Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet Review & Prices

Mercedes has a long and storied history with four-seater convertibles - it’s made some of the best of all time. The CLE Cabriolet is the latest, and it’s quite an interesting car because it’s designed to replace two models at once - the C-Class and the E-Class convertibles.

Like both of those cars, the CLE Cabriolet is a four-seater convertible with slinky looks that make it instantly more stylish than the C-Class or E-Class saloon cars. It aims to capture both the luxurious opulence of the E-Class and combine it with the everyday usability and smaller size of the C-Class - like a posh London apartment, while it may be compact, that doesn’t mean it has to be Spartan.

Alternatives to the CLE Cabriolet are fairly limited - the only other directly comparable four-seater convertible on sale is the BMW 4 Series. But the CLE is likely to be cross-shopped with everything from a Mini Convertible to a Porsche 911 Convertible - drop-top buyers aren’t necessarily comparing like-with-like.

First impressions are very good. The CLE Cabriolet is a handsome car with simple, unfussy styling. The front end is very similar to the C-Class, there’s a sleek and uncomplicated folding fabric roof, while the rear-end features a full-width element connecting the taillights to give it some visual interest.

It looks long and quite lithe, and doesn’t look too awkward whether the roof’s up or down. It’s certainly less divisive than the big-toothed BMW 4 Series Convertible, though we’d argue that car has slightly nicer proportions overall.

As a convertible, practicality is necessarily limited by the folding roof. The rear seats are tight, and though adults can definitely fit for short journeys it’s much better to use them as supplemental luggage space. The 385-litre boot is a very useful size, though, matching the 4 Series Convertible and providing more than enough room for a weekend getaway for two.

Inside, you’ll find a dashboard that’s pretty much identical to the C-Class saloon. That means it’s high-tech, with a great infotainment screen, easy-to-use tech and a glamorous look - but it also means that some areas feel a little too cheap considering this is a car that starts at well over £50,000.

But every interior is improved when there’s a roof that can be folded away, and Mercedes makes it easy to do that almost year-round. There are automatic wind diffusers to keep bluster out of the cabin, and Mercedes’ special ‘Airscarf’ - vents in the headrests which blow heated air around your neck. It’s a small touch but one that’s super-effective, and means that even in the depths of winter you can consider folding the roof down.

Unlike the 4 Series, which is only available with one regular engine or the M-tuned 440i, the CLE Cabriolet has loads of choice in this department. You can opt for two four-cylinder petrol or even a four-cylinder diesel if you want to cut costs. The nicest engine comes in the CLE 450, which gets a creamy-smooth six-cylinder petrol engine which sounds great and makes progress effortless.

There’s even an AMG-tuned CLE 53, if you want something that’s indecently fast but still want to get the wind in your hair.

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The Mercedes CLE Cabriolet starts at just over £53,000, which is a couple of thousand pounds more expensive than the BMW 4 Series Convertible. For that money you get pretty comparable standard equipment, though the Mercedes gets a slightly more powerful engine.

The same price gap exists between the highly comparable range-toppers, the BMW M440i and the CLE 450. There aren’t any 4 Series models in between, though, whereas the Mercedes offers two additional engine options and a whole raft of trim levels to choose from - so there’s much more granularity to be had.

Very comfortable over bumps and quiet at a cruise - but a BMW 4 Series Convertible is more fun to drive

In town

The CLE Cabriolet, like all convertibles, can be a little awkward to drive around town thanks to its low-slung silhouette and the reduction in visibility that comes from having a fabric, rather than metal roof. However, it’s not too difficult to judge where the corners are, and all models do get parking sensors, a reversing camera, and a system which can automatically park the car for you.

Mercedes even offers clever touches to make driving round town easier - such as augmented reality navigation, which can really help with complicated junctions, or a camera system which shows traffic lights on the centre screen so you don’t have to crane your neck past the windscreen pillars. How uncouth would that be?

All the engines are quiet and responsive around town, even the diesel, and Mercedes’ nine-speed automatic gearbox slurs the ratios together smoothly. The suspension does a good job of ironing out most bumps, too, and though you do get a little hint of the body shuddering (called ‘scuttle shake’, it’s typical of convertibles thanks to their reduced body stiffness) it’s not obtrusive.

On the motorway

With the roof up, the CLE Cabriolet is almost as refined as its Coupe sibling. The multi-layer fabric soft-top is very well-insulated and, combined with the car’s slippery shape and quiet engines, means that motorway runs are very relaxed indeed.

All the engines are powerful enough for motorway driving but it’s the 450 petrol which feels the most effortless, and sounds the best when you’re revving it to make good progress. The diesel, meanwhile, is by far the most economical option if you regularly take long journeys.

On a twisty road

The CLE is more about comfort than cornering, and unlike the BMW 4 Series Convertible doesn’t really encourage you to enjoy yourself in the bends. While the BMW can be specified with adaptive dampers, which can be made stiffer for flatter, faster cornering, these aren’t an option on the CLE until you reach the performance-tuned CLE 53 (which is covered separately).

As a result the CLE’s body feels a little less controlled than the BMW’s, the seats are slightly less supportive and the steering is lighter without as much feedback to the driver. On the flip side, the CLE is more relaxing than a 4 Series to do long distances in, so it depends on which is your priority.

