When you're hopping from one car to the next on a seemingly daily basis, it's easy to lose sight of the joy experienced by owners when they first look upon their new purchases. We become anaesthetised by the new car smell, numbed to the joy of driving away in a new Suzuki Wagon R+. (Admittedly numb is probably the normal feeling of those that drive the Wagon R+.)
Once in a while a car comes along that makes even hard-hearted, cynical motoring hacks stop and take notice. It's heartening that such a car can come from a company so caught up in commercial turmoil. Tales from Stuttgart about falling profits, a brain drain to its US arm, Chrysler, and quality issues are well documented.
Sadly, only a day after the Irish press launch the CLS was one of the cars in the spotlight during a mammoth recall by Mercedes over electronic faults. Yet for all that, this car proves that at its heart, one of the legendary car brands can still deliver the goods, and come up with something truly innovative in a car.
The innovation is in its format: a four-door coupé is something that many car firms have toyed with in the design phases, but have always walked away from when the finished product ends up like a sports car that's been rear-ended at 150mph by a family saloon with the end result being a mismatch of both.
The lines on the CLS prove that so much more is possible. Four full seats, a cavernous boot, yet pin-up styling and lovely tapered lines. It makes stable-mates like the CL look big and clunky.
Mercedes has delivered the goods. The CLS has all the styling and appearance of a regular coupé, putting it up to its two-door counterparts in head-turning appeal. Yet it's incredibly functional. Sure, the back seats are designed only for two, and those over six feet will have to stoop slightly due to the sharp slope of the roofline. Entry and exit is also somewhat impeded by the sharp lines of the rear c-pillar. However, we can think of several family saloons - the Volvo S40 for one - where the slope of the roof has a similar impact on rear passenger headroom. What's more, once ensconced in the rear, the wide seats will take even the rump of a well-fed executive without complaint.
The cabin is styled more like a sports car than a saloon, in that the lower seating position and higher central console that stretches back between the rearseat passengers gives a comforting feel of being cocooned in the car. It may prove a little cramped for the more rotund S-Class owner, but for the slimmer-built car fan with a penchant for sports cars, a healthy bank balance but family commitments, the CLS offers plenty of room. It's all part of the functionality achieved by the CLS.
The long sloping front nose makes it a little tricky to park, but there are parking sensors fitted and using a system of lights and a beeper, you can get into and out of the tightest space without leaving a nice line of paintwork on the pillars - or someone else's car that's far less deserving of rubbing up to the CLS.
Driving the CLS is more in keeping with the likes of the other two-door coupés from Mercedes. It's comfortable to a fault, born to munch away at the miles on a motorway cruise and can quite clearly cruise along at autobahn speeds without any feeling that you're pushing it.
It may not match the likes of the Porsche for raw power, but then it's more of a cruiser, than tuned for a racy edge. There's no deep-throated gurgle from the 3.5-litre unless you keep the revs high.
The BMW 6-Series, 911 and even the Jaguar XK emit deep gurgles that turn the head of every baseball-clad car fan, but the CLS is a more discreet package, at least in this respect. Yet slip it into semi-manual mode, get the revs flickering at the upper end, and you start to appreciate that there's two sides to this car. Pushing it on in corners, it holds its line like it's glued to the road.
If there is a downside to its performance credentials it is that the steering has too much play at higher speeds, and the suspension has a tendency to bottom out rather harshly at low speeds when traversing the typical craters on Irish roads. We're still taken by the quality and functionality of the audio system - Mercedes has one of the best radio systems. However, the fact the CLS doesn't come with Bluetooth is a serious omission, given that most of its owners will have been using Bluetooth phones for the last three years.
The plastic look on the wood trim is also a let-down on a car that will probably not leave the forecourt for under €90,000. You don't have to be a carpenter to wince at something more suited to a Korean import than a stylish German coupé.
The steering column is adjustable, but given that there's so much electronics in the car, one wonders why this is done by a mechanical lever. Similarly, Mercedes is sticking with its foot pedal parking brake system. Even the new Passat will come with an electronic system, so surely it would not have added that much to the cost.
However, with all the problems Mercedes is having with electronics of late, perhaps it's career suicide for any engineer to suggest adding another electronic gadget to a Mercedes at the moment.
Its main rivals are undoubtedly the fellow Germans. While the Porsche 911 is significantly more expensive, it's also a lot less functional. Similarly with the more competitively priced BMW 6-Series. Porsche is currently working on a four-door coupé of its own, but it's unlikely to see a showroom for the next two years. Even then, it's hardly going to be as well-priced as the CLS.
In terms of cash, the CLS beats the 6-Series by about €10,000. It also beats in-house competitors as well. Everyone says that at this level, price becomes less of an issue. However, none of the buyers in this market are ignorant of value. When you compare like for like, it's hard to justify the extra spend on the BMW. True, the Bavarian may shade it for more sporting handling and be more fun to drive. But for everyday use, you have to ask: will you get the extra money's worth out of the 6-Series? Even with a price tag starting at a little under €85,000, when compared to its competitors the CLS is a very impressive package. For all the bad press of late, there's still a twinkle left in the three-pointed star.