Not a minute into the drive to the track and the drops of rain started to appear.
Sitting for our classroom session at the newly renovated pavilion at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (formerly Mosport) east of Toronto, Canada and the ominous clouds didn’t hold back on the drama, soaking the 2.5 miles of asphalt in what our chief instructor Danny Kok calls “liquid excitement.”
I’m here to participate in the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy’s Mastering Performance program along with another journalist and a selection of paying customers.
The group of us depart the facilities just as the track is beginning its long drying process… something we were about to aid with a caravan of shiny new Benzes.
The ideal thing about a wet track in the morning is that it teaches you to be cautious. With reduced grip it also amplifies the car’s behavior. And when practicing trail braking with an emphasis on gradual modulation of the pedal, you couldn’t ask for a better (but also more frustrating) learning experience.
With another mid-morning sprinkle, we took an early lunch in the hopes the track would try out again. And it did, leaving us with excellent grip and an afternoon of lapping the full circuit at significantly faster speeds with a little new-found (or recently practiced) skill under our belts.
This is my second time taking the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy Mastering Performance class.
So when is the same course not the same course? When the cars used are different.
Think of it as going back to school, taking all the same courses, but using a fancy new tablet rather than a pen and paper. A refresher is always handy. Chances are, if you haven’t been practicing what you learned, you’ve forgotten much of it. And even if you do remember, learning doesn’t get much better than this.
Having been three years since I first took the class much of the Mercedes lineup has changed, with new models being introduced or just new versions of familiar models. This time around I’m getting the chance to flog some cars I’ve never driven (or at least never driven on a track before) like the C63, CLA45 AMG and even the new S-Class. Oh, and there’s also the SLS AMG GT!
Even if I had driven it before, it’s not the sort of machine that gets old.
Our first exercise is learning the trickiest corner on the track: turn five. It’s by far the slowest corner on the course, as you make what is almost a 180 degree turn before heading up the back straight.
It’s actually two corners, 5a and 5b and the trick to driving it right, our instructor emphasizes, is to drive it as such. That means combining all the tricks of a proper corner, in what is essentially the space of just one curve.
We’re practicing trail braking (bleeding off brake pressure gradually, to greatly oversimplify) and getting that technique right, not to mention all of the other skills, while maintaining smooth operation of the vehicle. Doing it at speed, (twice in the space of one turn) is challenging, especially on a wet track.
Mess up your technique or add too much speed and you’ve got plenty of understeer. Too slow and, well, you’ll be REALLY slow.
“Are these helmets particularly big, or is it just me?”
That’s what I’m thinking as I cram into a C63 AMG. In fact, with the extra inches of headroom a helmet requires, I’ve got to crook my neck at a 45 degree angle and lean the seat back further than I’d like.
A lot of driving on a track comes down to vision, and that becomes pretty hard when you can’t even move your head.
The regular C-Class sedan is very much the same. I imagine the next-gen 2015 models will be a big improvement over what is essentially one of the most dated chassis in the Benz lineup.
It’s a good thing we spend the day cycling into and out of different cars, because a whole day in the C63 might have left my neck feeling painfully stiff.
I don’t have any issues in the big E and S-Class sedans or, obviously, the SUVs. Even the SLS is surprisingly spacious thanks to a bump cut in the roof – most likely for exactly this purpose.
Or, more accurately, not all Benzes are created the same. Sure there are similarities from model to model and certain brand traits are maintained across the line, but hopping from one car into another all day long gives a unique perspective into just how different some of these cars are.
The SL is soft and squishy. The pedals don’t respond as quickly as in some of the other cars and the suspension is more comfort-oriented. It’s also surprisingly quiet inside and delivers an amazingly serene ride. So much so, you might not notice just how fast you’re approaching that corner or braking zone until you’re in over your head.
Still, most of the Benzes feel like variations of a theme while the CLA45 AMG stands out as a unique beast. It’s hard not to notice the boy-racer exhaust note and lack of isolation from the road relative to the other cars.
It feels light, nimble and unlike any other Benz either at the academy, or that I can remember.
While the obvious preference would be to spend the entire day behind the wheel of the 583-hp SLS, the Driving Academy gives everyone a turn and has you rotating through a fleet of roughly 13 cars in a day.
That means you’ll eventually be in something that doesn’t really excite you… at least not for driving on a race track. The B-Team of cars during my time at the school included the B-Class, a standard CLA (both of which were surprisingly fun) and two vehicles that really have zero purpose on a racetrack: the GLK250 and ML350… both diesels. Yuck!
But hold on. If your need for speed (and your skill) is outpacing that of your classmates, then the SUVs present a unique opportunity. With squishier suspensions, heavier curb weights and lack of overall power, they’re momentum machines and if you want to keep up with spritely compacts you’ll need to be at your smoothest and fastest. Gaining on a pack of smaller cars from the lofty vantage point behind wheel of an ML was one of the most enjoyable experiences I had all day.
All brands change over time. If they don’t, they get left behind.
Testing a full lineup of Mercedes models really shows just how much of an evolution the German luxury automaker has undergone. Nowhere is that more evident than when I snapped the above photo of a CLA45 AMG lined up next to an SLS AMG GT in the pits.
Just a few years ago Mercedes was making headlines with its SLS AMG, an ultra-expensive rear-drive naturally aspirated V8 super-coupe. But now all the talk is about the CLA45 AMG, the most affordable AMG ever. It costs a quarter of the price of the SLS, is a four door and sports a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The two couldn’t be more different.
This year marks the first year the CLA and CLA45 will be available to drive in the course. It’s also, most likely, the last year for the SLS.
Bob Dylan was right. The times they are a changin’.
“Maybe this is why they made us wear helmets,” I thought to myself after stepping out of the SLS and slamming my head on the gullwing door.
Maybe these doors are fine if you’re a jockey, but for the rest of the male population, those cool looking mechanisms have a serious drawback.
During out lapping exercises in the afternoon when we rotated through the cars every two laps it became a common refrain to hear one of the instructors screaming out to whichever driver was just in the SLS “Watch your…” THUD!
Seriously? Yup! How’s that for a deal?
First you get to beat on some amazing cars at a racetrack and then they give you a discount on a new car. The special incentives range from $500 to $,1500 including $750 off an already well-priced CLA!
The course itself does cost $1,695 CDN, but when you factor in the discount it’s practically free – if you’re buying an S-Class with a $1,500 incentive.
Regardless of the discount amount, the MB Driving Academy also acts as an ideal way for potential Mercedes owners to really test out a car they’re looking to buy.
What’s better than driving a bunch of Mercedes-Benz cars around a race track all day? How about driving a bunch of AMGs?
Time at the race track is addictive, and Mercedes is hoping you’ll take the bait by signing up for one of its AMG Driving Academy courses too. The Mastering Performance course I took retails for the aforementioned sum of $1,695 CDN while the basic one-day AMG class starts at $1,895. Finally, a two-day advanced class is $3,995. It includes accommodation for one night as well as plenty of driving time with video of your on-track driving and data analysis in comparison to an instructor’s lap to help you improve.
Where do we sign?
For more information or to sign up in Canada, visit the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy website here. Or to check out Mercedes driving courses in the U.S. and around the world, click here.