Road Test: Mercedes-Benz CLS CLS 63 5dr Tip Auto

This is the sole petrol coming to the UK. And, yep, it's an AMG. Merc used to offer a Performance Pack for its AMG models, but such was the take up that it hasn't bothered for this launch edition. Here, it's fitted as standard.

Which means this is a 552bhp estate car. Sorry, Shooting Brake. And it might just be all the car you ever need. That's a phrase regularly bandied about, but be honest, can you think of a car that better combines speed, space and style?

It ought to be absolutely tremendous, and for the most part it is. The twin-turbo V8 crackles and explodes into life, and administers frankly shocking bursts of acceleration. The 'box isn't quite able to keep pace, but unhappily, the suspension is. I say unhappily, because one of the things that makes the E63 AMG so riotously amusing is the fact it never seems to be fully in control. The CLS is a bit more professional, more polished and so comes across as calmer.

Calmer, yes, but this is still a car that can make you whoop at the sheer absurdity of it, as it pops on the overrun, rushes around corners and generally behaves like a bit of a loon.