2023 Mercedes-Benz CLS

“Four-door coupes” are a concept that dates back to the 1930s, but it was the Mercedes-Benz CLS that set the modern template for such cars in 2004. The brand’s extensive catalog contains a few examples of this opinion-splitting phenomenon, including the CLA, but its German rivals also jumped on the bandwagon with cars ranging from Audi’s A5 Sportback to Volkswagen’s Arteon. Most trade family sedan utility for coupe-like style, and few more so than the CLS. As in previous years, this car’s style game is strong and so is its performance, but it’s neither spacious nor practical.

The third-generation CLS debuted for the 2019 model year, and in 2022 the car got a handful of updates, including refreshed styling. A new optional paint color is the only change for 2023, and the CLS comes in a single trim level for the model year. The Mercedes-AMG CLS53 was last sold in 2021 and the automaker hasn’t advertised plans to replace it. The good news is that the last one left, the all-wheel drive (AWD) CLS450 4Matic, brings plenty of standard features though Mercedes charges extra for most safety equipment. 

The CLS-Class competes against other class-bending midsize four-doors, including the Audi A7, BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe, and Porsche Panamera. Buyers may also consider the Volvo S90 or the Genesis G80, both far less expensive if not as sporty. Broadly, the CLS offers comparable performance to its rivals, but its interior is nicer than the BMW’s. The Panamera has a more generous back seat and trunk, but the Audi and BMW both suffer from the same tight quarters as the CLS. Genesis tops them all on features, and Volvo on passenger space.

Enthusiasts may moan about the lack of an available AMG performance model, but most people will have no complaints about the CLS’ performance. It comes with a turbocharged 3.0-liter mild-hybrid-assisted inline-six that produces 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. A nine-speed automatic transmission and AWD come standard. Mercedes quotes the 0-60 mph time at 4.8 seconds, and the car offers competent handling with good ride quality. It doesn’t hurt that the mechanical pieces are largely drawn from the excellent E-Class.

Mercedes hyperactive design department didn’t stop with the CLS’ exterior. The cabin has a busy look with a wide range of materials and shapes, including leather, aluminum, wood, Alcantara, and plastic. That said, the almost-overdone look works in the CLS, and the car is a legitimately nice place to spend time. Mercedes offers an air purification system and a fragrancer, and the seats feature eye-catching stitching patterns. The front seats are supportive and soft, but the back seats fall short on head- and legroom for adults. The trunk measures just 11.9 cubic-feet.

The CLS comes standard with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen running Mercedes’ latest MBUX infotainment system. Passengers can interact with the screen using touch, voice, gesture, and the center console control pad. The interface is mostly intuitive and requires only a short learning period to work out the details. Buyers can upgrade with a Burmester sound system, wireless charging, an acoustic comfort package and more. Sadly, the best active safety features cost extra. Few other midsize sedans are quite this stylish, but there are better deals to be had.

Performance: 11/15

Despite its slinky looks and optional AMG-Line appearance package ($970), the CLS450 4Matic isn’t considered a performance model. Its sub-five-second 0-60 mph time and standard AWD give it plenty of performance street cred, however, as does the silky straight six. The 48-volt mild-hybrid system gives the car great energy off the line and makes it feel very responsive when passing. 

While it’s true the car is tuned for comfort over hair-raising performance, the CLS delivers good handling and comfortable ride quality in most situations.

It’s clear Mercedes massaged the CLS’ driving and handling dynamics to create the most comfortable car it could, which gives it a softer feel than many “four-door coupe” competitors. Its driving personality is closer to the Volvo S90 and V6 Genesis G80 than the Audi A7, even if that model delivers very similar performance numbers in base-grade form. The A7 just feels sharper.

Of this group, the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe and Porsche Panamera are the performance leaders, though both cost quite a bit more than the CLS. The Panamera’s many powertrains and driving modes can change its attitude from mild to wild on demand, while BMW even offers a factory tuner-car Alpina version of the 8 Series.

Fuel Economy: 11/15 

The 2023 CLS returns 22 mpg in the city, 30 mpg on the highway and 25 mpg combined. Those numbers are slightly better than the Audi A7, which returns 21 mpg in the city, 30 mpg on the highway and 24 mpg combined. The Porsche Panamera is available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that delivers up to 52 MPGe combined, but the most efficient gas-only configuration returns 20 mpg combined. Genesis’ V6 doesn’t do much better, although the four-cylinder G80 can return up to 26 mpg combined.

Though the CLS comes with a mild-hybrid system, this sort of system doesn’t offer the same fuel economy benefit of a full hybrid. Vehicles equipped with the systems get an acceleration boost and can coast for periods without the engine, but they can’t run on electric power alone. The Lexus ES is the only comparable full-on hybrid, but it’s much less exciting, both to drive and to behold.

Safety & Driver Assistance Tech: 10/15

Neither the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have evaluated the Mercedes-Benz CLS, but since its structure is the same as the E-Class, it offers similar levels of crash protection. The European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) also gives the CLS the same five-star rating as the E-Class, which helps boost the car’s score in our evaluations. The Audi A7, Genesis G80 and Volvo S90 earned Top Safety Pick+ designations for 2023 from IIHS.

