The problem, as has been detailed so many times, is that while it is relatively easy to remake an unsuccessful automobile - indeed any consumer product - updating anything already popular is fraught with danger. Stray too far from the previously sought-after predecessor and loyalists will take umbrage. Mildly update a classic design and your designers are castigated for being panty-waisted. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, frightens automotive marketers more than the refreshing of the already popular.
And Mercedes-Benz's CLS was certainly popular. Virtually inventing the luxury four-door coupe segment, the CLS has been copied, if not in outright design, then in intent by all of its European competition. Everyone has tried to duplicate the CLS's magic, from Volkswagen's Passat CC to Jaguar's XF and XJ. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Mercedes' CLS is the most complimented car of the last decade.
So little wonder, then, that the new 2011 version bears more than a passing resemblance to the outgoing model. Yes, there are more boldly creased bodylines, particularly over the rear windows. Yes, it is slightly taller for a little more window area (a weak spot for the original). Yes, it's also a few millimetres wider. But, put the old and new side by side, each in profile and the resemblance is unmistakable. Cover each with a modesty blanket and they'd be all but undistinguishable.
If the skin is perhaps a bit too familiar, underneath the CLS really is all-new. The 500, for instance, is powered by a brand-new engine for Mercedes. Despite its 500 moniker, the new V8's displacement is 4.6L. But before you start feeling cheated, know that the new top-of-the-line coupeish sedan sports twin turbochargers (the first such use by Mercedes since the biturbo V12) which boost maximum power to 429hp, more than earn the 500 appellation, if not in displacement then at least in actual performance.
Indeed, mated to the newly revised 7G seven-speed automatic, the new V8 is the best engine in the company's lineup this side of the aforementioned V12. The twin turbos mean that there's torque a'plenty - 600Nm - so that there's always a surfeit of power. Indeed, since that maximum torque kicks in as low as 1,800 rpm, the 4.6L always feels likes it's loafing. And with the newly sophisticated 7G transmission - quick downshifts are no longer accompanied by the lurching common to Mercedes' kickdowns - the entire powertrain is much improved.
But not as much as the chassis. Mercedes underpinnings have long been able to deliver fine handling or a compliant ride, but never both. Either you felt every crack in the road but were able to strafe corners (usually in an AMG version) or the standard steering was numb, but at least your fillings stayed in your teeth. The CLS500 is the first Mercedes that requires no such compromise. I managed to chase more than a few Ducati riders over the mountain passes that pervade the Tuscany region and I think they were more than a little surprised how well we kept up. I did so thanks to communicative steering - a result of the new Direct-Steer EPS system that combines a variable ratio rack-and-pinion box with a computer-controlled electric boosting system - and surprisingly controlled body roll. No, the 500 version of the CLS is no Ferrari, but it can keep up with the 5 Series of the world and the handling is a definite improvement over the old.
(There is also a 306hp, 3.5L V6 available as well as an absolutely delicious 3.0L turbodiesel not planned for the Middle East; there will also an 5.5L biturbo AMG 63 version later). As is the suspension compliance, which, again, is more BMW-like than typical Mercedes. Even over big potholes - traditionally a Benz weakness - the CLS doesn't try to rattle your kidneys. The CLS's ride very much feels like that of the new Jaguar XJ and, believe me, that's a compliment. Mercedes' Airmatic Air Suspension with Adaptive Damping System (ADS) finally lives up to its promise (it should also be noted that, for the first time, Mercedes 4Matic system will be available with the company's multi-link rear suspension).
There are all manner of other technical improvements. Like all Mercedes, the new CLS is literally festooned with gadgetry. The all-LED headlamps, for instance, are controlled by something Mercedes calls an Intelligent Lighting system, which means they swivel when you corner, tilt when you brake and all manner of other wizardry so that lights might illuminate the road ahead rather than the woods you're trying to avoid.
The CLS also boasts nine air bags including a new pelvis protector that prevents side intrusion to your lower regions. There's something of a competition going on amongst luxury automakers to see who can stuff the most supplemental restraints into the cabin. If they all went off at once, the noise inside the CLS would be deafening. The rest of the CLS' cabin is typical Mercedes. Oh, the gauge set has been revised. Ditto for the air-con/radio controls. But, there's no mistaking this for anything other than a Mercedes. On the other hand, the CLS' leather, like all Mercedes of late, is substantially improved. It's softer, more attractive and befits a sedan that, despite Mercedes' latest trend towards softening the fiscal blow, is still likely to be more expensive than its direct competition. It should also be noted that, like so many other new cars, the CLS' cabin is a little wider, the rear seats, especially, benefit from more leg- and shoulder-room.
As for the first question this test posed - whether the new car matches the previous CLS' obvious beauty - the answer is close, but not quite. The new CLS is an attractive car, lesser only for direct comparison to the original. I like most of it, but like many of my autoscribe friends, see the dramatic arches of the rear wheel as a facelift too far. Better to act your age - or in the case of this Mercedes, your snack bracket - rather than evincing a youth everyone knows you don't posses.
Quite literally, though, it's a minor affair, especially since the CLS is so improved mechanically. This is the most complete Mercedes I have ever driven, by quite some margin.