All four seats are covered in leather. The front seats are 10-way power adjustable with three-position memory. The view forward is dominated by an expanse of burr walnut that stretches almost from pillar to pillar. Finished in a silk matt to differentiate it from the high-gloss finish of the usual Mercedes interior trim, its surface is broken by recessed center air vents, the control panel for the standard Thermotronic automatic four-zone climate control and the main instrument cluster, which, along with each dial, was given a chrome surround. The gauges themselves were covered by a special mineral glass for optimum readability.
The fit and finish is impeccable and looks custom-tailored down to the arrangement of the breaklines indicating the modular assembly of the dashboard. Note how the front passenger airbag door's lines blend perfectly into the upward sweep of the walnut panel. Neat and elegant. Note how the center console carries the chrome and walnut design themes through to the rear compartment in the chrome rings surrounding the transmission shift lever and rear Thermotronic control/air vents and the walnut trim covering the rear console storage compartments. And note how the curve of the center rear console is reflected in the reverse curve of the outboard armrest.
If there's one quibble, it must be with the rear seats, which become unfriendly to those who are much more than six feet tall because of the slope of the roof. As part of our familiarization with the CLS, we were chaffeured across Rome so that we might see how the rich and famous do it. Our six-foot frame felt no discomfort on the winding city streets and would have tolerated a long run to the Amalfi Coast if the opportunity arose. Outward sightlines were, of course, compromised by the shallow quarter windows, but if you're pretending, as we did, that we were glitterati escaping a horde of paparazzi, this was a good thing.
