|
|
|
Follow-Up Test: 2002 Mercedes-Benz CL600
A View From the Peak
|
By Neil Dunlop
Date posted: 04-26-2002
Pinnacles are always exciting. Though, for most of us, they're very rare. Instead,
we experience greatness vicariously: We watch athletes do things we can only dream
of, we go to galleries and are transfixed by an artist's brush strokes, or we
read novels and are moved by the writer's imagination. But those things are separate
from us; we can't participate in the glory — only celebrate it.
That's what's so wonderful about the Mercedes-Benz CL600. It is a pinnacle of
automotive design and engineering made expressly to please us. But we suspect
Mercedes' motives were not entirely altruistic. First, there's self-satisfaction.
It must feel wonderful for the engineers and designers to stand back and look
at the finished product, to revel in its graceful lines, its high-tech componentry
and sterling mechanics and know that they have created something special. And
then, of course, there's the price. At $135,000 (before tax), they're not exactly
giving it away.
Start with its looks. Understated elegance is an apt description. The CL's smooth
lines travel from nose to tail uninterrupted, like a teardrop or an ice sculpture.
You want flash? Buy a red Viper. This is about knowing you've arrived, not about
wanting everyone else to know it, too. We admit that no one will mistake the three-pointed
star on the grille for a Nissan badge, but only automotive aficionados will appreciate
how distinctive (and expensive) the CL600 is.
Take, for instance, the guy who pointed at the V12 badge just aft of the front
wheels. He grimaced as though he were in pain. "Oh, geez," he said, "I've been
wanting to see one of these things up close for a while. Tell me, just how nice
does it drive?" We told him. Another grimace.
The CL600 doesn't as much go down the road as own it. So exact and purposeful
are its movements that it's as though the road was built for its tires only. When
you sit in the driver seat and grip the leather-wrapped and maple wood steering
wheel, it's like being initiated into a secret club. We know this is perhaps a
little dramatic, but there's really no other way to express how the CL blends
driver, machine and road so seamlessly.
For starters, Mercedes has done everything it can to make the driving position
as comfortable as possible. There are 14 power adjustments to ensure that the
seat fits your body as perfectly as a tailor-made suit. In addition, seat heating
and ventilation work to keep you comfy regardless of outdoor weather. There's
even a massage function to relieve lower back stress.
The automaker has also worked to block aural distractions such as wind and road
noise, which are virtually non-existent. The resulting serenity of the cabin allows
you to concentrate on the pleasure of driving. You can also take advantage of
this acoustic cocoon to enjoy the CL's exceptional eight-speaker Bose digital
sound system.
Never was a cocoon so luxurious, either. Our test vehicle was outfitted with the
$9,300 Espresso Edition option package, which includes rich, dark brown leather
upholstery and enough auburn maple wood trim to make a chest of drawers. Combined
with the suede roofliner and pillars, the CL is as opulent as a luxury yacht or
private jet.
And we haven't even discussed all the toys yet. Reading a list of the CL's equipment
is like the roll call for the entire complement of Mercedes' technological accomplishments.
The standard troops include well known performance and safety features such as
ABS (antilock brakes) and ESP (electronic stability control).
Also standard is ABC (active body control) suspension, which is meant to solve
the compromise between ride comfort and handling precision by allowing the driver
to select from "comfort" and "sport" settings via a dash-mounted switch. In comfort
mode, the CL provides extraordinary stability and feel for the road. Thanks to
a symphony of hydraulic, electronic and mechanical components, body roll, as well
as dive and squat under braking and acceleration, are reduced by 68 percent. Even
during energetic driving, we felt as though we could have had an open glass of
water in the cupholder and not have lost a drop. Remarkably, despite this leveling
and smoothing, you can still sense the contours of the road as though you were
running your hand over the pavement.
If you select sport mode, the suspension is further tightened to reduce roll by
95 percent. Of course, ride comfort suffers somewhat, but it's a small compromise
for the enhanced driving experience. In this mode, turns, starts and stops are
noticeably more exact, but you never feel like you are fighting the car or the
road. Instead, it's like you're connected to both, which is electrifying.
And that was just the standard stuff. The optional techno-toys on our test vehicle
included Parktronic ($1,015) and Distronic ($2,875).
Parktronic is a pretty ordinary parking assist system that uses a series of lights
and sounds to warn the driver if she gets too close to an object that might mar
the mocha black paint. It's needed, too. Though the CL has no B-pillars, the width
of the substantial C-pillars more than makes up for it. This, no doubt, accounts
for the car's rigid feel, but it also creates huge blind spots in the rear corners.
Also, the enormous rear window is set at such an angle that it tends to hold rainwater,
dew and dirt. With no rear wiper, seeing out the back becomes a guessing game.
Parktronic to the rescue.
Distronic is anything but an ordinary cruise control system. Officially called
Distronic Adaptive Cruise Control, this amazing system works with the cruise control,
the accelerator and the brakes to ensure that when it's engaged you stay a certain
distance from vehicles in front. Using a dial on the center console, you can set
it to follow traffic at any distance up to 300 feet. Then a radar sensor behind
the grille looks for vehicles in front and the system applies either the accelerator
or up to 20 percent of the brakes to keep you at the set distance. If more braking
is needed, a chime sounds and a red triangle appears in the dash display —
your signal to intervene. Another display inside the speedometer shows a digital
picture of your car and the relative distance of any vehicles ahead.
It's an eerie feeling to let the car do this much work for you, and, at first,
we worried that we'd lose concentration. On the contrary, we found that because
we didn't have to bother with braking and resetting our cruise control constantly,
we were more relaxed and alert. As a result, we enjoyed the drive more.
One downside to all this gadgetry (and we didn't even talk about the navigation
system, voice command system, and the Tele-Aid help and information system) is
the clutter of buttons necessary to control them. With this many features, the
dash ends up looking like the sound board at a rock concert.
Another negative aspect, albeit temporary, is the amount of literature that must
be absorbed in order to make use of all this technology. The manual is actually
a hardcover book more than 400 pages long, and there are at least four smaller
booklets to explain specific functions such as the voice command system.
Regardless, to appreciate the CL600, all we had to read was the V12 badge on its
side. The 5.8-liter 36-valve V12 engine is truly an impressive beast. Though it
emits very little in the way of engine roar, it makes its presence known in more
visceral ways. The full effect of its 362 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque
is not immediately felt when you depress the accelerator; Mercedes is too subdued
for showy displays of power. Instead, the five-speed automatic transmission delivers
thrust judiciously so that you're not going to lose many streetlight derbies,
but you're also not going to shred the Z-rated 225/55R17 tires (you'd have to
turn off the stability control anyway).
However, if you tap the shifter into auto-manual mode (the manual says this is
for "special circumstances"), you can control shifts. Now, the full power of this
velvety-smooth monster is literally at your fingertips, and it provides enough
forward thrust to fully flatten your back against the sporty seats. We were intensely
aware of every vertebra in our spines. Mercedes claims a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.9
seconds, and we believe it. Still, due to the marvelous engineering inherent in
systems such as the electronic stability control and the active body control,
we never felt out of control.
Like we said, pinnacles are exciting.
See all the Ratings: 2002 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class CL600 2dr Coupe (5.8L 12cyl 5A) Road Test Scoreboard
|
|
|
