Mercedes-Benz CLS550 First Test 2012

Mercedes-Benz CLS550 First Test 2012

Bob Seger's 1977 album "Night Moves" is best known for its title track, but it also was propelled up the charts by songs like "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" and "Mainstreet." "Fire Down Below" has endured as a classic rock favorite, though it never made it to the pop charts as a single. Not bad for a rather poignant song about prostitution. The toe-tapping rhythm definitely helped sell it.

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 has a different story to tell. After all, the original car invented the so-called "four-door coupe" design aesthetic that so many others have copied with varying degrees of success. The new CLS550 is a stunning performer that should have no problem carrying the mantle. So what do these things have in common? For the sake of younger readers, we'll call it exhilaration. Both the men in Seger's song and the CLS550 are looking for someone to take them for a fast ride. We recommend the Benz, and since it comes with 14 separate onboard safety systems, it's undoubtedly safer. It's also faster.

When we picked up the first-generation CLS-Class sedan for a test day rendezvous back in 2005, we went for the threesome. Us, a CLS500, and a CLS55 AMG. Kinky. The CLS500 showed us a good time, hitting 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and running the quarter in 14 seconds flat at 100.2 mph with its tight 302-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8. The CLS55 AMG blew our socks off with its big 469-horsepower supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 shooting us down the track to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds at 114.5 mph. Ahh, youth.

Six years later, we've been around the block a few more times and it's going to take more to make us part with our hard-earned dollars. Now, though, there's a new Mercedes engine on our radar and under the hood. How does 402 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque from a twin-turbo 4.7-liter V-8 -- in the cooking-grade CLS550 -- grab you? We decided to give her a test drive, and we weren't disappointed.