mr_djurgarden

I have tested the cls 500 but not the 550. The cls is not quieter than the 5-serie as ipse dixit thinks. In the cls 500 you get very much of this american V8 car feeling. The engine just sounds magnificent is the MB!! Before buying my 530 it really thought about the cls 350 but I picked the BMW becuase of the handlig. You also get a lot more horsepower per dollar than in the MB. Good luck!

eugeneloke

hahaha
i will try to give you an objective assessment - not easy having just bought my wife an E60 as well

I drove the CLS350 here in Singapore - felt it drives better than the E-class from which it was largely derived. This is probably due to the fact that it sits lower. Also the 7G tronic is a masterpiece - no tranny slams like in the E60 - and kickdowns are fast - the salesman said it kicks down by 2 gears not one.

The headroom is an issue - the lack of it that is - even getting out of the driver's seat is not as easy as it should be.

but IMHO this is one of the best engineered mercs in a long while & one of the sexiest too.

AMG Killer

I am in the same position as you are i drove both the CLS500 and the 550i. Both in white. The CLS500 looks so much better than the 550i but when it comes to driving dynamics bmw takes benz. the 550 is faster and more of an car you would have fun driving, on the other hand the CLS500 is an excellent car too with good handling so its a very though one also you will turn more heads with CLS than you would with a 550 because the 550i is played out where I live you can't really tell the difference between the 525,530,550i other than horspower and rims. If you want you can wait for the CLS550 which is going to come out later this year. Its going to have 382hp 22 more than the 550i and some new features.

silver bullet

I drove the CLS500 when I was looking for a car. I was not impressed. I love the way the car looks, and the interior is very luxurious. I was looking for something with a bit more soul to it. I felt the handling was too soft, and the engine really a bit under powered. To me this was a car a 50 year old man who wanted to feel hip would enjoy. It is not a harsh ride, and would feel pretty sporty wrapped in a nice pacakge. The 550 has the soul of a drivers car to me anyway. I don't care so much about interior, and those sorts of things which is why I ultimately ended up with a 911. That and it was probably one of my last shots to have a coupe before the wife and I have children. At that point I will be back in the 550.