Mercedes-Benz CLK500 Avantgarde 2003

THE Mercedes-Benz CLK's main objective is to draw back some buyers from a market segment owned by the BMW 3 Series coupe. The CLK certainly has the ingredients to do that, even if it's image is one of elegance and refinement rather than sporty BMW style - although the latter can be made available via an options list that includes plenty of AMG gear. And, in 225kW CLK500 form, don't discount it as a formidable highway express. Though a fair bit larger, it might not look hugely different to the previous CLK coupe, but some important stuff has been done to increase interior space and develop aerodynamics that are among the best in class. The latest CLK is also more refined, meaning its road manners are a step ahead of the first-generation model that came here in 1997.

Mercedes-Benz CLK430 Cabriolet 1999

The CLK Cabriolet and CLK 430 Coupe are new model additions to the CLK lineup for 1999. Safety features exclusive to the Cabriolet include a rollbar system that deploys in three-tenths of a second and rear head restraints that extend to maximum height in a split second if onboard sensors detect an impending rollover. Standard safety features on all CLK models include, anti-lock brakes, dual front airbags and door-mounted side airbags. Brake Assist is now standard on all 1999 models. Brake Assist detects an emergency stop by how quickly the brake pedal is applied and then applies full braking force faster than the driver can. An Electronic Stability Program is available that will protect the car from going into a spin or slide.

Mercedes-Benz CLK350 2005

Mercedes CLK 350

Mercedes-Benz decided to revamp and redesign the CLK320 in 2006 to the more powerful CLK350 which is becoming more popular as the year goes on. With a new exterior, new standard equipment, and a new base engine, this car that was always feisty has become even more so. 

It boasts a commanding 272 horsepower 3.5L V6 engine that has been changed to a seven-speed automatic transmission. The new 
 
CLK350 also now has an enhanced front apron design and new premium sport wheels. 


With the price at a mostly affordable $55,000 it can be bought by the rich and famous or by the hardworking executive. It is been rated as an excellent value in its class and has an excellent rating when it comes to the look of the car. The sporty but classy body flair shows prominence and style without being too ostentatious. 

For a 6-cylinder it has relatively good fuel economy with the car getting 28 miles per gallon on the highway and 17 miles per gallon in the city. The handling is superb, as with most of the C-classes of the Mercedes making it feel very easy to drive with little effort or fear of body roll. 

It is a 2-door car so one of the cons could be considered the rear seat entry which is said to be difficult to navigate for the larger person, but not horrible. The rear seat room leaves a little bit to be desired but again, not completely out of the question. 

Surprisingly one of the more common complaints about this car comes from something very simple; it has but one cup holder. Now for some people they may laugh and think how inconvenient but not worth giving up the car for, but for others who travel for business frequently this may be very difficult to manage. In fact most of the reviews written on this outstanding vehicle mention the lack of cup holders. 

Besides that small problem, most people are thrilled with the smooth acceleration and splendid handling. The car is as equally quiet with the top down as it is with the top down. There is no question that Mercedes has a passion for manufacturing tremendous cars with a value that far surpasses other cars in a similar class. Not only will you look good, you will feel good too in this head turner of a car.

Mercedes-Benz CLK320 CDI 2005

The Mercedes-Benz W209 cars have been produced since 2002. They are sold under the CLK-Class model names. The W209 is based on the W203 C-Class. It replaced the C208 CLK-Class after 2004 which were the first car to carry the CLK moniker.

The W209 is available in two body styles, a coupe and a cabriolet, and with three engines available, a V6 (CLK320 in ’04, CLK350 thereafter), V8 (CLK500), and supercharged V8 (CLK55). The cabriolet (Designated with an A, as in CLK500A) features a fully automatic retractable soft top covered by a metal tonneau that can be raised and lowered from outside the vehicle using the key fob.

