• Summary
• What's Good
• What's Bad
• On the Road
• In The Cabin
• Prices and Specs
• Owners' Reviews

At the briefing MB's MD told us that this car was aimed at couples with a combined gross annual income of £70,000. I think they're going to need a bit more than that.

Let's say they decide on a fairly basic CLK 240 at £29,190, plus £1,450 for an automatic gearbox, and metallic paint at £600, and leather seats at £1,250, and the mobile phone kit with roof antenna at £690. That little lot comes to £33,180. CO2 emissions are 259g/km, so 34% of £33,180, or £11,226, is the taxable BIK on which tax at 40% works out at £4,490. Now to pay £4,490 in tax at this level you have to earn £7,483, which is well over 10% of a gross annual income of £70,000. So I don't think so. I think any couple choosing a new CLK 240 as their company car will need a combined income of well over £100k a year.

And that's the essence of this car. It cannot by any stretch of the imagination be regarded as a sensible choice. It's a wealth statement, pure and simple. It tells everyone who sees you in it that, between you, you're pulling in a Seymour and more. You're rich enough to afford not to have a saloon. Or, alternatively, you're rich enough to afford several cars: a coupe, a sportscar and a 4x4.

Now there will be couples who opt for other ways of putting across this message without laying out quite so much wonga. They could put their names down for a manual CLK200K which arrives in the autumn, at £27,840 in the obligatory silver. With 206g/km equating to 25% of list, they'd be paying tax on £6,960 which comes down to a more palatable £2,784. They'll enjoy MB's newest, highest-tech supercharged engine which displaces just 1,796cc yet delivers all of 163bhp. Or they could cheat and go for the diesel.