of the CLE Cabriolet is beautifully done, as you’d expect from Mercedes which has spent decades honing its convertible craft, and so the car looks excellent with its roof in either the up or down position - with a clean-shouldered, well-balanced proportionality to it in the latter configuration.
The fabric roof can be raised or lowered fully electrically in just 20 seconds, and the car can even do this on the move at speeds of up to 60km/h. There’s then a deployable wind deflector at the rear of the passenger cabin which, again, is electrically powered and pops up at the click of a switch, to minimise occupant buffeting inside the car at speed.
A look inside the Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet
The quality of the CLE Cabriolet’s interior is exemplary, with a beautiful level of fit and finish to be found. One of the interior options is aluminium-lined open-pore wood, which gives the Mercedes’ cabin the ambience of a high-end yacht with some exquisite decking. Plush leather seats and a general solidity to the switchgear all help with the exalted interior standards, although Mercedes’ unusual ergonomics - column-mounted shift lever, solitary column stalk on the left for the main beam, wipers and indicators, seat adjustment controls on the door cards and so on - take a little getting used to if you’ve just hopped into the Benz from a rival manufacturer’s product.
One area where, as expected, the Cabriolet loses out is with regards practicality. Not so much for boot space, though, which is decent all things considered. It holds 385 litres with all seats in use and the hood up, which is only 35 litres down on the CLE Coupe, and even if you fold the car’s top away then a clever electric separator means you could still slide four carry-on suitcases into the boot with a bit of spatial jiggery-pokery, so the Mercedes can thoroughly fulfil its brief as a grand tourer.
No, the problem comes with rear-seat space. While we’re not about to say the CLE Coupe is a luxury limo in terms of back-bench accommodation, the rear two seats in the Cabriolet are nevertheless mounted further forward, inboard and in a more upright position to accommodate the hood-storage bay behind them. It means that the back row of the Cabriolet is only for children or the stowage of extra luggage, as adults won’t be happy sitting there even for shorter journeys.
The Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet’s on-board technology
A suitably high-tech interior in the CLE Cabriolet is centred on the main digital interfaces up front, which comprise an 11.9-inch infotainment portrait display in the centre of the console, as well as a 12.3-inch tablet for the digital dials and then a big, crisp head-up display above that. These all work very well once you’ve become accustomed to the layout of menus and so on, and additionally Mercedes uses a straightforward system with the spoke controls on the steering wheel, so that the left-hand buttons control the infotainment screen, and the right-hand buttons take care of the instrument cluster.
It means you can configure the CLE Cabriolet’s displays however you want them, and furthermore that 11.9-inch MBUX screen can be tilted between 15 and 40 degrees to prevent glare when the soft-top is open. Other equipment highlights include an optional Burmester 3D surround sound system, as well as the Aircap buffeting prevention tech (meaning the wind deflector at the back of the Mercedes as well as one which emerges from the windscreen rail) and the Airscarf system, which blows warm air from vents in the headrests onto the necks of front-seat occupants.
Driving the Mercedes-Benz CLE 450 Cabriolet
Although this car has robust outputs of 381hp and 500Nm from its 3.0-litre, straight-six, turbo-and-hybrid-augmented engine, giving it a rapid 0-100km/h time of 4.7 seconds, it is in no way attempting to be some kind of sporty performance car. Instead, it is simply a big-hearted and comfortable cruiser, and frankly the CLE 450 Cabriolet is all the better for it.
Even running on 20-inch AMG alloys (which are glorious to look at), the ‘Agility Control’ 15mm-lowered sports suspension on the CLE 450 strikes a wonderful balance between impeccable ride comfort and decent body control. Sure, there’s quite a bit of lean if you throw the Mercedes into the bend at higher speed, but with 4Matic all-wheel drive giving all of its traction benefits and loads of grip provided by the wide tyres at all four corners, the Cabriolet is by no means ill-mannered. It’s capable and assured, considering the car’s primary reason for being is wafting about the place serenely, like some kind of giant automotive swan.
That said, the steering is light and largely feel-free, so it’s not exactly set up to make the Mercedes a great amount of fun on a twisting road. But the way the car has been calibrated is perfect for its exceptional levels of comfort and refinement. No matter if you’re ambling about town on cratered roads, or rolling along a country trunk route at a steady 80km/h, or even hammering along at 120km/h with the hood down on a motorway, the CLE 450 is an utter delight to travel in. It is soft and it is supple, and it is just majestic at smoothing out all road surfaces so that you can discern nothing of the underinvestment (or otherwise) in their material finishing, and thus the idea of travelling thousands of kilometres across a continent in this Benz is not ridiculous in the slightest.
Which is not to say it’s entirely a fuzzy grand tourer with no dynamic edge, because that six-cylinder drivetrain is a peach. Hooked up to the fast-reacting nine-speed automatic transmission and boosted by the 22hp/205Nm EQ Boost 48-volt hybrid gear, this CLE 450 has a surprisingly brisk turn of pace when you want it, any uptick in acceleration also accompanied by a cultured yet discreet roar from the 3.0-litre engine up front. The net result is that this is a strong, likeable drivetrain in a very accomplished and desirable car, and that makes the CLE Cabriolet feel undoubtedly worth every cent of its chunky asking price.
The reasons you’d buy a Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet
If you’re in the market for a large, luxurious convertible with the (sort of) ability to seat more than one passenger, then your choices at a sub-Bentley Continental GTC kind of level amount to this car and the BMW 4 Series Convertible - unless you want to import a Ford Mustang Convertible from over the border. And the Mercedes is more comfortable, elegant and easier on the eye than the Beemer, while it feels a far higher-quality item than the Ford, even if it lacks a bit of the Mustang’s character. In short, while it is attempting to straddle two model lines (and even three, if you lament the passing of the S-Class Cabriolet), the brilliant CLE 450 Cabriolet doesn’t feel compromised by that mission brief in the slightest. Rather, it’s a quite magnificent big cruiser with a huge dollop of kerb appeal to boot.
Ask us anything about the Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet
If there’s anything about the Mercedes-Benz CLE 450 4Matic Cabriolet we’ve not covered, or you’d like advice in choosing between it and other cars, you can avail of our (completely free) expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.
