CLS500 is really underpowered! Why only 306BHP?

[Mcobinad]

Since i purchased the CLS 500, i have not really taken it for a real spin to test it's horses. A friend has a Vauxhall Astra 16V 2.2 and he felt brave to take me on a long ride. I adjusted the suspension to sport (II) for a firm ride, put the 'S' mode and off we go. Gosh, this Vauxhall was really keeping up like a ferocious wolf behind me like it was on steroid. I noticed a lag in the acceleration, decided to use the full throttle (Kick-down) and it's like my V8 had no more power to deliver. Acceleration pedal was at it's potential (Limit) and am not feeling that top gear speed!

Second race with my neighbour who has a Mustang 4.6 GT coupe and his car did 0-62 in 5.3 secs and mine was way behind him with 0.8 sec lateness! He just told me to go and drink liquor to digest my defeat . I can't believe that cheap cars with cheap plastics can keep up with a well refined V8 motor.

Contrasting this feel with my Audi A8 4.2 V8, the CLS 500 is a pure joke. Did Mercedes realise what they were doing with the 5.0 litre V8 when they opted for only 306 BHP for this motor? The A8 is a pure luxury car and delivers 335 BHP and it's acceleration is instantaneous compared to the CLS. Only half way throttle of the A8 4.2, and the car is flying. I have not used full throttle on the A8 and the result is amazing compared to full throttle on the CLS and the result is disheartening. The 5.0 litre V8 motor is really underpowered! Honestly, am veryyyyy disappointed. Wish i had gone for the '55'. I only managed to put 2 cars length on the Vauxhall :Oops::Oops::Oops:! This is ridiculous. I did a quick research on various forums including those in the US and discovered of other BMW 3 series and Golf R32 drivers boasting about beating the CLS 500 with so much ease in a drag race. No wonder the 500 was discontinued.

This experience left me perplexed throughout last weekend. Can someone please confirm if all my horses (BHP) are gone or did they go into limp mode (lol) because i can't believe this for an £87,700 car when new :roll:. CLS is the only model of Mercedes that attracted me to the star! So far, am not optimistic about future ownership. May resort to Audi (conditional) until something within the 'Star' can put a smile on my face :-D

So far, the car is no longer making me smile. I have been frowning at it for letting me down until am able to convince myself that this car has got the potential to take me to the land of oblivion or is it time to change? Only time will tell! Please folks, reassure me that my horses are intact or maybe they temporarily dashed out to get more charms (BHP) from a native doctor, so as to to put a on my face next time!

Thanks for reading!

 

[tode]

How old is your CLS ? They are actually at 408 hp, and with a 0-60 in 5 sec, should be quite nippy

 

[toby1]

from Wiki so may be inaccurate

2006 CLS500 - 306bhp
2007> CLS500 - 388bhp
2011> CLS500 BE - 408PS (402 bhp)

CLS55 AMG - 493bhp

 

[television]

The 113 did only put out 308 BHP, I find it fine in my SL500, the new engine that replaced it puts out 388.

It must be very expensive on tyres and brakes to drive around on the limits, plus all the other components and speeding tickets

 

[Stocker]

I take it it's the same engine as the CL500, and I have to say it's more than adequate.
The CLS is a more of a grand tourer than a sports car.

 

[tode]

So in five years Mercedes have upped the power by some 30% to the actual 408 !
Anyone know the prices of the 2006 and 2011 versions (offhand) ?

 

[Developer]

from Wiki so may be inaccurate

2006 CLS500 - 306bhp
2007> CLS500 - 388bhp
2011> CLS500 BE - 408PS (402 bhp)

CLS55 AMG - 493bhp

It looks like you were not alone in your view. One year later, an extra 82bhp.

Perhaps the learning is to research what you want first and buy second.

I hope that doesn't sound harsh, but performance data is readily available pre purchase.

I'd not be worried about small cars with big engines (the Astra). Many big cars will be shown a clean pair of heels by a hot hatch.

See how happy he is at 100mph, four up - what you have is, after all, a Grand Tourer.

 

[Mcobinad]

How old is your CLS ? They are actually at 408 hp, and with a 0-60 in 5 sec, should be quite nippy

Mine's an 06 model!

 

[Silver_Star]

should be quite nippy

My Mother calls her 1.25 Fiesta "Nippy" :lol:

 

[television]

Mine's an 06 model!

