{"id":76494,"date":"2024-09-04T06:03:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T10:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=76494"},"modified":"2024-09-04T06:03:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T10:03:33","slug":"mercedes-cle-450-cabriolet-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=76494","title":{"rendered":"15 thoughts about the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE 450 Cabriolet – Autoblog"},"content":{"rendered":"

You want to talk about saving the manuals? How about saving the convertibles? They are a dying breed, especially those with a back seat. How about one that\u2019s reasonably affordable? Hope you like a Mustang<\/a> or, for a little while longer, a Mini.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE 450 Cabriolet<\/a> would not be one of those reasonably affordable ones, but it does have a back seat. As you\u2019re about to see, it actually has quite a large back seat. And we\u2019ve already shown that it has a surprisingly big trunk<\/a>, too. This practicality goes a long way toward countering the reason, it could be argued, convertibles have fallen out of favor: They don\u2019t make very good daily drivers, and when fewer Americans have room in their garages or budgets for an extra car, that matters.<\/p>\n

Well, as senior editors James Riswick and John Beltz Snyder discovered, in two different car on opposite sides of the country, the CLE Cabriolet can be a daily driver \u2026 with kids, no less. They had differing opinions about how good<\/em>, however.<\/p>\n

Here are their thoughts, with Riswick leading it off.<\/p>\n

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The leather is sun-reflective<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

My test car had a black interior, which seems a bit nuts for a convertible in Southern California. The tan leather in my own convertible<\/a> can get awfully butt-searing if I park it with the top down, so I can\u2019t imagine what it would be like with black. The CLE has an answer to that, however, as its leather, regardless of color<\/a>, is coated in a sun-reflective material that Mercedes<\/a> says reduces the temperature by 50 degrees. A BMW<\/a> 3 Series was the first convertible I recall having something like this (E93?), so the CLE is certainly not the first. Still appreciated, though, even if I\u2019d personally opt for not black.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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AirCap works \u2026 but is noisy<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

If you count the CLE as a member of the E-Class<\/a> Cabriolet lineage, this is the third generation to have Mercedes\u2019 AirCap system. It consists of the windshield header trim panel that rises up to reveal a mesh netting below (pretty much what you\u2019d see in a sunroof wind deflector) and power pop-up wind deflector behind the back seat. They only operate together; you can\u2019t use one or another. I can confirm that they do in fact deflect the wind and minimize air movement in the cabin. It\u2019s definitely a bigger deal for those with long hair, however. I didn\u2019t realize that<\/em> much of a difference below 60 mph, and if anything, I found AirCap to actually be a detriment at those lower speeds for a different reason: noise. Air<\/a> hitting that mesh in the windshield header is a lot louder than the cabin is at the same speeds when not deployed. It makes me wonder what it would be like if you could<\/em> pop up the deflector behind the back seats but not the windshield header.<\/p>\n

The back seat is genuinely large<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The CLE replaces both the C- and E-Class Cabriolets, but it\u2019s bigger than both of them. You can really tell in the back seat, which I would venture is more spacious than that of any convertible car <\/em>(as in, not a Wrangler<\/a> or Bronco<\/a>). It\u2019s even bigger than what you\u2019d find in a Bentley Continental<\/a> or BMW 8 Series, which cost way more than this.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Note that in the below photo, the driver seat is pushed almost all the way back)<\/p>\n

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Want proof? A giant child seat fit easily<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The CLE is officially the first convertible my son ever got to ride in. The back seat was wide enough to accommodate our giant Britax Boulevard child seat, and although I needed to scoot the front passenger seat up to give him legroom, there was no shortage of legroom remaining up front. Impressive! Oh, and guess what kind of car is unquestionably the easiest to load your kid into? That\u2019s right, a convertible with the roof down. I started lowering it with the key while approaching, which is delightfully showy, but also a great feature. I\u2019d argue it\u2019s a must for a two-row convertible.<\/p>\n

Even better, installing the car seat was surprisingly easy. Reading the manual is an absolute must as it shows you how to pop out the rear head restraint and therefore access the hole needed to pass through the car seat\u2019s rear LATCH anchor strap. Once you know the trick, however, it was significantly easier than installing this same car seat in literally every pickup truck<\/a> I\u2019ve tested. OK, so again, having the roof down makes a big difference, but unless it\u2019s raining \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n

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‘Does this one change color?’<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Whenever I get a new car<\/a>, my son inevitably asks, \u201cdoes this one change color?\u201d What he really means is, \u201cdoes this one have 64-color ambient lighting like a Mercedes?\u201d Obviously, this one does, and it makes my son one happy little guy. Oh, and you can do with voice control.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Mercedes, change ambient lighting to purple.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u201d will often respond with \u201cOK, changing ambient lighting to (insert color)\u201d followed by some pithy comment about your color choice. Pointless but delightful. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Hard hitting take: This is a lovely car<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The CLE looks terrific inside and out, with the top up or the top down. It is impeccably refined to drive, and I can confirm after spending an entire morning tearing through the Santa Monica Mountains, that it can be tremendously rewarding to drive. The inline-six engine is a peach, Jerry, a peach. All told, everything about the CLE Convertible<\/a> feels special. Even though it has only one competitor<\/a>, barely, its excellence is undeniable. This is one I didn\u2019t want to give back.<\/p>\n

OK, take away Mr. Snyder. How\u2019d you fare in Michigan?<\/p>\n

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Thank goodness it\u2019s a convertible, for the sake of that car seat<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

