Mercedes-Benz offers 68 passenger vehicle derivatives in South Africa so the three-pointed star can't be accused of not offering choice and some, such as the Mercedes CLS, go out on a limb to give exclusivity to their well-heeled customers.
Saying the CLS is reasonably striking is like saying Cher has had a bit of plastic surgery. It is one of the German brand's most daring and unusual designs for a long time - if not necessarily the prettiest.
From some angles it's very graceful, though not everyone who offered an opinion was swept away by the car's banana-shaped profile and watermelon-wedge tail lights. It tends to grow on you, though.
Mercedes calls this car a coupé even though it has four doors. As all motoring enthusiasts know, a coupé by definition has only two passenger apertures but Benz believes the label is appropriate to the CLS because of its sleek design.
It "combines the excitement of a coupé shape with the practicality and comfort of a saloon", says Benz.
Mostly, this is true. The CLS is a large car and its 4.9m length places it between the mid-sized E-class and the flagship S-class.
Beneath its curved roofline is a cabin of fairly generous proportions that seats four people in individually sculpted seats. The rear two seats have a storage bin with a sliding cover between them and there are rear air vents for the back seat passengers to regulate their own climate.
Benz claims the rear spaciousness matches sedan standards and so does the 495-litre boot. That's not quite the case in terms of the back seat, which offers good leg room but a low ceiling which your head will touch if you're anything close to six feet tall.
Two versions of the car are on sale at local Benz dealerships: the CLS 350 powered by a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine selling for R578 000 and (the subject of this test) the CLS 500 that sells for R685 000.
It has a muscular five-litre petrol V8 mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox and blends sophistication with comfort and high performance.
Its non-blown engine wields a healthy 225kW and 460Nm of torque, making it a lively performer with plenty of grunt. Acceleration from standstill to 100km/h takes place in 7.8sec at Joburg altitude, with top speed governed to 250km/h. The CLS 500 cruises at high speed effortlessly and steep hills have little effect on its swift progress.
Smooth and sophisticated, the car lopes along with minimum noise or harshness, its passengers riding in a refined atmosphere. The engine's barely audible though it makes a low grumble just to remind you it's there.
Claimed fuel consumption is an optimistic-sounding 11.3 litres/100km on the combined urban/freeway cycle but our test car's onboard computer showed a more believable average more than 17 litres.
Choose your suspension
A host of hi-tech features keeps the CLS gliding comfortably: air suspension that lowers the ride height by 15mm at moe than 130km/h to reduce air resistance and improve stability.
To cater for cruising or cornering, the driver can select a Comfort or Sport suspension setting by pushing a button. In Sport mode the car is lowered to keep it from feeling wallowy in sharp turns but it still feels quite comfortable. There's very little nosedive under heavy braking or tail squat during hard acceleration, all of which makes the big Benz feel lighter than its 1.8 tons.
The CLS has good handling stability and its wide, 245mm tyres keep it glued to the tar through fast sweeps with traction control lending a hand to quell any hooligan wheel-spinning.
The parking brake is the typical Mercedes foot-operated affair but it's infrequently used as a start assistance feature prevents it from creeping forwards or rolling backwards on a steep gradient.
The brakes use Sensotronic drive-by-wire, which works through an electronic rather than a mechanical link between pedal and pads. The brakes feel normal to operate and have a safety system called Brake Assist that applies maximum pressure when an emergency is sensed.
Huge button count
Passengers are housed in a plush, leather-lined cabin with all the creature comforts you'd expect for the nearly 700-grand price. The wood veneer looks like it came out of a Korean car, however. It's real burr walnut but somehow looks like plastic.
The button count in the cabin is huge and there are enough toys for the fussiest gadget freak. Between the front two seats is a soft armrest that conceals a storage compartment with two sections.
A mobile phone holder can be fitted in the top section while the lower is linked to the air-conditioning system and can be ventilated.
Safety is provided by six crash bags and belt tensioners with force limiters on each seat while powerful see-around-corners xenon headlights provide road illumination.
Proximity cruise control, voice control, DVD navigation and keyless entry are available.
There's a vast list of more James Bond-style options, including automatic following distance control and voice activation of various interior features.
The front seats are electronically adjustable and can be equipped with air vents to cool your back or with "active" side bolsters that inflate during cornering to give extra body support.
SUMMARY
The Merc CLS, like Cher, is not to everyone's taste but deserves respect for going its own way and trying something different.
Merc's coupé-that's-not-a-coupé is a car for the individualist who demands practicality and beneath the striking shape is a well-rounded luxury car with safety and sophistication, practical space, and strong performance. - Star Motoring