Believe it or not, but the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 is not all sweet curves and sexy eyes. There are a few pimples, but hey – even former tuner mag model Shamron Moore gets a blemish once in awhile. For the typical CLS500 owner, however, the vehicle’s shortcomings are more like a minor irritant. Take, for example, the swooping roofline. Yes, it’s a very nice design – sexy and sweet. Now get inside, behind the wheel. Turn to your left and meet Mr. B-pillar, here to serve and to create a pretty large blind spot. Look to the right and note how small the back windows are, making it hard to get an uncompromising view of the road from behind. A large rearview mirror partially fixes this issue, and besides, you’re the one driving this car – you don’t watch people, they watch you as you glide around town and power your way through corners.

Indeed, unlike Shamron Moore, the CLS is more than just a sexy model – it has a powertrain combination that’s hard to beat, even if your name starts with B and ends with W or if you’re partial to the letters XJ. Open up the throttle and you get the best from it’s 5.0-liter V8 engine, all 302-horsepower of it, delivered to the rear wheels with enough torque (339 lb.-ft. at 2,700 rpm) to lift up those 4,000 pounds and send you on your way. It’s not the fastest car off the line, especially with that weight, but it’s up there and more than enough.

As a handler, the Mercedes-Benz Airmatic suspension sucks up anything the road offers. Sling the CLS into a corner and it responds by tightly sticking to its line – though you can feel the weight really begin to shift and lean during aggressive cornering. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of driving the CLS is the act of braking. Because Sensotronic is a brake-by-wire system, there is an unusual sensitivity to the brakes that takes a little getting used to. Though after a while you adapt, the end result is less brake feel than one would like during hard driving.

Ah, well. Make no mistake – this little slice of Sunshine can fly. But it’s as if the CLS would rather stroll a bit and be looked at, rather than rush around and slip by, unnoticed. This is, after all, a car for long looks and admiring glances.