Styling
A long and elegant car as the
Coupe, the main job the designers had to do when lopping the roof off for this CLE Cabriolet was to make the integration of a folding lid appear neat. So bravo to the team in Stuttgart, because the CLE Cab looks wonderful with its hood up or down. Top dropped, there's a flat-shouldered, clean proportionality to the CLE 450 that's incredibly pleasing on the eye, and when the cabin is sheltered from the elements then a lovely, flowing line is formed by the steeply raked windscreen, the taut shape of the fabric roof itself and then that distinctive sloped rear of the Mercedes. Raising and lowering said roof, incidentally, takes 20 seconds and is fully automatic, with the car capable of performing the task even when it is moving at speeds of up to 37mph, while a pair of wind deflectors - one in the header rail and the other behind the rear seats - pop up at the press of a button to protect occupants of the car from air-buffeting at speed. And typical CLE features, like the full-width rear lights, double-straked bonnet and tidy front-end styling, all add up to a gorgeous big convertible.
Interior
There's no doubting the sheer quality of the CLE's interior, with highlights including the 12.3-inch tablet for the cluster and that attractive 11.9-inch MBUX infotainment portrait display in the centre stack, which can be tilted between 15 and 40 degrees to prevent glare in sunny weather. All the fixtures and fittings are first-rate, and there's a feeling everything has been screwed together to the highest possible standards, which hasn't always been true about Merc interiors in the 21st century.
There are some idiosyncrasies, though, as there are with any Mercedes, mainly to do with the company's insistence on a column-shift for the nine-speed gearbox. This means that the other column stalk must handle all the duties of wipers, indicators and main beam, which in turn requires a degree of familiarisation with it before you'll operate it perfectly every time (you sometimes end up flashing your lights at other drivers when all you want to do is wash the windscreen), and then there are those haptic touchpad buttons on the steering wheel. There are a lot of them, arrayed on the double spokes running horizontally from the central boss, and while they're cleverly arrayed so the left-hand square master-pad controls the infotainment and the right-hand one does the cluster, you can still inadvertently brush a 'button' with your hand while turning the wheel and end up adjusting the volume or setting cruise control or what have you.
But, in general, once you've got used to the layout of the Mercedes' cabin, then everything works nicely and looks thoroughly high-class too. We especially like the optional wood trim which has vertical aluminium lines on it, which is clearly designed to look like the decking of an expensive yacht; an apt association for a cultured vehicle like the CLE.
Practicality
The CLE Coupe has quite roomy rear seats for what it is, but the Cabriolet seems to go the opposite way to another upmarket convertible we've sampled recently, the
Maserati GranCabrio. Whereas the Italian car places the emphasis on making its rear-seat occupants comfortable at the expense of any meaningful boot space, the CLE flips things. At the back of the Mercedes is an admirably capacious cargo area, rated at 385 litres at its maximum and that's a number only 35 litres less than the Coupe. Even with the hood down, a separator keeps enough room underneath it in its stowed position that four carry-on suitcases could be put in the boot - two lying down side-by-side under the roof, and another two standing up near the very back of the car.
However, to accommodate that roof, the rear seats of the CLE Cabriolet have been moved forward and inboard of where they would be in the Coupe, while they also have more upright backrests with less padding on them. The result is that getting into and out of the back of the Mercedes, even with its roof down, is a much harder job than it is in the tin-topped version, and once you're there then you won't want to be sitting in the back of the Cabriolet for long. Which means this 450 is emphatically a 2+2, and not a
bona fide four-seater.
Performance
The CLE Cabriolet comes with an array of turbocharged four-cylinder engines, both petrol and diesel, badged 200, 220 d and 300, and a full-on Mercedes-AMG variant has been confirmed that will counterpart the
449hp Coupe we tested recently.
Which leaves this 450 as the only straight-six model in the CLE family which isn't an out-and-out performance version. It's augmented by Mercedes' EQ Boost 48-volt mild-hybrid system, which doles out 22hp and up to 205Nm to assist the engine when required, but with peak outputs quoted at 381hp and 500Nm, and equipped with 4Matic all-wheel drive as well, the CLE 450 Cabriolet is properly quick. Its 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds is only half-a-second off that aforementioned AMG CLE 53 Coupe, which is impressive considering it's giving away 80kg, 68hp and up to 100Nm on the sporty model.
