2025 Mercedes-Benz CLE 300 4Matic Cabriolet
Price: $85,500
Colour: Patagonia Red Metallic
Earlier in the year I drove the CLE 300 coupe. I wasn’t so much struck by the performance of that car (it was typical Mercedes), but I was amazed by how it made me feel. It felt incredibly rare and when you combine that with it’s good looks it was a special thing. How to improve upon such a thing then? Take the roof off. When you do that, you create something truly awesome.
Power & Performance
You get the ubiquitous 2.0L Turbo w/mild hybrid system that Mercedes puts in so many of its entry/mid level vehicles. The 255 hp and 295 lb/ft get the job done with no complaints. More power would make the CLE vulgar, and we can’t have that.
Exterior
The CLE 300 Cabriolet is beautiful. There is no other way to describe the looks of this car. The lines flow, the balance is spot on and with the top down, it looks like a vehicle worth a lot more than the already obnoxious amount Mercedes is asking for it. Of particular note are the speakers built into the roof cover behind the rear seats. They are clearly designed to punish other motorists with my horrid tastes in music, but I don’t care. That’s the price you pay for the privilege of sharing the road with this crimson beauty.
Interior
My original plan for my time with the CLE 300 Cabriolet was to take it on a roadtrip over 4 days. We were headed to a lovely part of British Columbia called the Okanagan (vineyard and lake country). I was going glide over the 350km trip in the CLE with the roof down, sun in my face, skin cancer be damned. As is the way of life, things don’t always work out the way we plan. I arrived at my nephew’s house to pick him up and make our way out of town. Unfortunately, when he pulled out a suitcase, backpack, gym bag and garbage bag with his bedding (don’t ask), I realized immediately that we weren’t going have anywhere near enough space. Add to that our mutually generous proportions maxed out the available space inside the CLE and I knew were well and truly dead in the water. I surrendered and swapped my red rocket for my boring, grey company SUV. Life is sometimes terribly cruel.
The lessons learned on this day was that if you are going to take the CLE 300 Cabriolet on a road trip, ensure you and your travel partner are slim and light packers.
Quality
The 2025 CLE 300 is on par with the established build quality of all modern Mercs. Make of that what you will. I must point out that the roof mechanism feels like a quality item.
CQI – 8.
Value
Value… hmmmm… at $85K I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
Final Thoughts
I was heartbroken by the CLE 300 Cabriolet. It’s not really the cars’ fault that I and my travel companion are too fat and can’t pack lightly. We are though and we missed the opportunity to put the car through it’s intended purpose. That being said, it still made an impression. It’s beautiful, elegant and classy. You can drop the top when needed and invite the world in. People will of course secretly loathe you for your excess as you drive by but more so they’ll envy you your opportunity to roll like few others do.
