2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

A four-door coupe excelling in both performance and efficiency is a contradiction. Yet, the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class car lives to break the rules. Instead, the luxurious sporty sedan's engineers have found ways around scientific laws that allow these polar opposites to connect. Out of the lab comes the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, the car with the comfort of a sedan in the body of a sporty coupe and a racecar-like experience.

 

"Not only has Mercedes-Benz luxury performance car division increased the fuel economy an astounding 32% over the previous version of this svelte, 7-year-old model. But the carmarker has also increased its horsepower and torque 2% and 11% respectively, making the heart-pounding performance of this four-door coupe all the more breathtaking," writes Chicago Tribune's Susan Carpenter in the review of the CLS63 AMG®. See the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class car that defies science at Park Place Motorcars in Dallas, Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth or Park Place Motorcars Grapevine.

 

402 hp and 4.6-liter V8 turns the Mercedes-Benz CLS550 into a sophisticated athlete. The twin turbochargers spin up to 150,000 rpm to boost low-end torque up to 45 percent. This plus the smaller displacement and direct injection increase fuel efficiency by 10 to 15 percent. When moving at a faster pace, the semi-active Airmatic suspension lets the Mercedes-Benz CLS550 cuddle up with the road. This shaves drag while adding stability.

 

The Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG® produces racecar-ish power and performance with its 518 hp and 516-lb-ft of torque. Seven speeds of a multiclutch transmission engaging in as little as a tenth of a second. This lets the four-door reach 60 in 4.4 seconds. Whether it's the CLS550 or CLS63 AMG®, the CLS-Class car feels velvety and relaxed on the road — and it provides the same for its passengers.

 

The dazzling new headlight design will have the daytime driver looking forward to nighttime driving just to experience the radiant lighting. Open the frameless glass door to greet contoured and tailored-made seats. As passengers discover a place of their own in the CLS-Class, their hearts will sizzle from the encircling leather trim and hand-finished wood.

 

Carpenter also captures the new Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class car perfectly in one sentence. "What's so wonderful about this car is that the effects of its brute power are so refined," Carpenter writes.

 

No scientist could reproduce what Mercedes-Benz pulled off — finding the secret formula of producing a luxury sports sedan with a perfect balance of efficiency and power. To see the results of this scientific experiment, visit Park Place Motorcars in Dallas, Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth or Park Place Motorcars Grapevine serving Dallas, Fort Worth and the mid-cities. You can also take a virtual tour of the CLS-Class car on the Mercedes-Benz 2012 CLS-Class iPad app available through the Apple iTunes app store.

Leather upholstery: Supple, richly grained double-stitched leather is hand-fitted to all seating surfaces, even the head restraints and seatback map pockets, as well as the door trim inserts and the full-length center console.

 

Individual seating for four with full-length console: A signature of every Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class coupe is its impeccably finished 4-passenger cabin. The CLS550 differs only in that it welcomes its occupants through their own separate doors. Once inside, they'll each enjoy a seat that's individually tailored for their sole accommodation and situated in its own comfort zone alongside the full-length central console.

 

14-way power front seats with 3-position memory: Intuitive, seat-shaped controls help you and your front passenger find your ideal seating positions with 14-way power adjustment, including 4-way power lumbar support. A memory system for each front seat recalls three stored seat positions with the touch of a button. The driver-seat memory also includes the power steering column and side mirror positions.

 

Multi-color ambient lighting: A network of efficient LEDs and fiber optics casts a gentle glow from beneath the trim on the dashboard and door panels, both to welcome occupants into the cabin and to help make nighttime driving feel more secure. For an added touch of personality, any of three illumination color profiles (Polar, Solar and Neutral) can be selected.

 

Power tilt/sliding sunroof: At the touch of a button, the tinted glass sunroof tilts up at the rear for ventilation, or slides open for a breezy view of the sky. An express feature in the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class fully opens or closes the roof with a single touch, and a manual sliding sunshade helps block out unwanted sunlight.

 

3-spoke multifunction steering wheel: For maximum driving pleasure, the steering wheel features a grippy Premium leather-wrapped rim with raised thumbgrips at the ideal "10 and 2 o'clock" positions. For fingertip access to some of the vehicle functions you use most often, convenient buttons on the steering wheel let you control the audio volume and selection, send and end calls on your compatible phone, and scroll through the features of the multifunction display in the instrument cluster.

