The CL's standard Airmatic suspension is hard to fault. It can operate in either its default Comfort setting or a firmer Sport setting. Without going into technical details, I'll say that it absorbs bumps like little else I've driven.

I drove the CL on my normal route and experienced nothing but a muted "whump" over a road imperfection that makes other cars crash and bang. Granted, that was in Comfort mode, but when I switched to Sport I didn't notice any real degradation in ride quality, just a slight jiggle on really bumpy roads.

Where I really noticed the difference while driving in Sport mode was on highway on-ramps; it does a nice job of holding the car steady. That, combined with the CL's standard all-wheel drive, lends a lot of confidence at sane — but still fast — speeds. It's stable and gets a great amount of grip. I didn't get anywhere near the CL550's limit; there was always enough grip and comfort to put a big smile on my face.

One thing with which I wasn't as enamored was the need for Mercedes' optional blind spot warning system, which I normally don't use. Unfortunately, the CL550's standard mirrors are just too small to be of much use. As far as highway driving goes, the mirror issue is the only major fault I noticed. Other editors pointed out that there was absolutely no road or wind noise, making the CL an excellent road-trip car.