A New Mercedes Off-Roader.(Column)

Byline: Matt Davis

As I sat there in my Mercedes CLS500, looking up at the cloudy Italian sky through the front passenger window, I reflected. Thank goodness there had been no oncoming three-wheeled, two-stroke Piaggio utility van. And that I was alone in the test car, and therefore didn't have to worry about someone else's vital signs.

Frankly, it was also good that the incident hadn't been forceful enough to trigger the airbags. There is nothing worse for what little confidence remained than sitting with a deployed balloon in your lap and being covered with airbag powder after the drama has ended and you're lodged in the bushes along farmer Giuseppe's property line.

Soon after, two Dutch journalists in another CLS test car pulled over, asked if all was being handled and then, assured it was, snapped a few digital photos of my impromptu field trip. The right-rear wheel was posed-almost petulantly-one foot above the ground.

Mid-slide and prior to having made any contact, I had known I was going to be fine. Instead of a bloodcurdling "Oh, God, no! There's still too much left for me to do!'' I actually griped, "Aw, no. C'mon! No way.'' It was a true "Aw, nuts'' moment.

For a while, no one passed and, while waiting for assistance, I decided to get out through the passenger door and see what had happened to make it all go awry.

The fun CLS and I had handled so many tougher curves in the torrential rain and Thor-like lightning leading up to this mundane right-hander. Both the suspension and transmission were set to Comfort and the ESP was on. I followed the path of my slide and it was clear that all the three-lettered technology on the four-door coupe, together with the MDS (My Driving Skill), had done all they could do to rein it in. Then I walked along the smooth pavement of Strada Provinciale 3b in the drizzle. I shuffled my feet instead of taking steps.