Mercedes-Benz CLK Cabriolet...Continued

What We Looked At:

Roominess And Comfort: The CLK 320 Cabriolet is an exceptionally comfortable convertible -- like its sibling the CLK Coupe. The electric front seats provide excellent support and comfort and have their own suspension system. This system prevents most of the vibration and harshness not absorbed by the car's suspension from reaching the driver and front passenger. Both of the seats have adjustable memory settings for three different people. The driver's seat memory also controls the outside mirrors. Long trips are not fatiguing and this adds to the enjoyment of the top-down experience.

The two wide rear seats are the same as those in the CLK Coupe. Even though the rear passenger area is a tad smaller to accommodate the roof mechanism, Mercedes kept the width of the individual rear bucket seats the same by narrowing the arm rest between them.

Creature comforts include dual-zone climate controls with a two-stage charcoal/dust filter which dehumidifies incoming air before cooling it. There is a "rest" feature which circulates warm air for up to half an hour after the car is parked and the engine turned off. This keeps the car warm while you run into the market on a cold day -- a great feature for those who live where winters are cold but want a convertible for the summer months. The CLK Cabriolet comes with a wind deflector to diminish air turbulence when the top is down. It can only be used when there are no rear seat passengers.

The CLK Cabriolet is equipped with a seven-speaker, 200-watt, Bose sound system with a sub woofer. Bose and Mercedes-Benz engineers developed the system specifically for open-air driving -- it works quite well given how hard it is to develop good sound in a convertible. A trunk-mounted, six-disc CD changer is available as part of an option package which also includes an integrated cellular phone.

Driving Position: The instruments are located in a rounded housing directly in front of the driver. To the right, at the top of the center console, are the air-conditioning vents. Directly below them are the controls for the dual-zone climate system. Below the heating and air conditioning system are the controls for the seven-speaker Bose sound system. As usual, the 5-speed automatic transmission shifter is in the center console between the seats. Below it are the controls for the windows. Rear visibility is a problem when the rear-seat head restraints are up, but these can be lowered from the driver's seat. The side-view mirrors automatically turn downward when the car is put in reverse to give a better view of the curb or other obstacles.