Face-lifted Mercedes-Benz CLS lands in Oz

Mercedes-Benz has kicked off what’s set to be a huge year of performance model releases in Australia with its face-lifted CLS-Class.

Both four-door Coupe and five-door Shooting Brake return with revamped styling, enhanced specification, pricing realignment and couple of notable new powertrain features.

A new, four-door-only CLS400 trim level introduces a biturbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine boasting outputs of 245kW and 480Nm and hits showrooms at $139,900.

The CLS500, available in both Coupe ($169,000) and Shooting Brake ($179,900) body styles, packs 300kW and 600Nm of 4.7-litre V8 shove with a new 9G-tronic nine-speed automatic transmission.

Again topping the range is the mighty CLS63 AMG S, its biturbo 5.5-litre bent eight producing a formidable 430kW and 800Nm capable of propelling the four-door to 100km/h from a standstill on just 4.1sec.

The bad news for fans of high-performance wagons is the there will be no Shooting Brake version offered in AMG S trim.

However, the sole four-door version of the CLS63 AMG S cops a price drop and now asks for ‘E63 AMG money’, or $249,000.

The entry-level trim is the 250 CDI, offering a 2.1-litre turbodiesel four outputting 150kW and 500Nm on both Coupe ($114,900) and wagon ($124,900) options.

This year will also see the imminent release of the AMG-fettled S-Class Coupe, followed by the highly anticipated 911-rivalling GT S sports car and the revamp of the ever-popular C63 AMG around mid-year.