Bucket Seat: Mercedes-Benz CLE200 Cabriolet

Over the past decade, Mercedes-Benz model line-up was quite a vast one, they had models from A up to the S Class, and with that came derivatives in the cross over segment and the more sporty coupe segment, over the last few years when sales took a knock, the brand decided to re-look at some of the models in their offering and condense it a bit. Two of those models were the C-Class Coupe/ Cabriolet and the E-Class Coupe/ Cabriolet. While both had their own appeal, there was marginal differences to them in the skeletons of the car. Last year Mercedes-Benz launched the CLE Class, with the Coupe hitting our shores in the first quarter of the year and the topless version towards the latter half. While I got to experience the hard top during its launch in KZN, the appeal to drive a cabriolet is always tempting especially when you live in Durban, where its sunny all year round apart from the days there is an important cricket match being played in town. So Merc sent me the CLE 200 Cabriolet not too long ago to spend a few days with and I was relishing the opportunity to get behind the wheel of it. 

DESIGN

The CLE200 Cabriolet is a visual stunner, with the roof up or down, this particular model finished in white with black details was a looker of note. With a long, sculpted bonnet, wide stance, and coupe-inspired lines, it carries a confident road presence that turned heads everywhere I went. Up front, the iconic grille with a central Mercedes star is flanked by sharp Digital Light LED headlights, while the back end features slim taillights and a fluid shoulder line that enhances its low-slung profile. The fabric soft-top folds neatly in around 20 seconds at speeds up to 60km/h, giving you that breezy open-air feel without fuss. Its design bridges the sportiness of the old C-Class Coupe with the premium grace of the E-Class. This model came in the AMG package which included 19-inch alloys and subtle chrome accents add to the classy yet athletic vibe. A mature, timeless design that turns heads, whether roof up or down.

PERFORMANCE

Under the bonnet, the CLE200 Cabriolet features a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine paired with a 48V mild hybrid system. With a total power output of 150kW and 320Nm torque, all perfectly mated with the 9G-Tronic automatic gearbox makes for tonnes of fun, whether you're taking a causal cruise with the roof down or chasing the wind. It achieves a 0–100km/h time of a brisk 7.5 seconds with its top speed limited to 236km/h. The mild hybrid system offers an additional 17kW of boost during acceleration, improving efficiency and responsiveness. While not a fire-breathing sports car, it’s quick enough for most drivers and impressively refined.  Rear-wheel drive delivers balance and composure on the open road with it giving you confidence to attack corners and accelerate out of long bends with ease. The CLE200 excels as a grand tourer – smooth, predictable, and comfortable on long drives. Sport and Comfort modes adapt the throttle and suspension feel nicely with the driver and the passenger not feeling uneasy at all. While its not the quickest engine in the Mercedes arsenal, it sure still does deliver plenty of fun for the driver. 

COMFORT

Comfort is one of the CLE200’s standout traits – especially for a cabriolet, from the existing diamond stitched leather seats which were finished in a tan colour, the cars interior is a carbon copy to that of the CLE Coupe and the C-Class Sedan with an additional party trick which allows the center infotainment screen to tilt should the suns glare affect it when driving with the top down.  Interior Materials feature soft-touch leathers, open-pore wood or aluminium trim, and ambient lighting create a premium cabin as with all their cars. The front seats a heated and power-adjustable  with optional neck-level Airscarf system – a true must for winter top-down drives as I made plenty of use of during Durban's "cold" winter weather.  A wind deflector and acoustic fabric roof keep noise levels impressively low, even on highways. The cars aerodynamics were such that I hardly found myself using the wind deflector, even at high-speeds with the roof down. The ride quality is refined, especially when fitted with adaptive damping. Mercedes has also improved cabin insulation, making it a serene space with the roof closed. The rear seats are best suited for kids or shorter adults as legroom is limited and confined to the driver and font passengers requirements. Boot space is around 385 litres (roof up), dropping slightly when the top is stowed, there is a handy drop shelf that guides you on how much you can load the car when the roof is down so weekends away is still possible. 11.9-inch portrait touchscreen infotainment system running the latest MBUX software is a breeze to use, with wireless phone connectivity and multiple other menu options to play with, the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with customizable layouts is also a treat to look at. The car also comes with the “Hey Mercedes” voice assistant to control just about anything in the car. This model came fitted with the optional Burmester 3D sound system for audiophile-level audio, this made for perfect music playback when driving with the top down. Some of the key driver assistance features include Adaptive cruise control (Distronic), Lane-keeping assist, 360-degree camera system, Blind spot monitoring and Traffic sign recognition with heads up display.

