You want to talk about saving the manuals? How about saving the convertibles? They are a dying breed, especially those with a back seat. How about one that’s reasonably affordable? Hope you like a Mustang or, for a little while longer, a Mini.
The 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE 450 Cabriolet would not be one of those reasonably affordable ones, but it does have a back seat. As you’re about to see, it actually has quite a large back seat. And we’ve already shown that it has a surprisingly big trunk, too. This practicality goes a long way toward countering the reason, it could be argued, convertibles have fallen out of favor: They don’t make very good daily drivers, and when fewer Americans have room in their garages or budgets for an extra car, that matters.
Well, as senior editors James Riswick and John Beltz Snyder discovered, in two different car on opposite sides of the country, the CLE Cabriolet can be a daily driver … with kids, no less. They had differing opinions about how good, however.
Here are their thoughts, with Riswick leading it off.
My test car had a black interior, which seems a bit nuts for a convertible in Southern California. The tan leather in my own convertible can get awfully butt-searing if I park it with the top down, so I can’t imagine what it would be like with black. The CLE has an answer to that, however, as its leather, regardless of color, is coated in a sun-reflective material that Mercedes says reduces the temperature by 50 degrees. A BMW 3 Series was the first convertible I recall having something like this (E93?), so the CLE is certainly not the first. Still appreciated, though, even if I’d personally opt for not black.
If you count the CLE as a member of the E-Class Cabriolet lineage, this is the third generation to have Mercedes’ AirCap system. It consists of the windshield header trim panel that rises up to reveal a mesh netting below (pretty much what you’d see in a sunroof wind deflector) and power pop-up wind deflector behind the back seat. They only operate together; you can’t use one or another. I can confirm that they do in fact deflect the wind and minimize air movement in the cabin. It’s definitely a bigger deal for those with long hair, however. I didn’t realize that much of a difference below 60 mph, and if anything, I found AirCap to actually be a detriment at those lower speeds for a different reason: noise. Air hitting that mesh in the windshield header is a lot louder than the cabin is at the same speeds when not deployed. It makes me wonder what it would be like if you could pop up the deflector behind the back seats but not the windshield header.
The CLE replaces both the C- and E-Class Cabriolets, but it’s bigger than both of them. You can really tell in the back seat, which I would venture is more spacious than that of any convertible car (as in, not a Wrangler or Bronco). It’s even bigger than what you’d find in a Bentley Continental or BMW 8 Series, which cost way more than this.
(Note that in the below photo, the driver seat is pushed almost all the way back)
The CLE is officially the first convertible my son ever got to ride in. The back seat was wide enough to accommodate our giant Britax Boulevard child seat, and although I needed to scoot the front passenger seat up to give him legroom, there was no shortage of legroom remaining up front. Impressive! Oh, and guess what kind of car is unquestionably the easiest to load your kid into? That’s right, a convertible with the roof down. I started lowering it with the key while approaching, which is delightfully showy, but also a great feature. I’d argue it’s a must for a two-row convertible.
Even better, installing the car seat was surprisingly easy. Reading the manual is an absolute must as it shows you how to pop out the rear head restraint and therefore access the hole needed to pass through the car seat’s rear LATCH anchor strap. Once you know the trick, however, it was significantly easier than installing this same car seat in literally every pickup truck I’ve tested. OK, so again, having the roof down makes a big difference, but unless it’s raining …
Whenever I get a new car, my son inevitably asks, “does this one change color?” What he really means is, “does this one have 64-color ambient lighting like a Mercedes?” Obviously, this one does, and it makes my son one happy little guy. Oh, and you can do with voice control.
“Hey Mercedes, change ambient lighting to purple.”
“She” will often respond with “OK, changing ambient lighting to (insert color)” followed by some pithy comment about your color choice. Pointless but delightful.
The CLE looks terrific inside and out, with the top up or the top down. It is impeccably refined to drive, and I can confirm after spending an entire morning tearing through the Santa Monica Mountains, that it can be tremendously rewarding to drive. The inline-six engine is a peach, Jerry, a peach. All told, everything about the CLE Convertible feels special. Even though it has only one competitor, barely, its excellence is undeniable. This is one I didn’t want to give back.
OK, take away Mr. Snyder. How’d you fare in Michigan?
I originally attempted to install my daughter’s forward-facing Britax Frontier with the top up, and grew incredibly frustrated and sweaty. There’s a reason I didn’t bother when I had the CLE Coupe. Things get easier with the top down, but James is right that consulting the owner’s manual is necessary. I wouldn’t necessarily call the installation easy, though. There were still some curse words hurled (the kids were out of earshot), but after some wrangling, I got it done, and Lola had no complaints about sitting behind me – Riswick didn’t even attempt that in California, the CLE still isn’t big enough for that. I didn’t even have to move my seat forward for her and I’m still 6-feet tall.
