AutoTrader SCORE
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STYLING9.0/10
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Safety7.0/10
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PRACTICALITY7.0/10
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USER-FRIENDLINESS6.0/10
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FEATURES8.0/10
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POWER7.0/10
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COMFORT9.0/10
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DRIVING FEEL9.0/10
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FUEL ECONOMY8.0/10
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VALUE8.0/10
The Mercedes lineup is massive.
Between the Cs, the Es, and Ss, both GL and EQ, never mind the sedans, it can be hard to keep it all straight. As a result, the German automaker has decided to simplify its product offering at least a little by combining the C-Class and E-Class coupes of old into a single model.
While it’s sad to see another passenger car bite the dust as two become one, the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe is anything but. A luxurious two-door that delivers just enough performance to keep even Lewis Hamilton fans entertained while also giving them enough luxury to match his chic style, the CLE is a worthy addition to the Mercedes lineup.
Styling 9/10
From an aesthetic point of view, the CLE is unimpeachable. Although it looks a little bit frumpy in photos, especially at the rear, where the tail seems to sag heavily, the design works really well in real life, where it looks lighter and less fussy to the naked eye.
Our tester was the AMG-tuned CLE 53 Coupe, which has big, blistered wheel arches that make it look wider and sportier than its conventional counterpart. While the wide stance, signature vertical grille slats, and rear diffuser will no doubt appeal to many, the toned-down CLE 300 is the better-looking model. Much subtler in its execution, it looks even sleeker than this version.
Regardless of which one you prefer, it’s a credit to Mercedes’s design department that it managed to create a vehicle that could be tastefully elegant or powerfully brutish, depending on your preference. And let’s not forget that the car competes with the bucktoothed BMW 4 Series.
Inside, the design will be familiar to anyone who has been in a C-Class recently. Attractive vents are easy to use, and the outer armrests double as door handles with knurled metallic tops that feel solid and expensive while breaking the mould enough to keep them from feeling like the same-old-same-old.
Powertrain 7/10
Although the CLE 300 is the slightly better-looking model, it’s undeniably the much less exciting one. Endowed with a humble four-cylinder engine, it gets just 255 hp. Despite not being an impressive number, that puts it in tight competition with the BMW 430i and Lexus RC 300.
Meanwhile, the AMG 53 Coupe’s turbocharged inline six-cylinder makes 443 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque (or 443 lb-ft for short bursts, thanks to an overboost function). That’s enough to get the car to 100 km/h in just 4.2 seconds, which is exactly as much time as a BMW M4 takes, despite making a bit less power. Those obsessed with speed may still prefer the CLE’s rival, as it can be further upgraded for more performance — as can the Lexus, with its RC F variant — while the AMG CLE 53 is the highest-performing option in the lineup (for now, at least).
While both trim levels stack up well against their immediate competition, it feels like there’s a big gulf between them, which others fill with medium-sporty models like the M440i. In the United States, that gap is filled by the CLE 450, which is powered by a detuned version of the six-cylinder engine that makes a Goldilocks-approved 375 hp and seems like it would be just right for a lot of buyers.
Driving Feel 9/10
Never mind what could have been — the Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 is a darling to drive. Power fatigue might make you think that 443 hp isn’t all that impressive, but in this coupe it’s more than enough to push you back into your seat and make passengers grab nervously for something to hold onto. Thanks to four-wheel steering and sticky Michelin tires, it’s very eager to turn into corners. Although there isn’t a ton of feedback through the steering wheel, the CLE 53 changes direction so quickly that it feels responsive and exciting when it meets a bend in the road. When the road is a little calmer and the car is in comfort mode, the suspension softens pleasantly and the CLE returns to its luxurious nature.
Comfort 9/10
Equipped with the standard seats, even the AMG version of the CLE is easy to get comfy in — though there are sportier seats for the track-obsessed ascetics among you. Shockingly, even the rear seats are comfortable, albeit a little tight. The CLE is closer in length to the E-Class than the C-Class, providing rear-seat passengers with enough legroom to survive a reasonably long drive, though the roofline does hamper headroom back there. The back seats are better suited to short passengers than tall ones, but they are big enough for an adult to sit in as long as you aren’t embarking on a cross-country road trip. The biggest complaint is that the CLE Coupe isn’t as quiet as it could be, allowing a surprising amount of road noise into the cabin — though it’s hardly deafening.
