The Mercedes-Benz CL-Class is a two-door sports model that comes with top-notch luxury features and interior materials, as well as plenty of gadgets and safety assists. The CL-Class offers a perfect blend of performance, style and opulence. However, it is a little too heavy to maneuver easily. The CL-Class carries over to the new model year with very few changes from 2007. It comes in a combination of four variants - CL 550, CL 600, CL 63 AMG and CL 65 AMG.

The Mercedes-Benz CL 550 coupe has a 5.5-liter, V-8, 32-valve engine that delivers 382 horsepower at 6,000 rpm. The CL 600 delivers 510 horsepower from its 5.5-liter, twin-turbo-charged V-12 engine. The CL 63 is even more powerful, with a 6.3-liter V-8 that gives 518 horsepower. The topper is the CL 65 AMG, which produces 604 horsepower. While the CL 600 and CL 65 come with a five-speed automatic transmission, the CL 550 and CL 63 have a seven-speed automatic transmission with manual shift control. The CL-Class comes with a 48-month/50,000-mile warranty. The 2008 CL-Class provides an excellent driving experience. But if you want to play with it like a sports car or drive on twisty roads, the active body control (ABC) may give problems. When pressing hard on long, sweeping turns, the grip from the standard 18-inch tires is not steady. Its sophisticated suspension, while rounding tight corners, shows a clear stability and balance concern.

Standard for the Mercedes-Benz CL 600 and CL 65 is leather upholstery with Burl walnut-wood trim, unique to Mercedes. Other standard features include heated front seats, a Harman Kardon audio system and power-closing trunklid. While the ventilated front seats are optional for the CL550, they are standard for the CL600. The exterior shows flared wheel fenders, one of the features that distinguishes the present CL from its predecessor. In addition, all models have active body control (ABC), a system by which the vehicle's suspension adjusts firmness continuously to eliminate body roll and pitch during cornering and acceleration, and while applying brakes. Also standard is the power moonroof. The long doors of the CL-Class make ingress and egress difficult in tight parking spaces.

Frontal and side-impact air bags; side curtain and knee protection air bags for the driver; occupancy sensor; traction control; anti-lock brakes and driveline traction control; front and rear seatbelt pretensioners; stolen vehicle detection system; in-vehicle assistance service; and cornering headlights, LED brakelights and daytime running lights are some of the many standard safety features common across all trims. Optional is the distronic plus adaptive cruise control -another safety feature unique to the Mercedes - which adjusts speed automatically to maintain a predetermined distance behind and ahead of the vehicle.