VERDICT

The Mercedes-Benz CLE200 Cabriolet is an exceptional lifestyle vehicle that prioritizes comfort, class, and elegance over outright sportiness. It’s best suited to buyers who enjoy open-top luxury motoring, scenic weekend drives, and advanced tech in a beautifully crafted package. It might not be the most powerful cabriolet in the range, but for many, its smooth power delivery, relaxing ride, and stunning looks will be more than enough. If you looking for something with a bit more oomph, perhaps the CLE 300 is more suited for you, with a possible AMG variant that could make its appearance in the country. Compared to its rivals, I think the Merc wins by a long shot, if they all had to be parked side by side, the CLE will definitely get all the attention. 

SPECIFICATION

Engine	2.0L Turbo-Petrol
Gear Box	9 G Tronic Automatic
Torque	320Nm
Power	150kW+17kW electric boost
0-100km/h	7.5 seconds
Price	R1,442,089*

*base price

Bucket Seat: BMW M4 Competition Convertible

This week saw BMW unveil the topless version of their most controversial model yet, the BMW M4 Competition. With the M3 and M4 already being acclimatized to the market, there still are some who still get uncomfortable looking at the large grille. Yes it is in your face and rather different from the brand but come now guys, its time to build a bridge, for me and many others, it looks great and the performance speaks for itself so lets forget about your opinion on the cosmetic aspects. Needless to say there was always going to be a performance model of the M4 and thank the heavens because BMW have opted to re-introduce the soft top. I mean, no offence to the hard top on the previous model but if you've ever driven the 4 Series with the folding hard top, you would know how much extra weight is added to the rear when folded as well as the car just not feeling hundred percent balanced. The only good thing I could speak about the folding hard top was that it looked cool while being opened or closed, almost like a transformer but that's about it for me. 

Anyway, lets not dwell on the past and look to the future with the all-new M4 convertible and my isn't she a beauty. BMW say that this is a new generation of top-class high performance sports car for the premium midsize segment. At the heart, the new M4 convertible retains the M TwinPower Turbo 3.0L inline 6-cylinder beast that powers its siblings the M3 and M4 Coupe, delivering 375kW and 600Nm of torque which propels the can from 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds! Doing that with the roof down must be another level of thrilling and probably will give new meaning to the term "feeling the wind in your hair". The engine is a high-revving one so you will be able to hear the sweet symphony of the exhaust even better with the convertible. 

Just like its hard top sibling, the M4 convertible will be offered in a host of colours and options for the end user to choose from, which includes all the cool stuff like multi-spoke rims, carbon kit, carbon seats not to mention some great textures and trims for that interior. Standard spec includes three-zone automatic climate control, ambient lighting, hi-fi speak system, plus BMW Live cockpit professional featuring fully digital display grouping, cloud based navigation system on BMW Maps and BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant. BMW promises an emotionally engaging drive with this new M4 convertible and I'm pretty sure it will deliver. The BMW M4 Competition Convertible M xDrive will be available in South Africa from the fourth quarter of 2021. Pricing yet to be announced. 

 

Bucket Seat: 2017 BMW 4 Series Facelift

The BMW 3 Series face-lift has been on the roads for little over a year now and it was only time it's two door variant received the subtle cosmetic changes as well. Yesterday BMW SA released images showing these changes to the 4 Series line up which includes the Coupe, Cabriolet and Gran Coupe. Like the 3 Series, the major changes see's a revised LED headlamp configuration as well has new design to the tail light LED's. 

Engines on the 4 Series were changed with the 3 Series face-lift seeing that the models all use the same engines, it wouldn't have made sense for BMW to still continue making the older ones just for the 4 Series, so nothing has changed under the hood.  As I said for the 3 Series, while these changes are subtle, they add a bit more character to the car and style. All these upgrades also transfer over to the M4 Coupe and M4 Cabriolet. I look forward to testing the new variants soon. 

Bucket Seat: BMW 428i Convertible

In today's day in age, with the rising prices of goods and the exchange rate not doing us any favours, people would look at being more practical on their purchases. Whether it be clothing, food, or every day to day items, the same applies when buying a car, you'd want something thats for you but at the same time  have that option to accomodate others. The BMW 4 series is not that though, if I had to compare it to something, it would probably be skinny jeans. Its tight, its uncomfortable, you struggle to put it on and the pockets serve no purpose. This is why.