 

High-gloss wood trim (Burl Walnut or Black Ash): Hand-polished wood trim, in your choice of warm Burl Walnut or dramatic Black Ash, graces the console, dash and doors, lending the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class car's cockpit a further air of refinement.

 

Hard-drive navigation with Zagat Survey: Using GPS technology and a 40GB hard drive to store maps, points of interest, and Zagat Survey ratings for restaurants, hotels and golf courses, this virtual copilot provides detailed driving directions with remarkable speed and a friendly voice. The COMAND® system's large color-LCD screen also displays gas stations, ATMs and Mercedes-Benz dealerships along your route within the contiguous U.S., Canada and Oahu, Hawaii, with periodic updates available at your authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer.

Bi-Xenon headlamps: Bi-Xenon headlamps help deliver greater visibility than halogen headlamps because their brighter, whiter light is much closer to natural daylight than traditional halogen bulbs.

 

LED Daytime Running Lamps and taillamps: Bright white LED Daytime Running Lamps help increase the visibility of your vehicle to oncoming traffic by illuminating whenever the car is switched on. LED technology also illuminates the brake lamps more quickly, offering drivers behind you more time to react, which could make a critical difference in a panic stop. With long life and low energy consumption, LED lamps also add a distinctive high-tech styling touch.

 

18-inch 5-spoke wheels: The standard 18-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels offer a confident stance and luminous silver finish. Staggered in width, the rear wheels and all-season tires are wider than the fronts, for greater acceleration grip without sacrificing crisp steering feedback.

 

Sport body styling: Aggressively styled lower bodywork includes a deep front air dam with mesh intakes, along with sculpted side sills and rear valance.

 

Metallic paint: A spectrum of metallic color choices (as well as non-metallic Black) lets your Mercedes Benz CLS-Class car express your personality. For an additional charge, your paintwork choices for 2012 include sparkling Diamond White.

12-way air bag protection: An advanced system of 10 air bags offers 12-way occupant protection. Dual two-stage front air bags, front side-impact air bags, front pelvic air bags, dual front knee air bags, and window curtain air bags for both seating rows are standard in the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class.

 

Auto-dimming rearview and driver-side mirrors: As sensors on the inside mirror detect the headlamp beams of vehicles behind you, both the inside and driver-side mirrors gradually darken to reduce reflected glare. To help maintain your rear vision, dimming is automatically cancelled when you shift to Reverse or if an interior light is switched on.

 

NECK PRO® front head restraints: In the case of a rear impact exceeding a preset threshold, NECK PRO® front head restraints move forward and slightly upward, reducing the distance between the head restraints and the heads of front-seat occupants. This action helps to reduce the possibility or severity of whiplash-type neck injuries.

 

Integrated restraint system: The 10 standard air bags in the Mercedes-Benz CLS550 are part of an integrated system designed to work in concert for your protection. Arguably our most important passive safety feature, all four 3-point seat belts are equipped with Emergency Tensioning Devices (ETDs) and belt force limiters. If a collision exceeds a preset threshold, ETDs instantly remove slack from the seat belts. Belt force limiters allow a slight amount of give in the seat belts, to reduce the peak seat-belt forces on the occupant.

 

Body structure: High-strength/low-alloy (HSLA) steel provides greater resistance to bending and flexing than conventional steel of similar weight. HSLA and ultra-high-strength steel are used in critical areas of the body structure, such as the roof pillars, floor and roof crossmembers, door beams and various reinforcements throughout the body.

 

Adaptive Damping System (ADS): Incorporated into our innovative AIRMATIC® air suspension, ADS continually optimizes ride and handling by automatically selecting one of four damping profiles for each spring-strut every time a wheel changes its direction of up-down travel. Driver-selectable Comfort and Sport modes allow you tailor handling response and ride firmness to your present driving style.

 

Advanced Tire Pressure Monitoring System: The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) can automatically detect a substantial loss of tire pressure in any wheel of the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class and alert the driver via a warning message in the multifunction display. The advanced TPMS can also display the numeric tire pressure for each mounted wheel.

 

Antilock Braking System (ABS): Enjoy the strong, controlled stopping power of dual-circuit power-assisted 4-wheel disc brakes, backed by an Antilock Braking System (ABS). ABS senses impending wheel lockup under heavy braking and pumps the front brakes individually or the rear brakes together. This intelligent system can pump the brakes as needed up to 30 times per second, to prevent lockup and preserve the driver's steering ability.