While Mercedes-Benz offers truly world-class active safety systems on the CLS, very few of them are standard. Forward automatic emergency braking and forward collision warnings are baked in, but the rest of the good gear is part of a $1,950 Driver Assistance package. Tick this box and you get adaptive cruise control with lane centering, evasive steering, active brake assist with cross-traffic function, emergency stop assist, blind spot assist, lane change assist, route-based speed adaptation and more. If these were standard, we’d rate the CLS far more highly.

Comfort & Room: 9/15

The Mercedes-Benz CLS offers spacious, comfortable, and supportive front seats, but its back seat leaves much to be desired. There’s just 35.9 inches of rear headroom and 35 inches of rear legroom, which effectively makes this the tightest back seat in any midsize four-door car. All of the CLS’ direct competitors have an inch or more additional space in both dimensions, and to be honest they just feel more open because of the CLS’s sexy, sloping roofline.

Those stats simply aren’t acceptable for such a large car, making it difficult to recommend the CLS to family buyers. Single buyers and those not needing to haul kids on every trip will find the car perfectly comfortable, and there’s decent visibility from the front seat, but for a family the E-Class or the Audi A6 Allroad might be better, that latter option packing a different kind of style appeal.

The Audi A7 and BMW 8 Series suffer from the same issues even if both are larger inside, and both offer the ultimate grand touring experience—for two people. The Volvo S90 bests all the others in this category, as its traditional sedan shape and long-wheelbase layout afford full-size room at a midsize price. The G80 comes close, but can’t match the Volvo’s cavernous back seat.

Infotainment: 13/15

Mercedes’ MBUX infotainment software is mostly intuitive to learn and does not require a ton of brain power to use while driving. It looks great on the 12.9-inch infotainment display and 12.3-inch configurable digital gauge cluster. The driver has great visibility and reach to all display and touch controls and can interact with the system using voice, touch, gestures, or the center console-mounted touchpad. 

MBUX is easier to use than the system in the BMW, but the Volvo picked up Google software for the model year, making it one of the more feature-rich and intuitive systems around. The Audi A7 features a dual-screen infotainment system that brings haptic feedback and large, easy-to-see icons. If you don’t like MBUX, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard. Mercedes-Benz makes wireless charging, a head-up display and a Wi-Fi hotspot optional.

Cargo Space & Storage: 8/15

That slinky, sloping roof and truncated tail look great, but they come at the expense of usable cargo space in the CLS. With just 11.9 cubic-feet of trunk space and a rather narrow load opening, it’s among the least utilitarian midsize cars and not so different from the Cadillac CT5 in this department. Almost all the other midsize luxury sedans offer bigger trunks, and the Audi A7’s hatchback provides a huge amount of flexibility. 

Interior storage options aren’t much more generous, but there is a decent center console and the glove box is at least the same size as that of the E-Class.

Style & Design: 9/10

As in earlier generations of this car, the CLS is an eye-catching machine from every angle, inside and out. The long, low and wide proportions look much like a scaled-down AMG GT and the big wheels and optional AMG-Line bits only make it look cooler. The clean, unadorned looks have aged well and will probably continue to do so, as they bear quite a resemblance to the German automaker’s more recent EQE and EQS sedans.

Inside, Mercedes did a fantastic job integrating tech and comfort features without making them stand out or look awkward. The interior lines flow seamlessly from the dash to the doors, and the seats are shaped with similar sweeping lines. Rear visibility isn’t the best, but the CLS offers good outward views to the front and both sides. 

Even in one of the more stylish luxury car classes, the CLS stands out. The Audi A7 is similarly rakish, but has a less lavish interior. BMW’s 8 Series is certianly distinctive, but observers tend to love or hate its looks with little middle ground, and it too has a plainer interior than the Merc.

Is the 2023 CLS-Class Worth it? Which CLS is the Best Value? 

There’s only one way to get a CLS, and that’s the $77,650 CLS450 4Matic (price including destination). It’s decently well-equipped and brings stout performance, but there’s not enough substance to go with the style. Its tiny trunk and cramped back seat make it challenging to use as a five-seater or on a road trip, and the price is too high for many to buy a separate, more spacious vehicle. Also, adding the driver assist gear and any other options will quickly push the out-the-door price over $80,000.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class offers more trunk space (and an optional station wagon body style with a style all its own), a more usable back seat, and a considerably lower starting price, even for the E450 4Matic sedan ($66,700). Given that Genesis’s priciest G80 costs $72,345 and Audi’s A7 starts at $71,295, it’s hard to say that the CLS is a particularly good value. However, if you love the looks…

How Much Does it Cost to Insure the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class?

The Mercedes-Benz CLS falls neatly between its normal sedan and four-door coupe competition on insurance costs. According to our data, the average 30-year-old female driver with a good record can expect an annual premium of $3,656. That compares to the Genesis G80 V6 at $3,072, the Audi A7 at $3,653 and the BMW 840i Gran Coupe at $4,640. To get a more accurate picture of your potential insurance expenses, see our car insurance calculator.