“This is up … and now down. Up. Down.” After repeated testing, my large son confirmed that the system made a difference in the back seat at highway speeds, but didn’t make much of a difference around town. I didn’t feel much of a difference either way in the front seat. But, yeah, it definitely creates significantly more wind noise when deployed. The front mesh also seems to gather junk like leaves and dead bugs. Gross.
(I can confirm this. Found some bees in there myself. -Riswick)
These long doors are a bit ungainly. Parked on a slight uphill incline, it’s hard to get them open. It requires a lot of might, and you don’t get a lot of leverage from the front seat. Then they slam shut from the force of gravity.
My large 9-year-old son spent a lot of time in the back of the CLE, and spent an inordinate amount of time and effort getting in and out of it. The hefty doors are a part of the problem. The leather loop you need to pull from the shoulder of the front seat in order to fold it forward is also a hassle. You have to resist the urge to pull it toward you and instead pull it pretty much straight upward, and it required two hands for my son. It wasn’t just him — my wife struggled with it as well, and I couldn’t pull the passenger loop from my spot in the driver’s seat.
And of course, by the time he’d sat down, he then had to get back up, and reach past the front seat (which he’d have to move forward again if he’d already leaned it back) in order to grab the front armrest to close the door.
Then that all had to be done in reverse to get out. He’d struggle with the leather loop, contort his body in order to reach the door handle (which seemed a mile away), only to struggle against the weight of the door to get it open, often requiring multiple tries. It was usually quicker for me just to play doorman for him.
I normally don’t mind it, but with my motion-sickness-prone wife as a passenger, I had to disable stop-start to prevent herky-jerky driving. When a light would turn green, or a gap opened up for me to make a turn, I’d often reach the gas pedal before the engine had reignited. The result was a sharp jolt from a stop rather than the smooth rollout I’d intended. Easy enough: Just press the button under the ignition to turn it off, but by that time, I’d already set her stomach a-churnin’. This is particularly surprising as one of the benefits of the inline-six’s mild-hybrid system is to smooth out auto stop/starts.
The CLE Cabriolet, just like the Coupe I drove a few months back, feels luxurious, refined and sporty going down the road. The turbocharged, mild-hybrid powertrain gives you buttery and ample acceleration at any speed, all up and down the rev range. Gear swaps are swift and seamless. The chassis glides over the pavement. The CLE exudes the exact sort of attitude and behavior one looks for in a Mercedes.
Flicking through the content you can display in front of you in the instrument panel, I came across this Eco display. It’s a sort of driving coach to help you drive as economically as possible. It’s an image of a ball. When you accelerate, it rolls toward you, as if acted upon by the g forces. Accelerate too hard, and it turns red. Same goes for braking: Do it smoothly, and the ball remains toward the center, but brake too hard, and it rolls away from you and turns red. If you drive smoothly enough without sending the ball rolling too much, you earn stars.“Ohhhhh,” my son said from the back seat. “It’s a game!” That it is, bud, and a fun one at that.
It just has to fit in around the trunk separator. This took a little bit to figure out, and it started with pushing a mysterious button on the inside of the trunk lid. That flipped a little piece of plastic up and down. It has to be down for you to put the roof down, and if something is in the way, the separator will just bounce back up. I was able to pack a fair about of cargo — a big pool bag full of toys and towels, a sizable cooler bag and a full backpack — rearward of that separator for a run to the pool. Everyone was happy.
Every time we left the house, my son asked, “Can we take the Mercedes?” He chose that over our much roomier Hyundai Palisade, the easier-to-get-in VW Jetta GLI and my questionably reliable 1974 Beetle.
My 3-year-old daughter would ask, “Which car are we taking?” Me replying, “The gray one” would elicit smiles and a little happy dance.
My wife asked, “When can we get one of these?”
Despite some of the inconveniences of a smaller vehicle with two doors and a fussy getting-in-the-rear-seat experience, the CLE was what everyone wanted to ride in, and I was happy to oblige.
Over the past decades, the big three German luxury brands have injected an unhealthy amount of sportiness into even their most-relaxed models. Even German people movers have an overly stiff suspension and incredibly quick steering, offering buyers a sense of performance in a car they’ll be driving back and forth to work.
