People can justify needing a compact automobile, an off-roader, a minivan or a pickup, however convertibles are the epitome of pointless. No one wants a convertible, or a minimum of that’s what I assumed till I drove the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE450 Cabriolet. I’ve all the time been a sucker for a convertible; my first automobile was a 2005 Saab 9-3 Cabriolet that I purchased off Craigslist for $5,000 and that promptly drained my checking account then died fully. Ever since then I’ve been fiending for an additional hit of open-topped opulence, after which the CLE rolled up in my driveway.
Full disclosure: Mercedes-Benz loaned me a 2024 CLE450 Cabriolet for a weekend so I might take it to the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Efficiency drive occasion in Malibu. I did simply that, and I impressed my neighbors and associates with the beautiful, punchy and almost-practical four-seat drop prime earlier than a bunch of evil individuals (the really great of us on the fleet administration firm) robbed me of my new automobile (did their job with the utmost kindness and respect). Clearly I used to be unhappy to see the CLE450 Cabrio go away my storage.
The most affordable CLE300 Cabriolet begins at $64,350 and is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 with 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, the identical powertrain I drove within the coupe a pair months in the past. Step as much as the CLE450 Cabriolet for $73,850 and also you get a wonderful turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that makes 375 hp and 369 lb-ft. Each powertrains handle to get the identical gasoline mileage at 23 metropolis, 32 freeway, and 26 mixed, and all CLEs come customary with all-wheel-drive. For those who can, go for the CLE450. That straight-six is without doubt one of the most interesting engines available on the market, and it takes this practically 4,500-pound automobile from 0 to 60 mph in a scant 4.2 seconds.
As with the remainder of the CLE lineup, the CLE450 Cabriolet comes customary with an uncharacteristically beneficiant checklist of kit. All CLE Cabriolets come customary with a Burmester encompass sound stereo, heated entrance seats with reminiscence, Mercedes’ AirScarf neck heaters, automated parking, blind-spot monitoring, automated emergency braking, a wi-fi charger, 64-color ambient lighting and extra. My check automobile totaled $84,270 with much-appreciated options like 20-inch wheels, ventilated entrance seats, the motive force’s help bundle and a head up show.
The CLE Cabriolet replaces each the C- and E-Class convertibles within the Mercedes-Benz lineup. Although it has a barely shorter wheelbase than the E-Class cabrio, it’s barely longer than each outgoing automobiles. Which means the CLE Cabriolet is the most important car in its class, and it has two probably usable rear seats so long as entrance seat occupants scoot up and/or rear seat passengers are shorter. The trunk area is compromised by the folding roof and small trunk aperture, however there’s sufficient area and adaptability with the usual break up folding rear seatbacks to hold what you want. Is it sufficient for a household of 4 to tackle a weekend highway journey? In all probability not, however three will do exactly nice with some balancing of cargo area and seating capability. The entrance seats take pleasure in heaps of area in just about each dimension from legroom to headroom to shoulder room to manspreading room, the CLE is critically spacious up entrance.
Driving the CLE450 Cabriolet is a luxurious expertise. The turbocharged mild-hybrid I-6 and 9-speed transmission are impossibly easy, sound impeccably refined, and all the time have ample energy. The CLE450’s customary adaptive sport suspension is managed, composed and comfy. The convertible prime is easy to make use of, conveniently operates at speeds as much as 37 mph and does a comparatively good job of insulating the cabin from noise when it’s closed. The platform is impossibly stiff, which is a feat of engineering in a long-wheelbase ragtop just like the CLE. Most convertibles jiggle and wiggle over bumps, however regardless of my finest efforts to elicit chassis flex, I by no means observed any. The heads-up show that’s projected onto the windshield by no means gave away any delicate jiggles both. The shortage of chassis flex is a large flex on the a part of Mercedes’ engineers.
Mercedes-Benz’s driver help methods are a number of the finest within the business; they’re simple to make use of, not often wrestle to observe the highway and speed up and brake comparatively naturally until you’re developing shortly on slowed or stopped visitors. The usual Burmester stereo brings songs to life in an admirable manner when the highest is up, and someway manages to lose little or no of that readability when the roof is down and the soundwaves are left to flee into the ether. You’ll love blasting your favourite songs with the highest down; I certain did.
This automobile feels prefer it was made for one objective, and that objective is the often-misunderstood artwork of grand touring. Grand tourers are made for cruising lengthy distances at excessive speeds in blissful consolation, and the CLE450 Cabriolet achieves that mission with the precision of SEAL Crew Six. It’s perpetually succesful on winding roads, by no means feeling clumsy or out of its component, and the 450’s powertrain has the kind of swelling refined energy that you just don’t understand has pinned you to your seat till you see the numbers within the HUD approaching triple digits. On the pothole and velocity bump-riddled roads of Los Angeles, the CLE by no means feels unrefined or unsettled, and it by no means feels too large, or too small across the swaths of Cybertrucks that litter the streets of LA.
Although I by no means rode within the CLE’s again seat with the highest down, I had some associates who did and so they bought blown round rather a lot at freeway speeds, however floor streets spared their hair from any unintentional restyling. All CLE Cabriolets come customary with Mercedes’ AirCap, which pops up from the highest of the windshield and pairs with a deployable wind deflector behind the rear seat headrests to reduce turbulence for passengers. I didn’t discover an enormous distinction with the wind deflectors deployed, however that speaks extra to the Cabriolet’s aerodynamics which can be designed to direct airflow away from the occupants. AirCap creates a good quantity of wind noise when it’s deployed, which may turn out to be grating over lengthy intervals of time. General although, being contained in the CLE Cabriolet with the highest down is a fascinating expertise.
For those who can afford it, I implore you to check out the Mercedes CLE450 Cabriolet. For those who’re undecided if you happen to’re extra on the aspect of being cabrio-curious and you’ve got $85,000 burning a gap in your checking account, this could be the convertible that wins you over. I do know it received me over.
