As promised, our army of Mercedes reviews marches onward, with a grand total of four new models put through paces in this, our second Review Roundup installment of the past two days.  As by now I'm sure you've all grown intimately familiar with, you can find excerpts from each review as well as links back to the full articles immediately below.

Enjoy ladies and gentlemen.


Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG (via Automobile)
Reviewer's rating:  Unspecified

Phil Floraday:
"The CLS is a much better match for the 6.2-liter AMG V-8 than the S-class. I was expecting the CLS to feel a bit awkward with this engine since it seems to be nearly as large as an S-class, but I was pleasantly surprised. The CLS is even better suited to this particular engine than the CL coupe, which was another surprise. The tip in is a little funky, but once you're on the road this V-8 sounds great and packs plenty of punch.

Distronic is always nice when you're following a driver who doesn't like to hold a consistent speed, though I wish the distance control switch were located on the cruise control stalk. It's not intuitive to look down next to the shifter to control how closely you follow a car. I used the system at night and I didn't find the distance control until this morning when it was light. Aside from this ergonomic niggle, distronic is my favorite of the active cruise control systems and the only one I really trust to slow my car down safely and consistently if the car in front of me hits the brakes.

I suppose the main selling point on this car is the styling. The CLS started the four-door coupe segment and has spawned many imitators. A design that once stood out from everything else on the road now has several competitors and even the 2009 Mazda6 has a similar shape to this Mercedes. I wonder how the market will respond to these new imitators and what that does to image-conscious Mercedes buyers. The next CLS needs to be as revolutionary as the 2004 CLS was."

Rusty Blackwell: 
"After the manic C63, I think this is my second-favorite AMG "63" model, although it's a close call in light of the excellent CL63. As Phil noted, the size and spirit of this car work extremely well with the high-revving nature of this 507-hp normally aspirated V-8. Like some of the other great V-8s on the market today, there's something wholly intoxicating about this engine's glorious song. Let's just say it's tough to keep this Benz at legal speeds. But it's not just during autobahn-style blasts that the CLS63 is awesome; curves can be very fun, too, thanks to the car's excellent balance and steering.

With black paint and the AMG styling touches, the CLS's anti-sedan design reaches peak chic. Fuel mileage of 12/18 mpg city/highway becomes a nonfactor. If I paid more than $115K for a car, however, I'd expect it to at least have parking sensors and/or a reverse camera."

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Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG (via WheelsMag.com.au)
Reviewer's rating:  

It's unlikely that David Hube and Donald L Henley have ever met, but I’d like to think they have a lot in common, apart from their initials. Both, I can safely assume, are working men, with dirt beneath their fingernails and can-do attitudes. I like to think Don enjoys hot dogs on the grill, and watching the Detroit Lions on cable over a Michelob or three. Herr Hube, I fancy, favours watching ‘his’ VfB Stuttgart boys on Eurosport, taking the kids for a weekend ride in the forests near Affalterbach, and sitting down to a big spread of pork knuckle and sauerkraut.

During the working week they live parallel lives, despite being separated by two continents and the Atlantic Ocean. You see, these guys are responsible for building two of the best damn V8s, ever. I know this because Don’s name appears on a plate fixed to the rocker cover of the LS7 in our HSV W427. Dave’s moniker, meanwhile, adorns the 6.2-litre beast that lurks beneath the swooping bonnet of our white Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG. Gents, even if you’re each unaware of the other’s existence, we salute you.

Combined, the fruits of their labour displace 13.2 litres and produce more than 1000 horsepower. The HSV’s roots are prosaically Australian with American input, while the AMG is upper-class German through and through. Their differences are many – including body shape, price, equipment levels and even transmission type – but their basic aim is the same: to provide big-bore V8 grunt at the press of a throttle pedal.

What they have in common is big-hearted performance by the bucketful thanks to remarkably similar, and gratifyingly huge, engine outputs. The smaller capacity (in relative terms only) AMG V8 with its quad cams and 32 valves produces 378kW at 6800rpm and 630Nm at 5200rpm. The HSV’s 7.0-litre, with pushrods and overhead valves, is good for 375kW at 7000rpm and a smidge more torque with 640Nm at 5000rpm. In engine terms, then, it’s virtually a straight shootout.

In the ensuing gunfight it turns out that the CLS63 wins on the drag strip – but only just. With the traction control turned off the big Benz roars off the line with a wriggle of wheelspin and, with the seven-speed auto up-shifting accurately, hits 100km/h in 4.7 seconds and covers 400 metres in 12.8. Coincidentally, those figures are exactly what we achieved in the W427 at Holden’s Lang Lang proving ground a month or so ago. On a different strip, and in different conditions, we couldn’t quite match the time. Struggling with traction on the get-up, the HSV nevertheless managed 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds, and an impressive 13 second standing 400 metre time.

Bald figures can’t hope to convey the immense character of either of these engines. The AMG V8, for instance, has an epic exhaust note. It crackles into life on start-up, moves sonorously into a profoundly basic rumble as revs rise and ends with a bellow. Even with the transmission in auto mode, it blips the throttle on downshifts and generally lets anyone outside the car know there’s something huge happening under the bonnet. Subjectively, it doesn’t have the same bottom-end grunt of the old 5.4-litre supercharged unit, but the breadth of available revs and the sheer power liberated higher up more than compensates."

