2024 Mercedes CLE Cabriolet Makes Top-Down Comfortable

• Mercedes has replaced both the C- and E-Class with the new CLE Cabriolet.

• The model comes in two powertrains: 2.0-liter four cylinder and 3.0-liter straight-six.

• Get the six. But prices for the four start at just $65,500.

If you’re considering a Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet, you may want to spend the extra $9,500 to get the CLE 450 instead of the CLE 300. Wait, who am I to be spending your money? I’m trying to help you out here. If you try both models, you may agree that the extra 120 hp and 74 lb-ft of torque from the straight-six will make the 450 the far superior ride, regardless of cost.

True, this isn’t a performance car. It’s more for cruising comfortably in the summer, top down, significant other smiling in the passenger seat, sun setting over the far horizon. But why not go for that extra output that at least makes all of the above more fun if you’re the one driving? I got to drive both models of CLE in the hills above Malibu, Calif., and I really felt the 450 was much more fun from behind the wheel.

Many other improvements conspire on the CLE to make driving it with the top down an even more pleasant experience, from the acoustic soft top to the optional leather seats that Mercedes claims have “a special reflective coating to stay 53 degrees cooler on the warmest days.”

There’s a new pop-up wind deflector on the top of the windshield header called the AirCap electric wind deflector system. There’s an AirScarf that pumps hot air around your head to extend top-down driving season longer than before. There’s a new Burmester 3D Surround Sound audio system, and, of course, the third generation Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotainment portal.

Whatever you do, act now because the CLE is one of the few remaining luxury convertibles on the market. Mercedes eliminated the smaller SLK roadster four years ago, the S-Class Cabrio a year after that, and has now combined the former C- and E-Class Cabriolets into the new CLE you see here. So, right now it’s just the CLE and the $112,950 SL Roadster as the sole drop tops in the Mercedes portfolio. So be thankful for what ya’ got.

Specifically, the two models of the new CLE Cabriolet are:

• The CLE 300 4Matic, sporting a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder making 255 hp at 5,800 rpm and 295 lb-ft between 2,000 and 3,500 revs. It also has a 48-volt mild hybrid Integrated Starter Generator that makes 23 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque at lower engine speeds. Zero-to-60 mph comes up in 6.2 seconds, Mercedes says, with an electronically limited top speed of 130 mph. Sticker price starts at $65,500.

• The CLE 450 4Matic that I’m recommending is powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six making 375 hp between 5,800 and 6,100 rpm and 369 lb-ft of torque between 1,800 and 5,000 revs. It gets the same ISG mild hybrid with the same 23 hp and 151 lb-ft and sports the same electronically limited top speed of 130 mph, but 0-60 comes up in just 4.2 seconds. Sticker price starts at $75,000, including destination.

One thought: Why is the 4Matic AWD system the only powertrain offered? Aren’t most of these going to sunbelt states? Why not shave off the curb weight, complexity, and extra cost and have simple rear-wheel drive? Wouldn’t you get about twice the sales if you knocked, say, ten grand off the sticker?

What am I, a product planner?

Mercedes dropped off a CLE 300 at my house the week before the car’s official press launch in Malibu. I drove it around diligently, top up and down, and enjoyed it as any owner would. It is roomy and very comfortable inside; the top worked flawlessly every time I put it up or down; and it felt well worth the $65,500 someone was going to pay for it.

But I couldn’t help feeling it needed more power. I’m sure the ISG mild hybrid was doing its job saving fuel and launching the car off the line at green lights, and the turbo surely helped move it along the rest of the time, but I wanted more.

So, in Da ‘Bu I asked the German fleet guy for a 450. Big difference. Knocking two seconds off its 0-60 time makes for a lot of attitude change.

Using the added 74 lb-ft of torque in the twisty hill country of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area almost made it feel like a sport sedan, or rather coupe. Or convertible. Whatever, it was more fun. And well-worth the dough, I say to you, potential buyer.

The Audi S5 convertible starts at about the same price and offers 349 hp, 369 lb-ft and gets to 60 in 4.7 seconds, but the Audi A4 makes do with 261 hp, 273 lb-ft and gets to 60 in 5.6 seconds and costs ten grand less.

The BMW 430i Convertible gets to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds and costs just under $60k. The M4 Convertible hits 60 from a standstill in 3.6 seconds but also costs over $95,000.

And, just to beat the web commenters to it, you can get a Ford Mustang Convertible for just over $40,000, and its entry-level 2.3-liter EcoBoost four with 315 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque will launch to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, while the V8-powered GT Premium Convertible does it in 4.3 seconds for $52,880 minus destination (the latter two acceleration times come from zeroto60times.com).

So what should you get? Am I still spending your money? The BMW would likely handle better and be more fun, but the near-six-figure sticker price of the M4 Convertible may be prohibitive. The Audi S5 is closer to the Mercedes CLE and it, too, may handle just a bit more sportily. If you want bang for the buck, get the Mustang.

But for gawd’s sake get something. Summer’s almost over and soon it’ll be time to put the top up, with or without that AirScarf.

Is summer over? Would you still buy a convertible? Let us know in the comments.