Merc1

See, more koolaid.

Now adding handling makes something a new breed, while debuting a new type of bodystyle that everyone is all of sudden trying to duplicate doesn't count as a "new breed". Clear, present and ridiculous biased detected!!!

Yet BMW is following that same "marketing bs" in making a 4-door coupelike thingy while Mercedes has stuck to making Benz-like SUVs, not X5s.

M

Centurion

Handling isn't something that you can add. The ML, Range Rover and Q7 handle as well it's just that the X5 is slighty more enjoyable to drive.................at the cost of comfort.

CLS = E-class molded into a banana? So what do you have to say about the X6 then? I guess that's an X5 molded into an avocado. At least the CLS looks different from the X5 while the X6 heavily resembles the X5.

klier

Thank God we don't have koolaid in Europe!

Anyways, I am done here. You don't seem to get the point and I am not going to invest any more time in this.. It's bad enough Eni wanted to make a whole seperate thread about it.

Centurion

The X5 step into unexplored grounds just because it handles a bit better than the ML and Range Rover. That would be like me claiming that the SLR is of a new super car breed because it's more comfortable than the CGT, Enzo and Zonda.

coolraoul

Hey cool down everybody...

@Klier: would you say that a 5er is in a totally different segment than an E-Class? Surely not. The 5er handles better, the E-Class is more comfortable. But these are the values of the brands. These are the reason why you like BMW and I like Mercedes. These are two slightly different interpretations of the same car.

If I listen to you, every new car is the creator of a new segment. This one is more sporty, new breed. This one has more technology, new breed. This one is the first AWD coupe, brand new breed. This one....

No, it is normal that a new car tries to differentiate itself from the others. To do so, it is biased toward sport, or comfort, or technology, or safety, or reliability or design or whatever you want. Everybody tries to be innovative.

BMW is sporty-biased, the X5 is so. The ML not. And the ML, as a first attempt, was not a full roas-suv, because they hesitated to do so. The second ML is by no way sporty biased.

Thing is, a lot of sport-biased brands are now making suvs, it is normal then that a lot of new suvs are sport biased!

For me, the X5 is not a new breed, it is only the BMW among the suvs. Which takes nothing from its obvious qualities.

warot

I swear, if I hear 4 door coupe one more time...

I think the ML opened a can of worms, the X5 perfected it. Now pretty much every company has a 4x4 that you wouldn't normally take it off road.

The CLS on the other hand has done nothing to advance anything imo. It's been a few years down the road and I don't think it has made that huge of an impact. Sure now Aston Martin and Porsche want to get in the bandwagon too, but the fact is, it's still a 4 door saloon with a bit of a lower roof.

On the other hand, the ML and X5 made 4x4's cool. Actually now that I think about it, the Range Rover was the first to start it.

And I will also say as much as I love the X6, it's still no Coupe.

Both these cars are marketing gimmicks. Period.

coolraoul

Marketing gimmick, sure.
But I think these false coupe are pretty cool, I personnally would not hesitate between a CLS or E-Class, or between a X6 or X5, if I had to buy one!!!

I love these stylish things.

Centurion

You're were right, the first ML wasn't the best car it could be, and BMW showed us with the first generation what a proper SUV which properly ignited the SUV trend.

I do by no means see the CLS as a coupe. But it has been a important car for teh car indrustry and have followers like the Rapide, Panamera, X6, XF(kind off) and Passat coupe.

With the CLS MB didn't not only take an E-class and slice a part of the roof but they gave us an entire package, a sedan with exciting design and the sexy shape of a coupe. Before the CLS came out there wasn't one single four door car on the market which looked as good as a four door coupe. The success is what has encourage other manufacturers to create similar four door cars with compromised practicality. At the end of the day most CLS fans don't care about weather it's a coupe or sedan, the design it hot, so everything else is irrelevant. It's a good poser cars for those who had planned on buying a even less practical car like an CLK or 6er. There's nothing technically special about it, it's all about the looks.

So seductive, I'm looking forward to next generation CLS.

Guibo

Yes, I do believe the RX8 was first.

If we try to clarify the case for the CLS with qualifiers like "the stylish sedan" then we would have to conclude that the Chrysler 300C also fits the bill: headroom, practicality, and outward visibility sacrificed in the name of style. Neither the X5 nor the CLS were the true originators of anything.

coolraoul

Good point.
It is clear that there were stylish sedans before the CLS. Even if it is more coupeish than others, the CLS was not the very first.
What opened the way, and made other carmakers realize the market, is that

1) It was proposed along with the E-Class. You had the E, and the CLS, and that made the two different and emphasized the difference of the CLS. If the new E looked like a CLS, everybody would have praised the look and regreat the rear space, but full stop. Making it along with the E really revealed its coupe-four door look.

2) It is, unlike teh RX8, not a sportcar. And, unlike the 300C, it looks like a coupe. So it is not really something brand new; but new and original enough to be remarked by the competition

3) It comes from Mercedes, a great luxury carmaker, and has enjoyed lots of success and created lots of interest.

4) It is truly beautiful. Not a slightly more sporty E-Class, but a totally different car, even inside, and is for me the most beautiful sedan on the market.

So the CLS is not really a revolution, but a combination of things turned it into a real trendsetter.