Old vs New - 2015 Mercedes CLS facelift vs older model

Mercedes-Benz announced the 2015 Mercedes CLS (facelift) yesterday with new Multibeam LED headlights. The refreshed CLS, save for this new lighting technology, doesn't look all that different from the pre-facelift.

Changes at the front come to the grille and bumper apart from the headlights. Compared to the older model, the 2015 CLS looks a lot more aggressive and bolder thanks to those larger airdams in the bumper. At the rear, there are no changes save for a mildly redesigned bumper.

Inside, the 2015 CLS gets an 8-inch display, and the leather and trims are now available in a wider range of colors. Also, the updated CLS gets a new 3-spoke sports steering wheel.

In terms of engines, the 2015 CLS adds a new four-cylinder diesel producing 170 hp and 400 Nm of torque in the CLS 220 spec. Other diesel engines, which include four- and six-cylinder motors in CLS 250 and CLS 350 specifications respectively, continue unchanged.

The petrol lineup which starts with the CLS 400 now gets a turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine, while the top-end CLS 500 with a V8 engine sees no changes. The AMG variant of the CLS sedan and estate come powered by the 5.5-liter V8 Bi-Turbo engine producing either 557 hp or 585 hp.

The most important change comes to the gearbox of the car. The CLS 220, CLS 250, CLS 350 and CLS 500 ditch their 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox for the 9G-Tronic 9-speed transmission. The AMG model gets a 7-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT transmission as always.

Mercedes India sells the CLS in the 250, 350, 400 and 500 variants. We expect the refreshed CLS to arrive in our country next year.