All convertibles have limited practicality but the CLE’s isn’t bad at all, and it’s better than a 4 Series for transporting four people

The CLE’s big front doors make getting into the car easy, though it is quite low down. Once you’re in, a robotic arm ‘hands’ you your seatbelt, which is a useful touch and means you don’t have to reach over so far behind you.

The front seats are very comfortable indeed and electrically adjustable - including lumbar support and an adjustable seat squab for longer-legged drivers. Storage for smaller items up front is reasonable too, with a wireless charging pad set deep into the centre console where you won’t be tempted to look at your phone, a decent-sized glovebox, two cupholders and a small under-armrest storage compartment.

Space in the back seats

No surprises to hear that the CLE Cabriolet’s rear seats are best suited to children. Adults will find legroom surprisingly good (by the standards of a convertible, that is) and an average-sized person could probably just about squeeze in behind an average-sized driver. However, with the roof up, both headroom and rear-seat access is very poor.

You could say all of these things about the BMW 4 Series Convertible, though, and both of those models are much more practical than a Mini Cooper Convertible or Porsche 911 Convertible.

One nice thing is that the CLE’s wind deflector deploys automatically from behind the rear seats, rather than folding out across the top of them like the BMW 4 Series does. This means you can have the wind deflector in place and still carry four passengers, which is a bit of a rarity.

Boot space

The CLE’s boot is 385 litres with the roof up, and drops to 295 litres with the roof down. That’s almost identical to the BMW 4 Series Convertible, which has 385 litres and 300 litres respectively. What this means in practice is that while you won’t fit too many suitcases in - the shape is quite shallow due to the roof mechanism - you can get at least four or five weekender-sized soft bags in with no issues, and a weekly shop for two fits comfortably as well.

The rear seats split and fold in a 60:40 ratio too, which means you can transport longer items every once in a while.

C-Class-inspired cabin is attractive and high-tech, though it’s very dependent on touchscreens and some areas definitely feel cheap

Sitting inside the CLE Cabriolet is very similar to sitting inside a Mercedes C-Class - you get the same 11.9-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen and pretty much identical switchgear and surfaces (save for the three controls in the centre console for the roof).

The central screen is quite easy to use, and though we’d prefer if there were some physical controls for things like the climate, it does help that these items are prominently on screen at all times so it’s not such a pain to make quick adjustments. Under the screen you do get shortcuts to alter the driving mode, the volume, and even electrically tilt the whole setup if it’s catching the sun at the wrong angle.

The instrument cluster is another large screen, and though it has a similarly straightforward layout it’s much harder to interact with thanks to the touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel. Many of these demand to be stroked in a very specific way, which can be quite difficult to do on the move.

Material quality is a mixed bag, with certain items - like the seats, the screens and the steering wheel - feeling positively lovely. On the other hand, the air vents, the seat controls and the column stalks all feel quite cheap and nasty. It’s a shame Mercedes couldn’t have upgraded these a little given the CLE’s hefty starting price.

The interior is quiet and roomy enough with the roof up, but take the roof down and things get interesting. All models have heated seats and Mercedes’ Airscarf so you can stay warm year-round, but there’s also a clever ‘Aircap’ wind deflector which pops out from the top of the windscreen.

Combined with the fabric deflector that rises from behind the back seats, they mean that even at high speed it’s not very blustery in the CLE’s cabin. They do increase wind noise, though not to a drastic level. It makes the CLE very usable regardless of the weather - as long as it’s not raining, you can have the roof down.

Fuel consumption varies across the engine range. The basic engine is the 204hp CLE 200 petrol, which is slightly quicker than the BMW 420i Convertible and claims slightly higher efficiency, too - up to 42.2mpg. The CLE 300 is the same engine in a more powerful, 258hp state of tune, but comes with four-wheel drive bringing claimed fuel economy down to 38.2mpg.

The CLE 220d is definitely the option to go for if you want the lowest possible fuel bills - it’s a 197hp diesel with good performance and a claimed fuel economy of 57.7mpg, which is very impressive. At the other end of the scale, the 3.0-litre, six-cylinder, 381hp CLE 450 claims 35.4mpg, which actually isn’t too drastic a drop from the CLE 300. In our experience with the 450 it’s not difficult to achieve close to this figure, either.

There’s no plug-in hybrid available like you get in the CLE Coupe, so with CO2 emissions ranging from 128g/km to 181g/km none of these models will make a particularly attractive company car. All models attract the expensive car surplus to the first five years of annual VED, too.

The CLE hasn’t been tested separately by Euro NCAP. It is, however, closely related to the Mercedes C-Class saloon, which scored a full five stars when it was tested in 2022, with particularly impressive scores across the board.

Safety equipment is obviously extensive, with the usual speed limit and lane-keeping aids joined by some nice-to-have extras such as a central airbag and Matrix LED headlights.

One nice feature is how easy Mercedes makes it to turn off the more irritating beeps and bongs forced upon them by law - simply hold the ‘mute’ button on the steering wheel to silence the speed limit alerts.

There’s not much data surrounding the CLE’s reliability, as a fairly niche model. The C-Class it’s based on is also a fairly recent model, however the engines and tech are by this point quite well proven.

Mercedes as a brand did come an unimpressive 25th place (out of 32) in the 2024 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, however. BMW came 14th.

Mercedes only offers the CLE with three years of warranty cover, however mileage is uncapped - so you could do as many long road trips as you like and still remain covered.