MB CL550 to get AWD
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: What is G?
MB CL550 to get AWD
Mercedes might just have announced its finest all-weather coupe. Benz is planning a four-wheel-drive version of the CL500, complete with 388bhp V8 engine, and it’s due for launch this summer.
It’ll be called the CL500 4MATIC and uses the most modern version of Merc’s permanent four-wheel-drive system, which has already proved successful in the S-Class.
Mercedes claims that, because the 4MATIC system is the lightest of its kind, weighing just 70kg, the new CL 4MATIC won’t suffer from worsened fuel economy compared with the standard rear-wheel-drive version. Both return a claimed 23mpg combined.
Yet with all-wheel grip, the CL500 4MATIC sprints from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds (0.1sec faster than the rear drive model) and carries on to a limited 155mph.
What’s most interesting about this is that Mercedes could now introduce the 4MATIC powertrain on its other, higher performance CLs. Can we interest anyone in a four-wheel-drive, 612bhp CL65 AMG for example?
For now though, the CL500 4MATIC slots into the luxury two-door range between the standard CL500 and the focused CL 63AMG. We anticipate a price tag around £85k. The CL600 and CL65 AMG stay top of the range.
It’ll be called the CL500 4MATIC and uses the most modern version of Merc’s permanent four-wheel-drive system, which has already proved successful in the S-Class.
Mercedes claims that, because the 4MATIC system is the lightest of its kind, weighing just 70kg, the new CL 4MATIC won’t suffer from worsened fuel economy compared with the standard rear-wheel-drive version. Both return a claimed 23mpg combined.
Yet with all-wheel grip, the CL500 4MATIC sprints from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds (0.1sec faster than the rear drive model) and carries on to a limited 155mph.
What’s most interesting about this is that Mercedes could now introduce the 4MATIC powertrain on its other, higher performance CLs. Can we interest anyone in a four-wheel-drive, 612bhp CL65 AMG for example?
For now though, the CL500 4MATIC slots into the luxury two-door range between the standard CL500 and the focused CL 63AMG. We anticipate a price tag around £85k. The CL600 and CL65 AMG stay top of the range.
I wish more luxury manufacturers, Lexus especially, would start offering AWD on their cars. I think that cars with more than 300 HP are not very safe without AWD. With all that power and RWD it's just too easy to get yourself in trouble.
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Lead Lap
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: MA
With traction control and stability control on pretty much every 300+hp car, it is actually VERY hard to get yourself in trouble with a RWD car unless you do something very stupid
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CL Community Team
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Canada
Well the good thing is that the fuel economy didn't suffer as mentioned.
What other coupes do you prefer? I guess maybe I don't agree with my comment either, because of coupes like the Jaguar XK and Aston Martin ones, but somehow I was thinking of the CL as being in a different category.
The other two times the stability control completely took away the control of the car from me when I was making a left turn at a somewhat high speed, and started weaving the car from left to right. Luckily there was no cars next to me, and no cars close in the opposite lane. And the first time it happened I had the VSC on, but the second time around I was trying to reproduce the situation with the VSC off, and it still happened, which can only mean that the VSC off button does not disable VSC completely, perhaps just the traction control part.
Either way, to me AWD is much more important than stability control. Stability control can only limit the amount of potential you can use out of your 300+ horse power car.
