2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 CLS-Class, and includes Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

The 2012 CLS is the second-generation iteration of a gender-bending, mind-blowing marriage between the convenience of a sedan and the style of a two-door coupe. The 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class seats four in comfort and has the dynamic chops to take the long, twisty road home.

The Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class is totally redesigned for 2012, equipped with two new engines and a slightly lower starting price than the previous model.

Mercedes sells the 2012 CLS as the standard CLS550 model or the high-performance CLS63 AMG.

The CLS550 comes with rear-wheel drive or 4Matic all-wheel drive, and is equipped with a long list of standard features. Among the numerous included items are dual-zone automatic climate control, 10-way power front seats with a power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel to help find your ideal driving position, leather upholstery, and a power sunroof. A voice-activated navigation system with real-time traffic information, Bluetooth hands-free connectivity, and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio system with a CD changer, HD radio, satellite radio and digital music storage are also included, and the CLS550 is equipped with 18-inch aluminum wheels and bi-Xenon headlamps. Mercedes offers numerous option packages to upgrade the CLS’s leather, paint, interior trim, and wheels.

Designed to get your pulse racing, the CLS63 AMG is equipped with a more powerful engine, a unique AMG Speedshift automated manual transmission with paddle shifters, a more aggressively tuned adaptive air suspension, a sport braking system, and 19-inch wheels with performance tires. Fancier leather upholstery and a power rear sunshade are also included, along with an upgraded sound system. For buyers desirous of even more oomph, the AMG Performance Package boosts power, stiffens the suspension, and boasts a higher top speed of 186 mph. A carbon-fiber engine cover, red brake calipers and a rear spoiler hint at the AMG Performance Package’s unwholesome intentions.

Pricey options further drive up the price of the CLS550 or CLS63 AMG. The Premium 1 Package is commonly selected, and gives buyers a rearview camera, heated and cooled front seats, swiveling LED headlights with automatic high beams and Active Curve Illumination, a power-closing trunk and Keyless Go entry and ignition. With this package, an iPod jack and interface and a power rear sunshade will be included on the CLS550, while the CLS63 gets massaging front seats with inflatable bolsters that keep you in place during cornering.

Some of these features can be ordered a la carte, along with items like a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, a rear seat entertainment system and an in-car wi-fi hotspot. Mercedes also offers safety-related technologies like a night-view display, lane keep assist, blind spot assist, adaptive cruise control, with pre-safe braking, and active parking assistance.

The new 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 is motivated by a twin-turbo, 4.6-liter V8 capable of producing 402 horsepower. A seven-speed automatic transmission puts the power to the rear or, when 4Matic is ordered, all four wheels. Fuel mileage estimates are 17 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the open road, while the 4Matic version returns 16-city/25-highway.

Meanwhile, the CLS63 AMG gets a bigger 5.5-liter version of the twin-turbo V8 that raises the stakes to 518 horsepower in standard tune. If this doesn’t whet your whistle, you can enhance your CLS with an AMG Performance Package that boosts output to 550 horses. Transmission-wise, the CLS63 gets an AMG Speedshift MCT automated manual transmission with an ECO-Start/Stop feature and paddle shifters at the steering wheel for manually changing gears. Incredibly there’s no penalty at the pump for all the extra power: fuel economy estimates are 16-city/25-highway.

The AMG model’s ECO-Start/Stop system is manually switch on by the driver for those times when maximizing fuel economy is desirable. When engaged, it stops the engine when the car is at a standstill in Drive or Neutral, and instantly turns back on when the driver takes his or her foot off the brake pedal.

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS features all the usual safety features designed to keep its occupants safe, along with a host of intriguing technologies that Mercedes pioneered. The Attention Assist feature notes your driving patterns and alerts you if it senses that you’re sleepy. The Pre-Safe technology readies the brakes to provide maximum stopping power if the CLS senses an imminent danger and prepares the car for a crash, shutting the windows and moving the seats to a safe position.

Available for extra cost is a blind spot monitoring system that beeps if there’s car in the adjacent lane, while a lane assist system blares if you’re drifting from your current lane. For an additional cost, each of these systems will step in and actively correct the vehicle’s course if the driver is unresponsive to audible warnings. Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control keeps a set distance between the CLS and the car in front; it can accelerate and slow the vehicle, all by itself. Meanwhile, Night View Assist Plus puts an infrared image on the in-dash display, giving you more detail about the road ahead (and perhaps a pedestrian) than your headlights might.

Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has performed crash tests on the CLS-Class. And because the CLS is new for the year, there’s no reliability data from Consumer Reports or J.D. Power and Associates to reference.

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS is based on the same platform as the popular E-Class sedan, which means that you’re paying more than $10,000 extra for coupe-like styling versus a comparably equipped sedan that looks like a sedan. But really, when you’re shopping vehicles in this price class, what’s a few thousand extra bucks for something that doesn’t make you yawn?

When we first laid eyes of the first-generation CLS back in the heady days of 2006, we have to admit that we fell. Hard. There wasn’t a line on that sensuous, gorgeous thing that we could fault. It was the forerunner of the sedan-as-coupe trend that has brought us the Audi A7, Jaguar XF, Volkswagen CC, and the bête noir that keeps us awake at night and makes us fantasize of committing crimes to park one in our driveway: the Aston Martin Rapide.

While we aren’t quite as smitten with the new CLS’s chunkier design elements, we can see how it would appeal to those desirous of its elegant silhouette, elongated hood and low-slung stance. And underneath it all, it’s a fine Mercedes-Benz, which is never a bad thing.

By Liz Kim