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They don't come much classier than the CLK Cabriolet. It's the sensible choice for those who want the practicality of four seats and the ability to cruise the Cote d'Azur in style.
However, this car does more than just look good. The rock-solid chassis stays taut over bumps and around bends, delivering a satisfying drive. There's a good selection of engines, ranging from the entry-level four-cylinder unit to the competent V6s and powerful V8s.
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There's enough room to comfortably seat four adults, even with the fabric hood up. It's a bit blustery in the back with the roof down, but with it up you could almost think you're in a hard-top. The boot is big enough for this style of car.
Running Costs
The CLK cabriolet is desirable, so used prices remain high, especially as most cars tend to be well looked after. While this means you'll pay more when you buy, you shouldn't lose too much in depreciation when you sell.
In almost every other respect, a CLK will be dear to run. Maintaining a Mercedes is never cheap, for a start, so you can expect large bills, even though the car has a service indicator, varying the service intervals depending on your driving style. You could use independent specialists for servicing, which should save you 50%, but the lack of a franchised dealer service history might cost you when selling.
Owners in the last JD Power Survey also highlighted the high cost of insuring a CLK. Entry-level models have an insurance rating of 16, which rises to 20 for the AMG.
Fuel consumption may also be a concern - you could manage as little as 23mpg on the most powerful examples, although you can get more than 30mpg on the smallest. The V6s manage around 28mpg.
Coupe
With the emphasis more on comfort than sport, this CLK is a great cruiser, able to cover long distances with ease.
Using the same chassis as the C-Class, the CLK rides just as well as the saloon, even with a slightly firmer suspension to give it greater poise through the bends. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard on lower models, but the five-speed automatic you find on the majority of models delivers smooth changes.
The CLK suffers little road or wind noise on the motorway, and while the engines are muted when cruising, the V6s make a pleasant growl when you work them hard.
There's plenty of space in the front and two seats in the rear, so the CLK is a spacious four-seater, although rear headroom is restricted for six-footers. At least, the large boot gives enough space for a set of cases or golf clubs.
Running Costs
"These are desirable cars, so resale values are high, but that also means they're fairly safe investments. As a rule, they are fairly well maintained and, as Mercedes dealers are the best place to find them, most should be in good condition.
The car has an intelligent service indicator, so drive it hard and you'll be visiting the garage sooner rather than later. But, however you drive it, running costs are high, especially if you use main dealers for servicing.
You could use an independent specialist to carry out the work, and save some money in the process, but franchised dealer service histories are desirable, so the lack of one could cost you when you come to sell the car on.
The size of your insurance premiums and fuel bills varies greatly depending on the specification of your CLK. The 200K falls into insurance group 16 and returns an average of 32.5mpg, while the V8s are in insurance group 20 with an average fuel consumption of 24.8mpg.