Market position and competitors

The CLK is designed to fill the mid-luxury market position for coupes and convertibles. It is Mercedes-Benz’s only 4-seat cabriolet. Its direct competitors in the cabriolet market are the Volvo C70 and the Lexus SC430, although it is available with larger engines than any of its direct competitors. The CLK is positioned midway between the BMW 3 series coupe/cabriolet and the 6 series coupe/cabriolet.

Characteristics

The CLK is a superlative vehicle whose handling is exceptionally precise even under extreme cornering, road, and weather conditions, and whose performance is equal to the fastest readily available sports cars on the market. Performance is electronically limited to 135mph in the CLK350 and CLK500 models, and to 155mph in the CLK55 model. The electronic limitation is felt as a point at which the car simply won’t go faster, not as an artificial fuel cutoff that can cause bucking as in some vehicles.


The Electronic Stability Control (ESP) and Antilock breaking system (ABS) are both excellent aids to handling, making such feats as a 90’ degree turn on a typical two lane intersection from 50mph possible using simple hard breaking and turning with no significant fishtailing. Although the ESP system can be manually turned off, it never actually allows the wheels to spin completely freely. For example, the ESP system makes drifting (intentional high-power fishtailing) impossible without shutting the ESP system off using a factory test protocol that end-users cannot enable.

Both the 5-speed (’04 and ’05) and 7-speed automatic transmissions are so smooth that shifting is noticeable only unusual driving conditions. The cars have a manual sport/comfort mode switch that sets the transmission to start in 2nd gear and shift earlier in comfort mode. The new 7-speed transmission ads about 20% better fuel mileage in real driving conditions over the 5-speed with no loss in performance, although the additional shifting can be noticeable. In the CLK500, at 80mph, the 5-speed transmission runs at about 3000rpm, while the 7-speed runs at about 2200rpm. Both transmissions include automatic best gear finding so that the driver need not keep track of which gear the car is in during performance driving, and in the AMG model, the transmission can be set to stay in the highest possible gear for the best possible performance.

The 5-speed CLK500 gets an average of 15mpg in real city driving conditions, whereas the 7-speed CLK500 get an average of about 18mpg under the same conditions. Both add about 3mpg for highway driving.

The new 3.5 liter engine delivers enough performance to make the car seem basically the same along the line of motors; The earlier 320 felt like a nimble car but was not in the same class as the CLK500/55 in terms of performance. The CLK55 AMG ads considerably less additional performance than the AMG versions of other Mercedes-Benz cars, which probably accounts for its relative rarity.

Comfort and convenience

Mercedes-Benz concentrates its ergonomic design engineering efforts on subtle luxuries, such as seat-belt presenters, automatically lowering headrests when the seat is moved back so that it’s in the correct position for tall drivers, and lowering the passenger side mirror to show the curb when the car is in reverse.

More obvious conveniences include automatically dimming mirrors, in-dash navigation instructions, steering wheel control of audio system, iPod, and integrated telephone system, and cornering fog lamps that illuminate the road when you turn in the same direction as the turn indicators signal.

Model changes

The W209 was introduced in 2002. At introduction, it was available with a 3.2 liter engine, a 5.0 liter engine, and a 5.5 liter engine. The 2004 CLK was the last Mercedes Benz automobile to use the venerable D2B (Digital Data Bus) optical fiber media system introduced a decade earlier. The most obvious problem with this system was the clearly obsolete CD-ROM based navigation system.

The 2005 update included a new 3.5 liter 6 cylinder and the MOST (Media Oriented Serial Transport) media system used in the rest of the Mercedes Benz line, bringing along a significantly upgrade DVD based navigation system and iPod integration as optional features. The 2006 included an improved 3.5 liter 6 cylinder engine and added the steering wheel shift paddles from the AMG model to the CLK500.

Mercedes-Benz CLK 240 Convertible Elegance 2004

The Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class is a mid-size rear-wheel drive coupé/convertible.

While it is based on the C-Class, its styling cues, engine, and price range are closer to that of the E-class, leading some to believe that the CLK is a coupé version of the E-class.