Practicality 7/10
If your road trip includes just two of you, the back seats can fold down to provide up to 420 L of cargo capacity (317 L with them up). That’s less than the M4 offers, but it’s enough to comfortably carry all the luggage you might need for a weekend away, even if you pack like a 19th Century aristocrat.
Features 8/10
Up front, there are enough features to make a 19th Century aristocrat’s brain melt. That’s good and bad, as Mercedes has provided drivers with some really cool stuff, like a place to charge your phone wirelessly that is cooled to prevent your device from overheating, and some utterly useless stuff, like a Shaffhausen watch face that can be summoned onto the infotainment screen for…reasons.
If you’re a certain kind of person, stuff like the almost infinitely adjustable interior lighting colours will probably appeal to you. It’s interesting to see Mercedes explore what an infotainment system can offer buyers with what can only be described as childlike glee, but there’s a lot of chaff included with the wheat and it can be hard for the driver to sort one from the other.
User-Friendliness 6/10
Figuring out which features are fun, like the Track Pace app that records vehicle data on a race track, from those that are useless, like the invigorating seats (which move the seats almost imperceptibly while you drive) is only made more difficult by the CLE’s complex infotainment system. Nearly every aspect of the interior aside from the vents and the seats is controlled by a touchscreen or a touch capacitive “button.” The volume appears to either be controlled by a slider in the centre of the vehicle or a slider on the steering wheel, and it took until the final day of this test to notice that the centre slider can be pressed and used as a up and down button. There’s also the issue of the controller on the steering wheel that’s prone to wild volume adjustments as a thumb barely breezes by.
Safety 7/10
Although the Mercedes CLE hadn’t been crash-tested at the time of this writing, the C-Class with which it shares its underpinnings gets top marks in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) crashworthiness tests. The AMG model comes standard with vehicle exit warnings, blind-spot monitoring, attention assist, brake assist, adaptive high-beam assist, and more. However, additional safety and convenience features cost another $2,700 and come as part of the Driver Assistance package. It adds lane change assist, active steering assist, evasive steering assist, active steering assist, and even adaptive cruise control, all of which is welcome, but it’s disappointing that buyers have to pay for some pretty basic safety tech.
Fuel Economy 8/10
Our tester, the AMG CLE 53, is officially rated to consume 10.4 L/100 km in combined driving according to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), which aligns with our experience and makes it more efficient than the competition by a surprising margin. The BMW M4 consumes 12.7 L/100 km.
Unsurprisingly, the four-cylinder CLE 300 consumes much less and is officially rated at 8.6 L/100 km combined. Once again, that makes it the most economical in the field, putting it ahead of the BMW 430i, which drinks 8.7 L/100 km.
Value 8/10
The CLE 300 starts at around $62,000, meaning it costs more or less the same amount as the most affordable BMW 4 Series, and is only a little more expensive than the Lexus RC. Counterintuitively, the much more expensive Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 Coupe is the better value. With a starting price of around $81,000, it’s considerably cheaper than the competition. The BMW M4 and the Lexus RC F start at $94,000.
The Verdict
By some margin the most attractive vehicle in its competitive set and a good value to boot, the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe is something of a coup for this brand. Despite its complicated user interface and its important driver assistance features costing extra, buyers should seriously consider the model if they’re in the market for a German performance coupe.
| Engine Displacement | 3.0L |
|---|---|
| Engine Cylinders | Turbocharged I6 |
| Peak Horsepower | 443 hp @5,800-6,100 rpm |
| Peak Torque | 413 lb-ft (443 lb-ft for 12 seconds in overboost mode) @ 2,200-5,000 rpm |
| Fuel Economy | 11.7/8.7/10.4 L/100 km (cty/hwy/cmb) |
| Cargo Space | 317 L |
| Model Tested | 2024 Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 Coupe |
| Base Price | $80,900 |
| A/C Tax | $100 |
| Destination Fee | $3,995 (included in base price) |
| Price as Tested | $99,700 |
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Optional Equipment
$18,800 — Pinnacle trim, $3,500; AMG Driver’s Package, $3,000; AMG Performance Studio Package, $2,200; AMG Performance Steering Wheel, $1,200; AMG Night Package, $1,000; AMG Night Package Plus, $800; Burmester Surround Sound, $1,100; AMG Track Pace, $300; AMG Carbon Fibre Trim, $700; 20” AMG Y-Spoke Light Alloy Wheels – Black, $1,100; Power Red/Black Nappa Leather, $3,000; Obsidian Black Metallic, $900.
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