2014 MERCEDES-BENZ CLS63 AMG 4Matic Review

The first impression you get when entering the CLS63 AMG is that you have to bring your family in here. It all seems to mix the coziness of your living room with the AMG visual power reminders.

Yes, be prepared to read the word “family” multiple times in the test drive, since this and the CLS really do belong in the same sentence.

There’s plenty of space up front, but even your two-year-old could’ve guessed that. The interesting part is found in the back - from the front seats, turn your head towards the rear and you’ll notice that the swoop of the roof doesn’t seem as pronounced as it did when you were outside the car.

We’re in the back now and the aforementioned observation has a pretty nice effect. There’s pleasing head room here. Even the window line allows you to see just enough of the outer world. Go for the Designo package and the nice leather will make you want to forget about what’s outside the car. One thing’s for sure: two adults can sit in the rear of the CLS in full comfort.

There’s one grudge we hold against the CLS though. In its desire to differentiate it from the E-Class, Mercedes forces the four-door coupe to wear a console between the rear seats. Thus, we get two individual seats.

These are just as soft as the front ones. So far so good. Alas, the bottoms of the seats are a bit too tight. While you may not notice this at first, you will feel it on longer trips.

Despite this, the Mercedes CLS still treats its rear passengers nicer than the Porsche Panamera and the Audi A7. As far as this is concerned, it’s on par with the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. As for the Aston Martin Rapide, that’s a joke for the people in the back.

As you may have noticed, we didn’t treat the front area and that’s because this brings mixed emotions.

The styling is outdated, especially with that infotainment screen, which can be considered a miniature nowadays. We’re hoping that the upcoming CLS facelift will change this. After all, the new S-Class has debuted a new line of interior design for Mercedes, with this already being followed by the 2015 C-Class and 2015 V-Class.

However, we’ve got to mention that, apart from this, the Mercedes CLS63 AMG’s cabin manages to suit the car’s dual character. Let’s take the driving position, for example. This is perfectly suitable for full-comfort driving. You’ll be able to complete enormous journey with nothing but a few short stops.

Nevertheless, when you’re in the mood to put those turbines up front to work, the adjustable bolsters and the environment itself do the job well. And that steering wheel, with its flat sides and its perfectly-positioned paddles, is a delight.

More importantly, the nicest part about the CLS63 AMG’s interior is that weapon-like exhaust burble that fills the cabin when you’re in a hurry.