The 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS is that little black dress at the company party. It is the enticing curve, the forbidden thought, the furtive whisper, the wispy memory that never quite goes away. For all that, it is the 2006 Autobytel Editors’ Choice for the Most Stylish New Car of 2006. That’s quite an accomplishment for a sedan, no matter how loudly Mercedes-Benz officials spout about four-door coupes and other such nonsense. Yep, the CLS is so stylish that it might be considered a coupe at first glance, but it’s hard to miss those two extra doors, and besides, being called a sedan ain’t so bad. No matter what the body type, it is still the car most likely to make people trip over curbs in the company parking lot, still the only car one of our editors actually drooled on. The other editor took the CLS home, and his girlfriend left the next day.
So call the Mercedes-Benz CLS a home-wrecker, but make it a beautiful one. If there is anything mass produced that’s more stylish than the CLS in motion, a slivery dart that slices through the air with the confidence of its 5.0-liter, 302-horsepower V8 engine, we can’t think of it. So what if it’s not the fastest car off the line; if you need speed choose the 469-horsepower AMG-massaged version. In either car, the motor drives the rear wheels, through a seven-speed automatic transmission in the CLS 500 or a five-speed automatic in the CLS55 AMG. The CLS’s Airmatic suspension is virtually flawless, but the Sensotronic braking technology ruins the smooth stops and stout pedal feel that one would – and should – expect at a well-equipped price of around $75,000. Stickers start at $64,900, but there’s a slew of option packages to consider. Standard safety features include multi-stage front airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-curtain airbags, and a rollover sensor. But who wants to talk about safety, when the topic is the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS, the Autobytel Editors’ Choice for Most Stylish New Car of 2006. – Brian Chee
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