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

You won't find a CLK Cabriolet in the Mercedes-Benz range any more. That's because it's been replaced with this - the E-Class Cabriolet. In many areas, it's business as usual. It's elegant, refined to drive and continues to have a quick-folding fabric roof. That means there's a reasonable amount of luggage space, unlike some alternatives with metal folding roofs.

But in other ways, it's totally different to the old CLK. It feels larger, for a start, and there's now room in the back for two adults to sit comfortably. The previous CLK was based on the old C-Class, but this new car shares much more with the latest E-Class and the name change reflects that. The dash and switchgear is all from the E-Class saloon, so looks good and is intuitive to use. Standard equipment levels are decent and all models come with a system called AirCap, which prevents buffetting at high speed when the roof is down. You also get to choose from some of Mercedes-Benz's best options, including AirScarf, which blows hot air out from the seatback around your neck.

Of course the main feature is the folding roof and the E-Class Cabriolet features the most advanced fabric roof ever fitted to a Mercedes-Benz. It's acoustically tuned and features impressive levels of noise reduction and temperature insulation to create one of the quietest and calmest roof-up cabins of any fabric convertible. Ideal for year round use.

One the move it feels very refined but the handling lacks the sparkle of other drop tops, like the BMW 3 Series Convertible, so it's not as enjoyable or engaging to drive. Elements like the springy manual gearchange and a lack of steering feel don't help. It's very quiet at speed though and is surprisingly quiet for a convertible. There's also a good engine line-up with a spread of petrols and diesels, although the smaller four-cylinder E220 CDI and E250 CDI diesel models don't really suit the cabriolet image as they're too noisy.