You can see the appeal of a rakish coupe, especially one from Mercedes - they come bundled with all sorts of glamour and cool, you can picture yourself cruising the boulevards of the world, one arm resting on a frameless door.
What was once the CLK has now become the E Class Coupe, Mercedes wanting to trade on the bigger car's name to try and pass on some of that model's cachet. Confusingly the E Class Coupe, like the CLK before it, is still partly spun off the platform of the C Class, but it is bigger in all the right places and gains the buff styling of the latest E.
There's no subtlety about either the E Class or the E Class Coupe: the styling might not have the same objective appeal that say an Alfa Romeo Brera or an Audi A5 has. Sometimes the appeal of the Mercedes badge is in the badge itself - go for an E Class Coupe and you won't be left disappointed, however.
The E Coupe has presence on the move, and the interior is festooned in leather and soft-touch plastics, ensuring that the car has the requisite appeal you'd expect from a car of its type. There is comfortable room inside for four and you can tell straight away that Mercedes is back on form with regard to fit and finish. The boot is of a reasonable size and you can even drop the rear seats if you're stopping by IKEA for, say, a stool.
The car is fairly entertaining to drive - the steering is meaty and communicative - but we did find that the drive is harmed by the heavier engines at the top of the range and massive wheels that come along with more expensive specs. Noise is generally kept under control and the suspension irons out most road imperfections whilst maintaining a flat ride.
Despite the C Class platform, engines and drivetrains are all straight from the E Class, so there's nothing of note to report - all of the motors are very accomplished, although we were left disappointed by the ham-fisted 5.5-litre V8 in the E500. The pick of the range is the 3.0-litre turbodiesel in the E350 CDI, but you might not want to be seen in a diesel coupe.
The E Class Coupe is a heady mix of style and substance - and it's even priced competitively too.