Two Pontiac GTOs for One Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG - Interior - Sport Coupe Comparison

Just as the off-the-rack and the Boss threads each have two legs, two sleeves, and a zipper, this pair offers a similar list of standard equipment: fully independent suspensions, 17-inch alloy wheels, ABS-equipped four-wheel disc brakes, varying amounts of leather trim, cruise control, power windows/doors/locks/mirrors/ seats, trip computer, and high-quality audio systems, although Mercedes-Benz has the chutzpah to charge $410 for its six-disc CD changer, while Pontiac gives it to you standard. Both make you pay a gas-guzzler tax; it's $1300 on the Mercedes and $1000 on the Pontiac (which rates only 1 mpg better on the EPA cycle) when equipped with the auto trans. The area of technology and creature features is where the CLK earns back some of its sticker price. Its climate-control system features a dust and charcoal filter.

It doesn't just have seats; it has heated, 10-way-adjustable seats with a powered easy-entry/exit system, trimmed in the supplest Nappa Nubuck leather you've ever felt. The CLK's tilt/telescoping steering wheel is power adjustable, its power moonroof tilts and slides (no sunroof is offered on the GTO), and its wipers are rain-sensitive. The stuff that looks like real wood and aluminum is just that.

More Benz tech toys include an optional navigation system with Tele Aid Emergency Calling functions ($2170), a Motorola V60 voice-activated cell-phone ($1995), and the Keyless Go "smart" keyfob system ($1040) that only has to be near the car to let you lock, unlock, and start it. Don't forget the optional Distronic cruise control, which does a masterful job of adjusting itself to traffic ahead and warning the driver if intervention is required. Other accoutrements are Xenon headlights, stability control, a more extensive airbag package (front and rear side bags plus head-protection curtains), and a host of details priced out of the GTO's league.

All this hardware doesn't mean the Pontiac is wearing bargain-basement trim. On the contrary: With the exception of a $695 hit for the manual gearbox, there are no options. While the Mercedes's cabin is a luxuriously finished thing of beauty, the GTO's interior is no bad place to hang. The instrument-panel shapes are somewhat dated, but it's a straightforward, comfortable environment and could teach much of the rest of GM's lineup a lesson or two.

The Mercedes's better weight-to-power ratio would have you believe it would be quicker than the Pontiac, and you'd be right. The CLK launches hard--although wheelspin can be difficult to control--and pulls strong to a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.8 seconds. The Pontiac comes in six-tenths behind. This gap widens by 100 mph, the Pontiac requiring 13.3 seconds, the Mercedes just 11.5. Each notches a quarter-mile time to be proud of: 13.14 seconds at 108.07 mph for the CLK against the GTO's 13.85 at 101.41. Both of these great V-8 engines deserve to be digitally recorded and played back on your home theater. With the bass cranked up. Pontiac's is a true dual-exhaust system, even though both pipes exit out one side. Close your eyes, and the CLK55's AMG-tuned rumble would pass for an old American musclecar's, if perhaps a bit smoother.