 

Brake Assist: Brake Assist senses emergency braking via the speed at which the driver presses the brake pedal and immediately applies maximum available power boost. Brake Assist can potentially reduce the overall stopping distance by eliminating the delay caused by a common human tendency not to brake hard enough, soon enough. Letting up on the brake pedal releases Brake Assist.

 

Electronic Stability Program (ESP®): This safety breakthrough first introduced by Mercedes-Benz continually monitors your driving inputs and the vehicle's motion to help keep it going in your intended direction, especially in corners and during evasive maneuvers. If it detects wheelspin, severe understeer (plowing), or oversteer (fishtailing), ESP® can brake individual wheels and reduce engine power to help bring the vehicle under control.

 

SmartKey: The SmartKey remote control integrates remote door locks and trunk opener, a removable valet key, and a remote panic alarm. You may selectively unlock only the driver's door and fuel filler, or all doors plus the trunk and fuel filler.

 

Mercedes-Benz mbrace®: From your Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, online or via the mbrace® Mobile Application on your compatible smartphone, mbrace® helps keep you connected with nearly 20 different security, destination planning and convenience services. Combining advanced technology with 24-hour support from helpful experts, two available service packages can help you plan a trip, remember where you parked, or even handle an unexpected emergency. Every new Mercedes-Benz equipped with mbrace® includes a complimentary 6-month trial subscription.

 

Antitheft alarm system: The standard antitheft alarm system is armed automatically when you lock your Mercedes-Benz car from the outside. It sounds the horn and flashes the exterior lights if a door, the trunk or the hood is opened without first unlocking the vehicle. You can also sound the alarm by pressing the red "panic" button on your SmartKey remote when you're within range of your vehicle.

 

5.5-liter biturbo V-8 engine delivers 518 hp and 0-60 mph in just 4.4 seconds along with improved emissions and efficiency.

 

7-speed AMG® SPEEDSHIFT® MCT transmission features a wet startup clutch, a fuel-saving new ECO Start/Stop system and shifts as quick as 100 milliseconds. From the console, the AMG® DRIVE UNIT offers driver-selectable setups for the transmission, suspension, steering and 3-mode ESP®.

 

Multi-piston brakes and 19" wheels set off exclusive bodywork, all wrapped around a cockpit inspired by its racing roots and the Mercedes-Benz standard of refinement.

 

 

4.6L twin-turbo V-8 engine: A new 402-hp 4.6-liter V-8 combines numerous advances and twin turbos to deliver noticeably more low-end torque in the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class. New rapid-multispark ignition can fire up to four times per millisecond, while high-pressure Direct Injection microscopically tunes the fuel spray to reduce emissions, fuel consumption and noise. A lightweight diecast-alloy block, quicker and more widely variable valve timing, reduced friction, and clever "on-demand" ancillary components like the alternator further boost efficiency.

 

7-speed automatic transmission: The industry's first 7-speed automatic has been made even smoother, more responsive and more efficient. A wide range of closely spaced gear ratios delivers the ideal response in virtually every driving situation, for relaxed cruising, quick acceleration, and thanks to two overdrive ratios, better highway fuel efficiency. Adaptive logic monitors adjusts the shift points to match your driving style, while paddle shifters on the steering wheel let you enjoy manual-style control anytime you wish.

 

Electromechanical steering: New electromechanical power steering delivers quicker response in corners, easier maneuvering at low speeds, along with precise on-center feel and straight-line stability.

 

AIRMATIC® adaptive air suspension: For the ideal balance of control and comfort, the AIRMATIC® semi-active suspension employs electronically controlled air springs. Every time a wheel moves up or down, the system automatically selects one of four damping profiles for each spring-strut. Sport and Comfort modes let drivers match the handling character to their mood. Automatic 4-wheel level control adapts for additional cargo or passengers, and lowers the car at higher speeds for improved aerodynamics.

 

Adaptive braking technology: Powerful 4-wheel disc brakes feature a number of advances. If you lift off the accelerator quickly, Predictive Brake Priming sets the pads closer to the discs for more immediate response when you apply the brakes. In the rain, Automatic Brake Drying periodically applies the brakes just enough to sweep water build-up from the discs. During uphill starts, Hill-Start Assist helps prevent unwanted rollback. And a HOLD feature can make long red lights or stopped traffic a little easier.