Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet Review 2025

You only need to spend a few minutes stop-starting along a busy urban street or plying a stretch of motorway to appreciate how much SUVs of all shapes and sizes have captured car buyers’ imaginations. Most car manufacturers now produce at least a couple of them but constrained resources and an ever-narrowing likelihood of profitability on other, more niche bodystyles means they’ve fallen by the wayside. While that’s bad news for convertible fans in particular, the arrival of the Mercedes CLE Cabriolet gives reason to celebrate.

It's not that many years ago when almost every mainstream car company sold a convertible based on one of their small family-sized ranges, several latterly with complex, heavy and unreliable multi-section folding hard-tops.

Whether most of those who ploughed money into such coupe-convertibles were put off to such a degree they vowed never to do so again or pragmatism weighed heavily on their collective conscience realising they rarely peeled the roof back anyway, sales soon tailed-off dramatically with few new examples going on sale outside the sphere of massively expensive supercars.

Even Mercedes has scaled-back its wares with the advent of the CLE Cabriolet. As with its closed-roof CLE Coupe twin, this soft-top replaces not only the previous Mercedes C-Class Cabriolet but also the larger Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet.

In fact, at a minimum length of 4850mm, the CLE Cabriolet is a smidgen longer than the old E-Class Cabriolet, although its 2865mm wheelbase represents a slight reduction. As a result, the rear pair of seats are going to be a squeeze for taller adults, particularly if those up front are similarly long-limbed. They do at least contain Isofix child seat mounting points and split-fold in a 60/40 configuration to extend the 385-litre boot capacity.

Elsewhere inside the CLE Cabriolet, the dashboard is a near-facsimile of that found in the Mercedes C-Class, with an 11.9-inch, portrait-oriented multimedia touchscreen swooping up at an angle from the centre console, skewed slightly towards the driver for ergonomic convenience. Its angle can also be adjusted to reduce the chances of being dazzled by the sun's reflection when the roof's down.

A further 12.3-inch display screen ahead of the driver provides digitised instrumentation, while more expensive trim levels additionally replicate key information to the driver via a head-up display windscreen projection.

Following the decision not to replace the now discontinued Audi A5 Cabriolet, the soft-top CLE only currently has one direct rival in the guise of the BMW 4 Series Convertible. Open-topped alternatives on the horizon are currently limited to 2026’s electric Polestar 6, although its rear seats are expected to be even tighter for space.

Powering the Mercedes CLE Cabriolet is a suite of five mild hybrid-assisted combustion engines, all with nine-speed automatic transmissions. Disappointingly the CLE300e Coupe’s plug-in hybrid choice hasn’t made it across to the soft-top but there’s good news for diesel fans — the CLE220d Cabriolet is the only convertible now sold in the UK that’s fuelled from the black pump. The full range consists of:

• CLE220d — rear-wheel drive, 2.0-litre diesel, 197PS, 440Nm of torque, 145mph top speed, 7.9-second 0-62mph time, 57.7mpg
• CLE200 — rear-wheel drive, 2.0-litre petrol, 204PS, 320Nm of torque, 147mph top speed, 7.9-second 0-62mph time, 41.5-42.2mpg
• CLE300 4Matic — four-wheel drive, 2.0-litre petrol, 258PS, 400Nm of torque, 155mph top speed, 6.6-second 0-62mph time, 39.2mpg
• CLE450 4Matic — four-wheel drive, 3.0-litre petrol, 381PS, 500Nm of torque, 155mph top speed, 4.7-second 0-62mph time, 35.3mpg
• AMG CLE53 4Matic+ — four-wheel drive, 3.0-litre petrol, 449PS, 560Nm of torque, 155mph top speed, 4.4-second 0-62mph time, 29.1-29.4mpg

At the top of the performance tree, the Mercedes-AMG CLE53 Cabriolet models additionally feature more aggressive styling including a bonnet bulge, vertical front grille vanes and broader wings front and rear to accommodate wheels that are set wider apart than on CLEs to benefit its handling characteristics. These CLE53 models also lose 10 litres of boot capacity compared with their less powerful rangemates.

Trim levels in the CLE Cabriolet range are similarly bewildering to those of other Mercedes models. AMG Line is the entry-level specification but that can only be paired with the CLE200 and CLE220d engines. Both the CLE300 4Matic and CLE450 4Matic are additionally available in AMG Line Premium, AMG Line Premium Plus and Premier Edition grades. We reckon that AMG Line Premium hits a sweet spot as that’s the trim that nets you both a heated steering wheel and a 360-degree parking camera.

Specifications specific to the Mercedes-AMG CLE53 4Matic+ Cabriolet are slightly different again, starting at AMG Premium, progressing to AMG Night Edition Premium Plus and crowned by Limited Edition.

All soft-top CLEs are fitted as standard with the Cabriolet Comfort package which includes the Aircap spoiler which deploys from the top of the windscreen surround when the roof’s lowered to direct air more effectively over passengers’ heads. Also part of the package is the Airscarf system integrated into the front seats which blows warm air towards the back of their occupants necks, ensuring extra cosiness when going for a top-down winter jaunt.

Orderable since the start of 2024, prices currently start at £54,495 for the Mercedes CLE200 AMG Line Cabriolet and £56,075 for the CLE220d version. For more power you’ll need £61,370 for the CLE300 4Matic AMG Line Premium Cabriolet and £72,325 for the punchier CLE450 4Matic upgrade.

At the upper echelons of the pricing scale a substantial £79,660 is required to get behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG CLE53 4Matic+ AMG Premium Cabriolet with the most expensive deriving being the AMG CLE53 4Matic+ Limited Edition at £94,160.

Keep this page bookmarked to read our forthcoming full and comprehensive Mercedes CLE Cabriolet review in the weeks ahead.