All four seats are covered in leather, with a thicker, richer Nappa finish in the CLS63 AMG. The standard front seats are adjustable 10 ways, using Mercedes' patented seat-shaped switches. There are three memory storage settings, and they can be matched to the remote key fob. Most switches are conveniently placed. A color display screen incorporates audio controls, navigation system and most other functions into a single set of switches. It takes time to learn, but I prefer it to the point-and-click devices in many luxury cars.
The standard harman/kardon Logic 7 stereo sends 480 watts of audio through 10 speakers, including two in the rear self. Digital processing allows the driver to tailor sound to his or her taste, or to create a surround effect for any seating position. The CLS stereo sounds good. If it doesn't match the best currently available, it's light years better than those in Mercedes-Benzes just 10 years ago.
In the rear seats, the sexy exterior styling results in a decrease in headroom, compared to a Mercedes E-Class. As part of our familiarization with the CLS, we were chauffeured across Rome so that we might see how the rich and famous do it. Tough job. My six-foot frame was comfortable on winding city streets, but passengers much taller may step out of the CLS with a crick in the neck.
There's no problem with trunk space, however. With 15.9 cubic feet of volume, the CLS trunk offers exactly the same space as the E-Class sedan, and not much less than the larger S-Class sedan.
In terms of interior comfort, the CLS makes for a great four-passenger sedan. Next Page