Niels van Roij
According to Mercedes-Benz, ‘the progressive sportiness runs streamlined over the striking CLE front with sloping ‘shark nose’, muscular power domes to the powerful-looking rear.’ Car designer Niels van Roij looks through the buzzing marketing texts and dissects the Mercedes CLE design. That goes exactly as you expect.
It is special how Mercedes explicitly mentions the ‘shark nose’ in its website text. After all, that is an essential part of BMW design. It indicates that the brand has lost its way at all levels: from design to product marketing. In a positive sense, everything is beautifully consistently wrong.
Sacco designs were visionary and recognizable
Mercedes-Benz built its most impressive cars with Teutonic design language. That didn’t happen without reason. Chief designer Bruno Sacco introduced a design philosophy based on vertical affinity and horizontal homogeneity. All cars carried a distinctive sculpted visual identity – and each model was a logical successor to its predecessor. Through design, meticulously drawn bodies communicated about the technology underneath. Innovative engineering work was combined with groundbreaking exterior design. From streamlined plastic side cladding to rear lights that were dirt-repellent due to their shape: visionary, engineering-driven and therefore extremely recognizable work.
Through stylistic references to its glorious past, Mercedes-Benz design would celebrate decades of its own brand history, with relevant and strategic changes during model iterations. Each car is dressed in accurate colors and perfected materials. The inventor of the car thus cherished essential brand values ​​and built one of the strongest, most recognizable brands.
Mercedes CLE continues decline
Then the CLE. The grotesque decline written about earlier continues. No surprise. In the field of design, there has not been a single innovative idea at Mercedes-Benz for years. Exterior design principles in Stuttgart have remained unchanged from the blobs that marred the showrooms 10 years earlier.
The generic design language and weak volumes on the CLE completely miss the significant brand history. Fleeting stylistic fashion trends take precedence over strategic design work: a complete lack of design intellect. Chief designer Gorden Wagener stoically ignores all significant brand history and essential heritage design elements. The ‘muscular power domes’ on the hood cannot save this car either. The CLE is in no way innovative design-wise, let alone groundbreaking.
As with all recent Mercedes, the down the road graphic is a set of anonymous headlights with a huge blobfish-grille. The surfacing is droopy and weak all around. The graphics of greenhouse and DLO are meaningless: no one recognizes a Mercedes-specific design element in them. Because it isn’t there.
Mercedes CLE wheels maximum 20 inches: this can be larger
Mercedes-Benz once knew how to impress and distinguish itself with design. Beautifully chiselled cars stood confidently on their wheels. Even brightwork on window frames was not simply chrome, but had a typical Mercedes shine, structure and color. Everything was important. Especially the perfect proportions. Mercedes indicates that ‘the sporty appearance is rounded off by alloy wheels in sizes 18 to 20 inches.’ The 2016 Renault Scenic was also available in 20 inches and the Kia EV6 is optionally available in 21 inches. Both examples can hardly be called premium, but they are proportionally better than this Mercedes.
Mercedes-Benz misses an opportunity with CLE
Mercedes-Benz is missing a phenomenal opportunity with the CLE, because only relevant further development of the famous Mercedes-Benz DNA will secure the future. The CLE is a nondescript car that is designed in an extremely risk-avoiding manner and therefore communicates the diametric opposite of what Mercedes-Benz pretends. The CLE is once again a car that fails to show or even subtly honor the rich Mercedes pedigree and thus frustrates the brand history.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl