Agility and poise that would do justice to a sports car! T he CLK cabrio's handling is as delicious as its exterior hints at. No that's not correct, it's better than that! The sheer grip and the poise of getting the car to rocket from corner to twisty corner when blasting up the Khambatki and Wai ghats on the way to Mahabaleshwar is the key to savouring the chassis-suspension-steering-brakes integration of the car as the Mercedes engineers intended. The sheer precision of the steering is awe-inspiring and the way the car heads in the direction pointed has also got to do much with the near neutral set-up afforded by the rear suspension geometry. If the steering is an orgasmic delight, the braking is also standout. Responses are spot on without getting the wheels locked up, the ABS kicks in just at the right moment and there is no panic or drama to get the pulses racing. Keeping the man behind the wheel to indulge in stress-free motoring is what emerges to the fore in the CLK, more so than in any other Mercedes I have had the pleasure to drive extensively these last few months.

Thanks to the ESP working superbly, the car has a poise which is unmatchable even when tackling slow corners with gusto and without unsettling the rear end. The shocks are damped ideally and this in turn brings across the best ride quality I have witnessed in a present day Mercedes-Benz. A pretty tall statement but true nonetheless. It would take something really silly or stupid to get the CLK to bite back so well sorted she is in near enough every driving situation.

HANDLING:
STEERING:
RIDE QUALITY:
BRAKING: