First drive: Big is beautiful for Benz coupe

MERCEDES-BENZ launched a thoroughly redesigned version of its popular CLK coupe in France this week, with Australian deliveries set to begin within a month of the all-new car's May 4 release in Germany.

About 230,000 examples of the original CLK have been sold since its appearance in June, 1997, giving the CLK-class a 35 per cent share of the lucrative coupe market in Europe. But the svelte two-door has always been in short supply Down Under, where only about 450 CLKs found homes last year.

However, that's about to change, according to Mercedes-Benz Australia, which says the new C209 version will be sold in the type of numbers it always believed the current CLK could attract if only there were enough to go around.

It expects to more than double recent CLK volumes locally, by selling about 400 units in the second half of 2002 and challenging BMW's 3 Series Coupe by shifting about 1000 CLK models in 2003 and subsequent years.

Apart from a freer flow of supplies from the Bremen factory in Germany, which will produce up to 200 CLKs daily for an expected worldwide volume of 50,000 by 2003, the secret to the new model's planned rapid sales increase in Australia will be an aggressive pricing structure.

Mercedes officials won't reveal Australian CLK pricing until the car's the June launch, but it is believed most models will be either similarly priced or even cheaper - however, all will carry more standard equipment including Command across the board.

To appease buyers of the current vehicle, of which only around 60 spoken-for examples remain, Mercedes-Benz Australia has quietly increased the specification to include the likes of its "Comand" communication and information system as standard equipment.

"The new car will be priced very competitively," said Mercedes-Benz Australia managing director passenger cars Mattias Luhrs. "I cannot announce the price yet because it's not confirmed with Germany until next week and it won't be announced until the big launch on May 5 at the Mercedes Australian Fashion Week for the first time, where we will indicate the price.

"We'll do the local press drive at the beginning of June but I can say it won't be more expensive than the existing car." Without promoting it, the company already holds about 200 orders for the new coupe, which will initially be sold only in two guises: the volume selling CLK320 (which will represent up to 50 per cent of CLK volumes locally) and V8-equipped CLK500 to replace the CLK430.

A 2.6-litre, V6-powered CLK240 will follow around November, while the range-topping CLK55 AMG is due by December. The latter will bring the CLK-class line-up to a total of four models.

Mr Luhrs said the new CLK's aggressive pricing aimed to increase the volumes of its top selling coupe, which currently accounts for only about a third of 3 Series Coupe columes, over its life cycle by both increasing market share and growing the luxury coupe segment.

"We're not just looking at the price positioning for the first six to 12 months but at the total life cycle. We're hoping to almost double the volume of the existing car by selling 1000 units not just next year but each year after that. So if we want to double the volume of the C208 throughout the C209's life cycle we must maintain a certain level of price competitiveness in the market.

"Let me put it another way: the C208 in my personal view was priced too high because if you look at the price difference to BMW it's about 25 to 35 per cent more, depending on the model.

"This is the last part of our price volume strategy that we initiated in Australia three or four years ago. In the past we always tried to keep the volume down and the prices up but we have changed our philosophy and CLK is the last model (plus one engine type of the E-class where we are also going to go price volume) to complete the strategy.

"We hope to both grow the market and get more market share, so it's a two-fold strategy. We would hope to gain conquest sales from every marque but the big chunk should be BMW. BMW today has 45-50 per cent of the luxury coupe market," said Mr Luhrs.

Production of the current CLK convertible range will continue for at least 12 months, after which time its C209-based replacement will appear.

"We don't think it will be difficult selling the current CLK convertible in the meantime because it's a different and very popular car first of all and you can't get the new one anywhere in the world," said Mr Luhrs.

All Australian CLKs will come with a five-speed Tipshift automatic transmission, unlike in Europe where six-speed manual and Sequentronic six-speed sequential manual transmissions will also be offered.

Nor will Australians be afforded the choice of two new four-cylinder petrol engines in the supercharged CLK200 Kompressor and direct-injection CLK200 CGI, both of which are deemed to be positioned too closely to the CLK240 to be viable here. Similarly, the turbo-diesel CLK270 CDI is also off-limits Down Under.

While the current CLK started life on an amalgam of C and E-class underpinnings, the new coupe is unashamedly based on the new C-class platform and shares its 2715mm wheelbase, which is about 25mm longer than its predecessor.

Despite having an identical rear track width - and even a 12mm narrower front track - the new CLK is substantially larger in all directions. At 4638mm in length, it is 71mm longer than the outgoing CLK, while at 1740mm across and 1413mm high it's both 18mm wider and 42mm higher. The front overhang is 20mm shorter, while the rear overhang is a big 66mm longer.

Of course, the larger exterior dimensions produce greater interior space and Mercedes-Benz is quick to point out the advantages gained in front headroom (24mm), rear headroom (12mm) and rear knee room (40mm).