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Mercedes-Benz A-Class and B-Class (via CarsGuide.com.au)
Reviewer's rating:  Unspecified

Like all A-Class models, the A180 CDI boasts a comprehensive safety story with electronic stability control, anti-skid brakes, brake assist, acceleration skid control, eight airbags, and a full-sized spare wheel.  Comfort features include climate control air conditioning, multi-function steering wheel and display, AUDIO 20 sound system, Bluetooth connectivity and a split-fold rear seat.

Moving up a notch, the B-Class gains minor cosmetic updates like its smaller brother, from the bumpers and headlights to the interior seat trim and upgraded audio systems.  The front bumper gets a larger air intake and more aggressive treatment.  The visual upgrades also include body coloured exterior mirrors, door hands and lower side skirts on all models.

Inside, the B-Class, already well known for its roomy interior gets new materials with brushed aluminium highlights on the dashboard.  A reach adjustable steering and hill-start assist also make an appearance.

In common with both the A and B are new flashing brake lights that activate if the driver hits the brakes in an emergency when travelling more than 50km/h.  In the B-Class the hazard warning lights also come on in emergency braking manoeuvres above 70km/h.

We've never been a huge fan of the A-Class and the changes to the latest model have only reinforced this thinking.  That said, there are plenty of pluses.  It's a great commuter car, nippy around town, frugal and easy to park.  However, at higher speeds on the highway the car's short wheelbase and upright stance shows up some shortcomings that are inherent with building a car like the A-Class.  The little hatch can be buffeted by cross-winds and road noise intrudes rather too much for a Mercedes, even if it's an entry Merc.

The ride is also geared to comfort rather than handling but it must be remembered that this is not a sportscar.  Although the driving position is good, with a broad panorama of the road, the electro-mechanical power steering is numb and feels disconnected to the road.

However, on the plus side, the A-Class has impeccable safety credentials with a five-star crash rating and impressive arsenal of active and passive safety gear.  It is well build and provides a feeling of being carved from stone while the interior ambience is appropriate to the brand.

The new 80kW 2.0-litre turbo-diesel works well in the A-Class. It provides plenty of low and mid-range response and a combined fuel figure of 5.2 litres/100km.  As peak torque of 250Nm is delivered from 1600 revs the little hatch is reasonably perky off the mark and can keep up with freeway traffic.  The CVT auto works well with the diesel too, providing just the right response at any speed.

Given the price points of the range the A-Class makes a reasonably alternative.  But there are still many other small European hatches that deliver more driver involvement, equally impressive amounts of room and also have that crucial Euro badge to impress the neighbours."

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Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC (via motive)
Reviewer's rating:  Unspecified

"Because the U.S. (and in particular the five states operating under California's more stringent laws) are harder on Oxides of Nitrous emissions and more lax on CO2, the old ML diesel wasn't 50-state legal and would've had a hard time keeping up with ever-tightening limits. With the ML Bluetec, Mercedes has met the ULEV II emissions standard and can now sell its diesel vehicles in those liberal areas that are probably most likely to buy one. And that's good news for anyone who wants diesels to succeed here.

But enough about hot air — how does it drive? Quite well, actually. The engine's 398 lb-ft of torque seem to be available right at idle, while horsepower, as in all diesels, comes with a relatively unimpressive peak number (210 in this case). That doesn't matter, because the ML320 never feels sluggish on our 25-mile route through rural northwestern Chicagoland. It pulls fluidly from stops and out of corners, working in harmony with M-B's impressive seven-speed automatic. Just for kicks, we scaled a small grassy hill in the corner of a parking lot. With feather-light throttle input, the ML idled its way up the hill without drawing the attention of any irritable farmers living nearby.

Fuel economy for our short drive was equally impressive. The ML returned an indicated 24.9 mpg over 45-mph roads with the occasional stop sign or slow corner. That number exceeds the ML's highway figure of 24 mpg and is well above the city number of 18 mpg. Having been accused in the past of being too generous with fuel economy rankings, we suspect the EPA has overcorrected its numbers just a bit. Plus, when there's an average-fuel-economy gauge staring you in the face, it is hard to resist the urge to drive the score up.

More important is the fact that the Bluetec's economy makes the ML350's 15/20 numbers downright depressing. However, there is a catch. Here in the Chicago area, diesel is just 20 to 30 cents higher than a gallon of premium fuel, so the economics work in diesel's favor. However, in neighboring Michigan, the disparity between premium and diesel gallons is closer to a dollar, throwing any cost benefit out the window. And that doesn't include the $1500 premium an ML320 Bluetec carries over an ML350 right from the beginning.

As with owners of hybrids, the diesel buyers paying a little extra to earn it back later will probably never realize their goal. Instead, a diesel like the ML320 Bluetec should be considered on the basis of image, preference, or need. The ML diesel will sell to trailer towers, torque lovers, and people buying into the clean diesel movement. How convenient that we fit into all three categories?"

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And to our friends Shiv and Joe:  many thanks for the tips my good sirs; we sincerely appreciate them.