2019 Mercedes-AMG CLS 53 4MATIC+ Review: Extreme Premium

The rear three-quarter view is best.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s plenty of other styling bits to like about the 2019 Mercedes-AMG CLS 53 – the single-bar front grille, two-tone 20-inch wheels, subtle hood creases – but it’s from the rear three-quarter that you can best see the CLS’ grand touring intentions thanks to that sharply-raked rear window and short trunk; it looks long, it looks muscular and it looks high-class, as if it would be at home out front of the Monte Carlo Casino and on the Nurburgring alike.

Which, of course, is where the CLS came from. It was one of the originators – might be the originator, actually – of the four-door coupe, a body style that’s been mimicked to varying degrees by BMW, Audi and even Kia and Volkswagen. Granted, it does compromise rear seat room a little, but I still managed to fit a rear-facing child’s seat back there, and what room isn’t in the cabin ends up in a massive trunk (that can be made to be foot-activated, as was the case with our tester). I managed to fit three days’ worth of travel gear in there, including a stroller. Imagine unloading all that in front of the Monte Carlo…

The exterior styling, however, is really just the tip of the iceberg as the interior styling is fantastic as well, and there’s a whole heck of a lot going on underneath the skin that takes this latest CLS model to another level.

Inside
First of all, the interior: as is Mercedes’ way these days, it’s a confluence of materials, shapes and technology that’s right up there with the best of the best in the business. I love the smart placement of silver detailing on the vent roundels, the steering wheel, and especially on the Burmester sound system’s speaker grilles, which look like they should be attached to the hifi in a penthouse suite more so than the door cards of a car. I’ve always believed that a high-quality sound system should look the part, and this one sure does.

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