Mercedes-Benz CLE 300 4Matic

The new CLE is one coupe that Mercedes hopes will do the job of two. So, has it pulled it off?

- STUART GALLAGHER

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN IT WAS easier to list the sectors MercedesBenz hadn't launched a model in, such was its desperation to be represented everywhere. Up until recently you could, for example, choose between an A-class saloon - a conventional three-box, four-door saloon - or a four-door CLA- a saloon with a coupe-ish sweeping rear window and a boot. And that was on top of the regular A-class hatch and the CLA Shooting Brake (a slightly bigger hatch trying to be a swoopy estate).

And when the product planners took a microscope to customer research, they concluded that customers who weren't buying the AMG GT coupe were skipping on by to the Porsche dealer to pick up a 911 instead because they wanted two rear seats with which to torture friends and family. Mercedes-AMG's solution was to go one better and offer not only a four-seater GT, but one with four doors, too. That didn't work either.

This approach to product strategy also meant there were C-class and E-class coupes (and cabriolet variants) to rival Audi's A5 coupes and BMW's 4-series and, latterly, 8-series. Now there's a single model to do all of this: the new CLE coupe.

At a glance, you'd think it was a two-door C-class, but it's actually bigger (in both overall length and wheelbase) than the outgoing E-class coupe, a fact demonstrated by the rear profile and three-quarter, which look out of proportion with the rest of the car. Overall, though, it's not offensive to look at and it's distinctive enough without being jarring to allow it to stand out from its saloon and estate car relatives.