This stuff belongs on M cars and AMGs, yes, but for the rest of them, comfort and luxury should be the priority. Going by my few days behind the wheel of the CLE convertible, it seems Mercedes-Benz has yet to lose the plot.
The CLE is a brand-new car in the Mercedes lineup, launched last year to fill the gap left by the discontinued C-Class and E-Class coupes. As such, it’s sized to fit between the two cars—not quite as big as an E-Class, but not quite as small as a C-Class. At 4,486 pounds, it’s no lightweight. But that doesn’t harm this car’s luxury intentions. And with 375 horsepower and 369 pound-feet on tap from the hybrid straight-six under the hood, there’s no shortage of forward thrust.
The CLE450 I tested puts power to the ground through a nine-speed automatic and standard 4Matic all-wheel drive. The 48-volt hybrid system is best appreciated in low-speed, stop-and-go situations. It delivers an instant punch of torque fill while the turbo spools. Climb the rev range and you’re treated to a linear, appropriate level of acceleration—it’s nothing particularly explosive, but considering this isn’t an AMG, it’s fitting.
That extra kick of electric power comes courtesy of an integrated starter-generator (ISG) sandwiched between the engine and the transmission, capable of 23 hp and 151 lb-ft on its own. Power arrives as smooth and unobtrusive as it was when I first experienced this powertrain back in 2019, behind the wheel of the then-new AMG E53 sedan. The only difference here is a strangely audible exhaust note coming from the rear of the CLE. I could understand the overstated tone if this were an AMG-badged car, but it’s not. And while straight-sixes usually produce nice sounds, this one sounded weirdly droney and unpleasant.
At least the CLE looks good. From what I can tell, the front end shares more with the C-Class, while the rear borrows from the E-Class. Despite the mismatch of designs, it all comes together into a cohesive package with good proportions. The bright red cloth top wouldn’t be my first choice, but I’d definitely stick with the red leather interior, a $1,620 option. Visibility is good even with the top up thanks to the relatively large rear quarter glass, though the belt line is incredibly high, so don’t expect to be able to comfortably lean your elbow out the window.
Like every new Mercedes, the CLE’s cabin is a lovely space to spend time, with a minimalist dashboard design and a set of extremely comfortable, highly adjustable seats. Unfortunately, almost everything—including lumbar, bolster, and massage functions—is operated via the gigantic 11.9-inch portrait touchscreen. Even worse, the steering wheel controls are entirely touch-capacitive and require light swipes for things like volume and cruise control adjustments. Even the main volume rocker is touch-operated. A few more real buttons would be nice, Mercedes.
Where the CLE succeeds most is in its mission as a luxury cruiser. The steering feels smooth and light, while the suspension produces a soft and compliant ride. The brake pedal tuning makes it easy to bring the car to a linear, controlled stop, while the throttle encourages calm takeoffs. There’s no hint of sportiness here. It’s all geared toward a pleasant, laid-back experience meant for real, day-to-day driving scenarios. Exactly how it should be.
The only sporting intention you’ll find on the CLE450 is the Sport drive mode, which doesn’t change much aside from the throttle response. This is the type of car that encourages you to lay back and glide leisurely to your destination, massage seats on full blast. Sure, it’ll go fast and handle corners well enough, but it’s clear that’s not the point of this car, nor should it be.
While I haven’t driven the CLE’s main competitor, the BMW 4 Series convertible, I have driven the coupe variant. As a daily driver, I prefer the Benz’s general attitude and its stellar seats. It looks far nicer, too. But the BMW has a more logical interior layout that includes a real volume knob. And if you’re the type who likes to use your daily as an occasional fun car, the M440i has a far more characterful powertrain. If it were my only car, I’d probably have the BMW. But if I had a fun car for the weekends, I’d buy the Mercedes.
The CLE450 starts at exactly $75,000 including destination. For that, you get a healthy amount of standard equipment, including a Burmester sound system, heated front seats, and the company’s nifty “Airscarf,” which pushes warm air onto the back of your neck through the seat, so you can enjoy an open-top experience even when it’s cold outside.
Our tester came with about 10 grand in options, including an Alpine Grey paint job ($1,750), a 360-degree surround view system ($600), 20-inch wheels ($850), a head-up display ($1,100), seat massaging ($950) and seat ventilation ($450). Of those, the seating upgrades are the only must-haves. During my time with the car, the seat ventilation was always on full blast; it’s a savior on hot, nice days when you just want to cruise with the top down.
The CLE convertible is proof luxury brands don’t have to lean into sportiness to move product. Delivering a supremely comfortable, pleasant driving experience can be equally impressive if it’s done right. And this car nails the brief for a reasonable price.