Impressions

A few months ago I reviewed the BMW 428i Sports Coupe, for me I thought the car was brilliant at what it does and found the engine particular good. Last week BMW sent me another 428i but this time round it was its topless cousin. The 4 series convertible has a hard top fold up roof which leaves me and everyone else watching in awe as it does its transformers-esq performance by breaking the roof into 3 parts and fitting sung in the boot. I was always skeptical of soft top convertibles as I grew up, even though I knew they were waterproof, I never felt comfortable with them which is why I am quite happy BMW have opted to continue where they left off with the 3 series convertible and having the hard top roof on the 4. 

Design

The car itself looks great, the striking red colour along with the Sports line package made it extremely eye catching. The lowered stance, flared wheel arches and 18" alloy wheels added to the sporty/ cruiser image to the car. Although the dimensions of this are virtually the same to the 4 series coupe, the car did feel a bit lower which made it ideal to cruise around with the roof down. I do prefer the M Sport package that BMW offer but the standard sports package has grown me, its subtle differences that have a big impact on the overall look of the car. 

The Roof

As spectacular as it is, this is the one item that makes and breaks the car. Due to the roof, the car has have some disadvantages to the design, for example the sleek sloping lines on the 4 series coupe cannot be replicated on this model due to the folding roof as it needs to be straight. The roof also puts on an additional 200kg's to the cars overall weight! That weight has taken strain on the engine, while the car is no slouch the weight is noticeable on top end. To open or close the roof, there is a switch, similar to that of an electronic window, which one has to either tilt up to close or down to open. It's rather annoying as you have to hold the switch in place till the sequence is complete. In saying that, the roof does open rather quickly and can be done at a slow speed so you don't have to come to a complete stop to do so.

Then there is the boot, well one can't really call it a boot so lets go with  "storage space". Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, there is adequate space for 2 small bags or groceries in the allowed storage space in the boot with the roof down. What I also quite liked is that you still have access to this space when the roof is down, the hydraulic system in the boot helps lift the folded roof high enough for you to gain access to your goods but if you looking at storing your golf clubs in there, you won't have much luck, rather throw them on the back seat. 

Comfort

Like the 4 series coupe, the ride is smooth, even with the large rims and stiff suspension. I thought the car would be all over the place in the corners with the extra weight from the roof at the back but some how they got their 50/50 weight distribution right again with the car perfectly balanced when taking turns, even at high speed. With the roof open, the wind is non existent in the cabin and with the help of fans in the front seats, this eliminates sweaty neck from the heat of the sun. The model I had also came with heated seats which were well used seeing that the temperature plummeted to 4 degrees on the very first night I got it!

Interior

I could cut an paste the exact same thing I said about the 4 series coupe here as it is virtually the same thing. The cabin is pretty spacious for four grown adults and with the sports package, the red stitching and black on black detailing is simply exquisite. Though one thing that is better on the convertible compared to the coupe, is exiting with the roof down is a million times easier for the rear passengers. 

Power

Like I said, the added weight does put pressure on the 2 litre 4 cylinder enginer but still pushes out the same 180kW and 350Nm of torque on take off. The car maintains the sportiness with high revs propelling the car to a limited top speed of 250Kph. To achieve that one needs to have a long flat surface, as said before the extra 200kg's does tend to make it difficult for the engine to achieve high speeds. 

Extras

The car came with many extra's as usual, the most useful one being heads up display. Despite making you feel like the car is a spaceship, the info displayed onto the windscreen helps you keep your eyes on the road and not glancing else where. The car also came with internet connectivity via your phone, so one could browse the internet on BMW's connected drive display screen via Bluetooth but only when the car is stationary. I'm a massive fan of the Adaptive LED headlight system with high beam assist and like any youngster, the Harmon Kardon loud speaker system came very handy when my favourite songs were played on the radio. It was disappoiting that although the car came with Bluetooth for handsfree and internet, audio streaming came as an additional extra item, many other manufacturers offer it as standard.

Verdict

I started off by comparing this car to a pair of skinny jeans, yes while it might be all of the above if worn by the wrong person it could be devastating but there is no doubt skinny jeans on the right person looks damn good and thats exactly what this car is. It is skinny jeans worn by a Jennifer Lopez, tight, with curves on all the right places and so damn good to look at and even though she can't fit anything into her pockets, thats why she carries a handbaag. It may not be the most practical thing around but then again if we all were practical about things, life would be pretty mundane.Whilst it is really for two people, it has the option of seating four in comfort. This car offers the owner to break the mold and be different, it's also quite fun to drive with or without the roof!

Specifications

• 2 litre, 4 cylinder twinscroll turbo charged engine
• 8 speed automatic, step-tronic gear box
• 180kW
• 245bhp 
• 350Nm torque
• Consumption: 10ltr/ 100km
• Top Speed: 250kph
• 0-100kph: 5.5 seconds 
• Price: R691 100 (excluding extras)