Both models cost in excess of £100,000 new (the 65 nudges £150,000), and a large proportion will depreciate in the first couple of years. They are also very thirsty, and Mercedes-Benz labour rates in the UK are renowned for being among the highest. The hand-built engines in these AMG models will need to be services according to schedule if they are to be kept in top condition.

Mercedes-Benz also stipulate that the cars run on more expensive super unleaded fuel.

Both AMG versions of the CL are pretty thirsty and therefore have a very high output of 355g/km of CO2. Economy is poor too at 19mpg. However, the majority of the components are made from recyclable materials.

In recent years several Mercedes-Benz models have shown disappointing reliability. The company claims to have worked very hard to iron out these problems, but the Parktronic (parking sensor system) on our test car frequently displayed a fault warning. Not major, but annoying nonetheless.