Ant 550

Has anyone seen a comparison between thses two cars. My friend wants one I'm pushing the 550i?

0700700

im biased... with the amg kit and alloys the CLS looks better than any other sedan... depends on what he wants, according to mags the cls offers 90% of the driver involvement of the e60, and yet can be far more comfortable (airmatic dc) and refined...

the 388bhp litre engine is far better in terms of economy, and is simply a mightier powerplant (i have not driven the 550i, but have tested the 545i and in comparison to that the cls550 just flies)... on top of everything else the 7g-tronic is extremely capable, and you can get the steering wheel shifters to completment the performance (they reduce your 0-60 time by 0.3s!!!!)

Freewilly

Both are great cars, can't go wrong with either decision. It's simple..

Comfort = CLS
Great Handling = 550

my530i

CLS => 4 doors and only 4 seats :thumbsdown: What a stupid marketing that I've ever seen.
Would you buy a 3-bedroom house and knock down one bed room to convert your house to 2-large bedroom house? Is it a good move? Donald Trump would told MBZ Marketing guy a stupid and get fired from Apprentice.
A two-door coupe with 4 seats is OK, but 4-door coupe/sedan with 4 seats is a really bad idea.
This is the main reason makes me a stranger to CLS. I like most of its part except sideway up/down manual shifting, low LCD screen, and 2 seats in the back. Other than that CLS is really worth consideration as my next car. For now, it's not even in my mind.

jay_menon

Lets compare apple to apple. CLS is in fact competing to the likes of 6 series than E 60.Even though it is a 4 door saloon,CLS still retains the looks and feel of a sports coupe and considered as one in most respects.In a nutshell its a 4 door coupe. E60, in its segment takes on MB E class and is a clear winner there. CLS on the other hand looses in comparison with 6 series.
cheers,
jay

Ralph-NL

700700 what did you think of the 7g-tronic? I read in some magazines that it was a bit nervous, it kept shifting.

0700700

nope they have pretty much sorted it out, besides one thing which is slightly stupid. If you are in manual mode,
you cant select 7th gear, you have to be in Drive for it to go into 7th. I predominantly drive in manual mode, and
it was very similar in concept to the bmw SMG and sports autoboxes, meaning that it would not upshift until you do.

In standard drive, the main concern of the transmission is fuel economy so it does tend to get you into 6th gear at little
over 50mph, apart from that its quite responsive and will
1) use the torque to accelerate and keep in gear if you apply slight pressure
2) downshift 1-2 gears if you use moderate pressure
3) downshift from 7th to 2nd if you floor it

Locksmythe

If your friend is tall, or has elbows, the 550i will be more comfortable.

550isport

I'm 6'6" and the CLS is not even a coupe when I adjust the seat, 4 doors or not. The Merc has a very very low roofline which = limited headroom. Also, its significantly more expensive. But it looks great and is probably more comfortable than a 5.

Good luck

Ricracing

The CLS looks great, but it's expensive for nothing.

At least over here the CLS's have had a lot of electronic problems. :thumbsdown:

Not to mention the rusting problems with CLS and E-series.
New models must be better!