I originally attempted to install my daughter\u2019s forward-facing Britax Frontier<\/a> with the top up, and grew incredibly frustrated and sweaty. There\u2019s a reason I didn\u2019t bother when I had the CLE Coupe. Things get easier with the top down, but James is right that consulting the owner\u2019s manual is necessary. I wouldn\u2019t necessarily call the installation easy<\/em>, though. There were still some curse words hurled (the kids were out of earshot), but after some wrangling, I got it done, and Lola had no complaints about sitting behind me<\/em> \u2013 Riswick didn\u2019t even attempt that in California, the CLE still isn\u2019t big enough for that. I didn\u2019t even have to move my seat forward for her and I\u2019m still 6-feet tall.<\/p>\n

The AirCap benefits the rear occupants<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cThis is up \u2026 and now down. Up. Down.\u201d After repeated testing, my large son confirmed that the system made a difference in the back seat at highway speeds, but didn\u2019t make much of a difference around town. I didn\u2019t feel much of a difference either way in the front seat. But, yeah, it definitely creates significantly more wind noise when deployed. The front mesh also seems to gather junk like leaves and dead bugs. Gross.<\/p>\n

(I can confirm this. Found some bees in there myself. -Riswick)<\/em><\/p>\n

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The doors are heavy as heck<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

These long doors are a bit ungainly. Parked on a slight uphill incline, it\u2019s hard to get them open. It requires a lot of might, and you don\u2019t get a lot of leverage from the front seat. Then they slam shut from the force of gravity.<\/p>\n

Backseat ingress and egress are a challenge<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

My large 9-year-old son spent a lot of time in the back of the CLE, and spent an inordinate amount of time and effort getting in and out of it. The hefty doors are a part of the problem. The leather loop you need to pull from the shoulder of the front seat in order to fold it forward is also a hassle. You have to resist the urge to pull it toward you and instead pull it pretty much straight upward, and it required two hands for my son. It wasn\u2019t just him \u2014\u00a0my wife struggled with it as well, and I couldn\u2019t pull the passenger loop from my spot in the driver\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n

And of course, by the time he\u2019d sat down, he then had to get back up, and reach past the front seat (which he\u2019d have to move forward again if he\u2019d already leaned it back) in order to grab the front armrest to close the door.<\/p>\n

Then that all had to be done in reverse to get out. He\u2019d struggle with the leather loop, contort his body in order to reach the door handle (which seemed a mile away), only to struggle against the weight of the door to get it open, often requiring multiple tries. It was usually quicker for me just to play doorman for him.<\/p>\n

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The stop-start system is a little uncouth<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

I normally don\u2019t mind it, but with my motion-sickness-prone wife as a passenger, I had to disable stop-start to prevent herky-jerky driving. When a light would turn green, or a gap opened up for me to make a turn, I\u2019d often reach the gas pedal before the engine had reignited. The result was a sharp jolt from a stop rather than the smooth rollout I\u2019d intended. Easy enough: Just press the button under the ignition to turn it off, but by that time, I\u2019d already set her stomach a-churnin\u2019. This is particularly surprising as one of the benefits of the inline-six\u2019s mild-hybrid system is to smooth out auto stop\/starts.<\/p>\n

But, damn, the driving is smooth<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The CLE Cabriolet, just like the Coupe I drove a few months back, feels luxurious, refined and sporty going down the road. The turbocharged, mild-hybrid powertrain gives you buttery and ample acceleration at any speed, all up and down the rev range. Gear swaps are swift and seamless. The chassis glides over the pavement. The CLE exudes the exact sort of attitude and behavior one looks for in a Mercedes.<\/p>\n

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The Eco gauge is fun<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Flicking through the content you can display in front of you in the instrument panel, I came across this Eco display. It\u2019s a sort of driving coach to help you drive as economically as possible. It\u2019s an image of a ball. When you accelerate, it rolls toward you, as if acted upon by the g forces. Accelerate too hard, and it turns red. Same goes for braking<\/a>: Do it smoothly, and the ball remains toward the center, but brake too hard, and it rolls away from you and turns red. If you drive smoothly enough without sending the ball rolling too much, you earn stars.\u201cOhhhhh,\u201d my son said from the back seat. \u201cIt\u2019s a game!\u201d That it is, bud, and a fun one at that.<\/p>\n

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You can fit a fair amount of cargo with the top down<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

It just has to fit in around the trunk separator. This took a little bit to figure out, and it started with pushing a mysterious button on the inside of the trunk lid. That flipped a little piece of plastic up and down. It has to be down for you to put the roof down, and if something is in the way, the separator will just bounce back up. I was able to pack a fair about of cargo \u2014 a big pool bag full of toys and towels, a sizable cooler bag and a full backpack \u2014 rearward of that separator for a run to the pool. Everyone was happy.<\/p>\n

This was the family choice<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Every time we left the house, my son asked, \u201cCan we take the Mercedes?\u201d He chose that over our much roomier Hyundai Palisade<\/a>, the easier-to-get-in VW Jetta GLI<\/a> and my questionably reliable 1974 Beetle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My 3-year-old daughter would ask, \u201cWhich car are we taking?\u201d Me replying, \u201cThe gray one\u201d would elicit smiles and a little happy dance.<\/p>\n

My wife asked, \u201cWhen can we get one of these?\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite some of the inconveniences of a smaller vehicle with two doors and a fussy getting-in-the-rear-seat experience, the CLE was what everyone wanted to ride in, and I was happy to oblige.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You want to talk about saving the manuals? How about saving the convertibles? They are a dying breed, especially those with a back seat. How about one that\u2019s reasonably affordable? Hope you like a Mustang or, for a little while longer, a Mini. The 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE 450 Cabriolet would not be one of those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/76495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}