The distance between front and rear seats, plus elbow and shoulder room, has also grown. Boot capacity is also up, at 435 litres - without employing the split-folding function that folds the rear seats virtually flat.

Like space, high technology abounds too, with torsional stiffness said to be increased by 40 per cent, the use of high-strength steel alloys in the bodyshell increasing from 22 to 40 per cent, all panels being fully galvanised and greater sound deadening through bodyshell cavity packing bringing big gains in noise suppression.

Substantially reduced lift front and rear (70 and 36 per cent respectively) increases active safety and high-speed stability, while high-tech systems are offered in CLK for the first time, such as Thermotronic climate control (standard on V8 models), Distronic intelligent cruise control, the Keyless-Go access and drive authorisation system, bi-Xenon headlights, Parktronic and the Linguatronic voice-activated telephone and audio system.

Window bags, belt tensioners, belt force limiters for all seats, automatic seatbelt feeders and power rear windows are new CLK features, while a more extensive standard equipment list is said to be worth an extra 2800 Euros.

It includes adaptive front airbags, side bags, Headlamp Assist, rain sensing wipers, mixed-profile tyres, an adjustable steering column, auto climate control, ABS, ESP, heated power mirrors, Brake Assist, multi-function steering wheel, leather trim, fog lights, 16-inch alloys, trip computer, cruise control, wood or alloy trim, remote central locking and one-touch wipers and indicators. Elegance and Avantgarde equipment levels will continue.

Mercedes-Benz says no parts have been carried over from the previous CLK apart from engines and even they have been tweaked for extra performance (up to 20kW) and an average of six per cent better fuel economy.

Employing a similar engine to that found in S-class and M-class, the CLK500's 225kW, 5.0-litre V8 is said to propel it to 100km/h in six seconds.

AMG's CLK55 is also up in power, to 270kW, and now has a 5.2-second 0-100km/h figure. The CLK320's 3.2-litre V6 remains unchanged from its application in C, E, S, M and SLK-class, with 160kW, while the 2.6-litre, 125kW CLK240 extends the six-cylinder line-up.

Many E-class touches can be found within CLK's all-new interior, which features new seats, door panelling, centre console and a fresh new instrument panel with a large central speedo flanked by a tacho and analogue clock - each of them chrome rimmed.

The new rack and pinion steering has increased the CLK's turning circle marginally, from 10.7 to 10.76 metres, and while the multi-link independent rear suspension continues, three-link MacPherson strut front suspension replaces the previous CLK's double wishbone set-up and is said to improve wheel location and precision.

DRIVE IMPRESSIONS:

APPEARING for the first time at the Geneva motor show in March this year, the CLK is as beautiful in the metal as it is in pictures. And it's big, too.

From its C-class mimicking, peanut-style headlights and large grille with prominent three-pointed star emblem to the sweeping B-pillarless roofline with large, frameless windows and its rounded CL-style rump, the CLK continues Mercedes' extensive coupe tradition in unmistakable fashion.

It might not be as radical as the original that appeared in 1997, but there is no doubting the cohesiveness of the elegant two-door design following its 400 million Euro development program. And a class-leading aerodynamic Cd figure of just 0.28 (the outgoing CLK's figure was 0.31) is testament to the new model's slipperiness.

There is also no escaping the fact the new CLK is a much larger vehicle than before - both inside and out. That means greater comfort levels, particularly for rear-seat passengers, as well as Benz's volume selling coupe packing a more imposing presence on the road.

Naturally, the CLK240 lacks the punch of the larger capacity V6 in the CLK320, especially off the bottom, but the CLK500 is a fitting replacement for the somewhat muffled V8 in the current CLK430. Delivering effortless acceleration right from idle, and deceptively rapid progress thereafter, the 5.0-litre V8 is also a formidable sounding animal when used in anger.

All coupes feel well matched to Mercedes-Benz's excellent Tipshift sequential auto, but the choice of its new Sequentronic transmission would have been nice.

Just as the C-class sedan's steering was vastly improved by the change from its ageing recirculating ball system to a more widely used rack and pinion arrangement, so too the CLK's tiller is now an immeasurably more precise and communicative device.

Though 10mm smaller than its predecessor's, in true Benz fashion the steering wheel still feels a little large, but finally the CLK's steering is a match for the rest of the refined package.

French backroads used during the press launch revealed less of a tendency for the suspension to skip across small road irregularities. There seems a greater degree of compliance and control, along with a generally tighter, more solid feel to the chassis - much like the move from old C-class to new.

As expected, ride quality remains excellent. Combined with much improved steering, effortless performance, greater chassis integrity, an altogether more pleasant yet still highly ergonomic dashboard and head-turning exterior styling, this much larger and more substantial feeling C209 CLK has the goods to back up its formidable cachet statement.