Mercedes' Super Coupe

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Just about everything in the CL550 functions electronically. There's a push button starter and a stubby little shift lever that you push up or down to put the car in "reverse" or "drive." Speed-sensitive electronic steering, which increases the driver's control at higher speeds while helping with parking and other low-speed maneuvers, is standard.

The seven-speed automatic transmission has three shifting programs—comfort, sport, and manual—that are integrated into the latest generation of Mercedes' Active Body Control system. The ABC system keeps the car nearly flat during hard driving; there's virtually no body roll.

Switching from "comfort" to "sport" causes the transmission to shift faster, quickens throttle response, and stiffens the suspension (though I had a hard time discerning the difference). Switching into "manual" quickens the shifts even further. You change gears via buttons on the backside of the steering wheel.

The CL550's interior is gorgeous. In the front seats you have the feeling of being in an elegant cockpit, with numerous design touches that reinforce the car's luxury image. There's a beautiful leather-wrapped brow over the instruments and a compartment between the two rear seats that opens like a tiny rolltop desk. The sides of the doors are lined with chrome, making you believe that no expense has been spared.

The instruments are an intuitive combination of manual switches and screen commands activated via a computer mouse-style knob on the center console. In most cases you have multiple choices of how to do things. For instance, you can change the radio volume via a manual control on the center console or one on the steering wheel. There's a button you push to retract the mirrors after you park the car, and another to put the rear window shade up or down.

Unless you have money to burn, however, I'd avoid some of the gimmicky technology options available on the CL550. An example is Mercedes' Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control systems, a $2,010 option that uses a radar sensor to keep your car at a pre-set distance from the car ahead—applying the brakes and downshifting if the system senses an accident in the offing. That's too much intervention for my taste.

I also found Mercedes' night vision system, part of a $5,290 Premium II package, less than useful. It employs infrared technology to "see" 500 feet in front of the car at night, projecting an image of what's ahead on a high-resolution screen where the speedometer usually is. As a practical matter, though, you can't look out the windshield and down at the screen at the same time, and it seems safer to me just to look out. I also found that the system, while unperturbed by rain, had trouble penetrating even a light fog.

Buy It Or Bag It?

The CL550 is tilted more toward luxury than performance. If performance is your priority, the best value among alternative models is probably the BMW 650i, which starts at around $75,000 and has a recent average selling price of $83,402, according to the Power Information Network—nearly 30 grand less than the '08 CL550's average selling price of $112,923. Another alternative model, the Porsche 911, sells for an average of $124,717, according to PIN.

At the higher end—though still not as pricey as the CL65 AMG—are the English coupes, including the Aston Martin DB9, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and the Bentley Continental GT, which sticker for around $120,000, $180,000, and $170,000 respectively. (Bentley is owned by Volkswagen (VOWG).)

My feeling is that the performance sweepstakes among luxury cars has gotten out of hand. A luxury car shouldn't have to jump from 0 to 60 in less than five seconds. It also should have a usable back seat and a decent-sized trunk, which the CL550 does and the Porsche 911 (much as I love it) doesn't. The Mercedes doesn't have the road feel of a BMW or Porsche. But if you want the class car in this segment, consider paying extra for the CL550.

For more on the new Mercedes-Benz CL550, visit BusinessWeek's slide show.

Thane Peterson reviews cars for BusinessWeek.com.