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Rating

Verdict Almost flawless

So far as I’m concerned the Mercedes CLS is the most spectacular-looking car Mercedes has made and possibly one of the all-time greats from anywhere.

Let’s start in the back, where you’d expect the sloping roofline to make the accommodation suitable only for Anne Boleyn. But no. There are only two seats rather than three, but there is enough room for nonamputees to stretch out and relax. Even I fitted and I have the body and legs of an ostrich.

And to make the recipe even better, the car I tested had a 5.5 litre supercharged AMG V8; the engine that sounds like a second world war fighter and goes like a modern-day rocket.

They say, as always, that the power of this engine is so brutish that the top speed of the car has to be electronically checked at 155mph. But I saw 175 on the speedo, and it was still climbing like a bat out of hell when I ran out of road and had to hit the brakes.

Aaaaargh. They were astonishing. Mash your foot onto the brake pedal and, I’m not joking, it really does feel like your face is being torn off. The G-forces are so immense it actually hurts.

This car is a gem; fast, handsome, well priced, comfortable and blessed with a handling balance that’s pretty close to perfect.

Price when tested (Mar 2005) £70,565 Model discontinued

Engine 5439cc, eight cylinders

Power 476bhp @ 6100rpm

Torque 516 lb ft @ 4500rpm

Transmission Five-speed automatic

Fuel/ 21mpg (combined) / 326g/km

0-62mph 4.7sec

Top speed 155mph

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