Then built before 06-06

 

[Mcobinad]

It looks like you were not alone in your view. One year later, an extra 82bhp.

Perhaps the learning is to research what you want first and buy second.

I hope that doesn't sound harsh, but performance data is readily available pre purchase.

I'd not be worried about small cars with big engines (the Astra). Many big cars will be shown a clean pair of heels by a hot hatch.

See how happy he is at 100mph, four up - what you have is, after all, a Grand Tourer.

I did my research prior to purchase but was carried away by the 5.0 litre V8 which i thought in reality will be faster than the A8 which is only a 4.2 litre V8. A friend of mine reassured me that the 500 engine will be quicker in a straight line compared to the A8 because of it's torque advantage. So far, this is not the case . There is a huge lag in the 500's engine when you want to accelerate beyond certain limit. Don't know if it applies to the '55 AMG' version!

 

[television]

I did my research prior to purchase but was carried away by the 5.0 litre V8 which i thought in reality will be faster than the A8 which is only a 4.2 litre V8. A friend of mine reassured me that the 500 engine will be quicker in a straight line compared to the A8 because of it's torque advantage. So far, this is not the case . There is a huge lag in the 500's engine when you want to accelerate beyond certain limit. Don't know if it applies to the '55 AMG' version!

The AMG versions are roughly 2 seconds faster proportionally through the range

 

[Mcobinad]

Then built before 06-06

It doesn't matter if it was built before 06 but Mercedes should have made the 5.0 litre engine a 3.4 or 4.0 litre max for what it delivers (306). Just pathetic to call it a 5.0 litre because in reality it isn't

 

[Mcobinad]

The 113 did only put out 308 BHP, I find it fine in my SL500, the new engine that replaced it puts out 388.

It must be very expensive on tyres and brakes to drive around on the limits, plus all the other components and speeding tickets

Does your SL500 have the same engine base as mine? If yes, why the 308 BHP instead of 306:roll:?

 

[television]

It doesn't matter if it was built before 06 but Mercedes should have made the 5.0 litre engine a 3.4 or 4.0 litre max for what it delivers (306). Just pathetic to call it a 5.0 litre because in reality it isn't

Sorry that you are so disillusioned , then buy something else and check all the figures first, moaning about it will not help much will it, you could chip it and get another 18bhp

 

[toby1]

Does it have a fault? If it's that poor maybe it's worth having it checked out

 

[Mcobinad]

Does it mean as well that the 3.2 krompressor engines in certain merc models will be faster than 500?

 

[Mcobinad]

Does it have a fault? If it's that poor maybe it's worth having it checked out

Car is in brilliant condition and drives excellent. It's crazy because the first day i picked up my car, i was blown away by it's performance. My wife just told me that it's grown on me, the reason am moaning for more power.

 

[d215yq]

It doesn't matter if it was built before 06 but Mercedes should have made the 5.0 litre engine a 3.4 or 4.0 litre max for what it delivers (306). Just pathetic to call it a 5.0 litre because in reality it isn't

In reality it is a 5.0 because that is the capacity of the engine, so its not pathetic to call it that. I think that engine is known to be very reliable and long lasting (unlike the majority of other modern units) and the low state of tune is probably why. Surely all this was apparent on test drive/look at the figures.

And does it really matter that your mate's astra is early as quick than a drag race? Having to race other people to prove oneself sounds a bit pathetic (to use your terminology), and also sounds an expensive, dangerous and illegal past time.

I've long been a believer that fast doesn't always mean fun and this article explains it quite nicely...maybe your car just doesn't feel as fast as it is or the flow/feel is wrong?

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=24980

 

[jberks]

It's funny - 'Only 306bhp' - over 300bhp was the remit of supercars not that long ago. Its simply that there was a bit of an arms race with the barrier raising from 300 to 500 rapidly over just a few short years. Possibly MB was a touch behind the curve for part of that time, as the rapid and dramatic increases show.
Hot hatches will always keep up for a period. I remember back in the 80s with my Dad's 380SE being challenged by an Astra GTE on the local ring road. I said, he'll stay with us to 60 as 0-60 is what it was designed for. Once we reached 70+ we left him for dead.
It will be a similar story today although the limits probably higher than 60.
Your car is a refined cruiser that will be idling when others are approaching the red line. It's very fast - faster than 90% of road fodder - but it's not a racer, never was.