IF Mercedes set out to make a crowd-puller with the CLS, it has succeeded. Shy and retiring old gents couldn't help themselves. Wherever it was parked, sooner or later one would be walking around it with three-pointed stars in his eyes.
In an encouraging sign for the venerable brand, the CLS also speaks to many for whom superannuation remains a long way off. And when they say "it looks like a Jag", they mean it as a compliment.
Making cramped-but-fast four-doors used to be a Jaguar niche. These days, its XJ large sedan mimics the styling of earlier, less practical models but has cabin space to rival the Germans.
So there's a certain irony for the British brand that Mercedes has come up with the CLS. But if Mercedes was looking over its shoulder when it decided to develop this car, it was at BMW, which has revived the 6 Series badge with a coupe built off the 5 Series mid-size executive sedan. Similarly, the CLS is built on E-Class foundations and despite its four doors, calls itself a coupe.
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