Seven years ago we attended the international launch of the first ever Mercedes-Benz CLS in Rome. As we drove through the streets of the fashion conscious city we were amazed by the way its ultra-sleek design so obviously impressed the Italians. The debut of the all-new 2011 Mercedes CLS, this time in Florence, though commented upon, didn’t create quite the same stir.

That was no fault of the Mercedes designers who have again produced excellent style – rather it's due to the fact that several other marques have chosen to follow the lead of Mercedes by introducing their own four-door, four-seat coupes so the shape is no longer one that stops people in their tracks.

Mercedes has gone for a more aggressive look in the latest CLS, principally at the front where the grille is more upright than before, with definite cues to the recently released Mercedes-Benz SLS Gullwing AMG. Having said that there's absolutely no doubt that this is the new Mercedes CLS because the smooth domed roof and high waistline are evolutions of the original CLS.

Swooping style lines and the ‘Mercedes ponton’ look of the rear guards complete the side profile.

At the tail, the new Mercedes four-door coupe is as sleek as the old. This time around it features huge taillights that stretch a long way forward.

A feature not immediately noticeable at the front of the new Mercedes-Benz CLS is the use of LED headlights, a first in mass production cars. These shine a brilliant light that's reportedly close to looking like daylight from the driver’s seat. Unfortunately our drive program didn’t include an after dark session so we will need to wait for the Australian launch of the CLS in the second quarter of 2011.

The LED headlight adjust automatically in four directions – up, down, left or right – according to inputs from other cars’ headlights or taillights and the way the CLS’ steering wheel is turned.