And it feels every bit as rapid in practice as those on-paper figures would suggest. Even better, the CLE 450 doesn't go for any sound augmentation of its motor, so although it remains discreet when you're revving it out, there's a fabulous background six-cylinder roar to the Mercedes as it picks up speed. And with the ultra-slick-shifting 9G-Tronic apportioning out the power smoothly, there's never any sense of lag or delay between asking the CLE's engine for more speed via the throttle and the car then delivering it to the wheels.
Also, while it doesn't feel much slower than the AMG 53 on the roads, it's better on fuel. Officially it'll attain mid-30s economy if you're careful with it, but even during our test route the CLE 450 managed to achieve a commendable 27.7mpg, which might not look a lot until you remember this is a two-tonne petrol-powered convertible with the best part of 400hp and a sub-five-second 0-62mph time. On a steady motorway cruise with the car sitting in ninth at low revs, we've no doubt it would be approaching almost 40mpg, which is quite remarkable for a vehicle like this.
Ride & Handling
Having tried the CLE in a variety of formats and body styles now, it's clear that this Mercedes tilts more towards its E-Class heritage than its C-Class ancestry. In that it prefers a gentler pace than trying to seek out the ultimate in dynamic thrills. To that end, this 450 drivetrain in the Cabriolet body feels like the absolute perfect match for the car's overall character.
The good work starts with the steering. It's understandably slower in response and lighter in weight than the set-up in the AMG 53 Coupe, but that leads to more organic and natural-feeling responses from the nose of a car that's as big and heavy and this. Unlike the hyperactive way the four-wheel-steer AMG darts wildly for the apex, the first time you load the 450 Cab up into a corner, it responds exactly as you would expect a grand tourer like this to. But don't think the steering is woolly or inaccurate, because placing the soft-top CLE on the road is second nature almost from the first instant.
Then there's the ride. It's softer and plusher than the AMG, without losing all control of its body in the corners - that allusion to yachts brought about by the interior trim is not replicated with wallowy handling and, accordingly, an associated lack of confidence in what the CLE can do in the corners. Yet the way it almost comprehensively soaks up lumps and bumps in the road speaks volumes about its primary focus: this thing is dedicated to ride comfort and rolling refinement above all else. Brilliantly, it aces its brief in this regard, as we can't remember many cars we've driven that have a better quality of ride on rucked-up British roads than this 450 Cabriolet. So while it might not be the sharpest tool in the box, the CLE is magnificent to drive nonetheless.
Value
With a range that starts near £50,000, if you want the big-six power and prestige of this CLE 450 then you're looking at more like £75,000. Its nearest and most obvious rival is the 374hp
BMW M440i xDrive Convertible, which kicks off at a lesser £67,400, but which doesn't feel as luxurious inside or as comfortable to travel in. The only other real alternative is the
Ford Mustang Convertible, which is £61,225 with the company's ten-speed auto. We love the S650 Mustang and there's a lot to be said for driving around in a soft-top with a rumbling V8 up front, especially one with 446hp, but the Mustang Convertible has a far more flexible body and rougher low-speed ride than the Merc, which doesn't do the Ford any favours in terms of a comparison on refinement.
Verdict
On the day we drove this Mercedes CLE 450 Cabriolet, we also got our first-ever go in a 124-series Benz: a glorious heritage 300 CE-24, on loan from the Stuttgart Classic museum. We don't mention this as a humblebrag, you understand (well, it is... a bit), but rather to say that the 300 CE was an over-engineered masterpiece from an era when Mercedes-Benz was a cut above Audi and BMW, rather than embroiled in a battle with its compatriots.
And about the highest praise we can pay to the CLE 450 is that, if you took all the badging off both cars, you'd know without a shadow of a doubt that the 2024 Benz and that beautiful 1991 legend were related. We don't just mean that they're both four-seater, two-door convertibles with a three-pointed star on the bonnet, mind; no, we mean that there's a clear familial link between them, these being a pair of talented soft-tops that place the emphasis on epic build quality and a feelgood factor when driving above all else. And as you can no longer buy an A124 new (or even a decent example for a reasonable price second-hand, apparently), then the CLE 450 serves as the perfect foil for those wanting the supreme Mercedes convertible experience. It's a truly belting bit of kit.
