Mercedes' Latest Convertible Aircap and Airscarf Review: Cracking the Code to a Better Cabriolet?
New Mercedes tech promises a better top-down experience—but does it really work?
Mercedes-Benz thinks it’s cracked the code to making a convertible whose owners can spend more time with the top down than with it up. Our previous First Drive of the new 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE-Class Cabriolet around the Spanish exclave of Mallorca showed that a well-sized, feature-packed droptop could answer the former question, but a week with a loaded 2024 Mercedes CLE450 Cabriolet at home in summertime Los Angeles revealed the clever tech Mercedes uses so CLE drivers can spend more time cruising topless than ever before.
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What’s the key to making a good daily-friendly convertible? If you ask Mercedes, it’s three things: Aircap, Airscarf, and modifications to existing technologies to make them easier to live with: chiefly a solar-reflecting treatment to the CLE’s leather seats, a tilting function to reduce glare on the central infotainment screen, and a power top capable of operating at speeds of up to 37 mph (no more crawling along in traffic at 6 mph to operate the top, as is the case with some other convertibles).
The latter technologies all work great, so we were most curious about how Mercedes’ Aircap and Airscarf tech work in the real world—especially for folks with longer hair.
What’s Aircap?
Aircap is Mercedes’ name for a system of deployable spoilers and screens that reduce in-cabin turbulence with the top down. It consists of two parts: a wide mesh screen that rises from behind the two rear passenger seats, and a spoiler with an integrated mesh screen of its own that pops out from the windshield’s header. The system is said to increase in effectiveness with the car’s windows up, too.
Airscarf is much simpler: since traditional HVAC systems don’t work well with the top down, Airscarf blows hot air directly onto the necks of the driver and front passenger via small vents in the seat headrests.
To test just how effective the 2024 Mercedes CLE Cabriolet’s convertible creature comforts work, we developed a simple test: a 70-mile nighttime top-down drive that would take us from the winding roads of Malibu down to the cold, windy Pacific coast and onto freeways that would take us from the northern stretch of sprawling L.A. County to its southern border. The two-hour meandering drive would sport a wide variety of environments, elevations, speeds, temperature, and wind conditions. Combined with this writer’s long hair, we figured it ought to prove a suitable stress test for Mercedes’ interior tech systems. My boss figured I was a good person to conduct this test because I don’t typically enjoy convertibles.
Does the Tech Work?
Many canyons spill out of Malibu onto the Pacific Coast Highway. Kanan Dume Road, which twists and turns as it drops from about 4,500 feet to sea level, is among the faster ones thanks to its 55-mph speed limit and wide lanes. Top dropped, windows down, Aircap up, and stereo cooking, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet made quick work of the road. By the time I smelt the sea breeze in the air, I was really enjoying the experience. At country highway speeds, the Aircap did its thing, keeping my hair out of my face and allowing me to enjoy the ocean air, the starlit night sky, and the exceptional stereo. Despite Aircap, the occasional cold cross breeze would tussle the still cabin air but putting the windows up and turning on Airscarf made things comfortable again. There was even a moment where I considered how nice it would be to do this every day.
That was until I merged onto the freeway. As speeds crept to between 65–75 mph, it seemed Aircap lost its effectiveness, with most of the buffeting and wind seemingly focused on my chest level and above. I spent about 20 minutes trying to work around it—lowering and raising my seat, adjusting the recline, tweaking the windows, trying various interstate-friendly speeds, but no matter what I tried my hair whipped around.
I also tried lowering the Aircap. Interestingly, once it stowed away, buffeting over the windshield header decreased drastically. The turbulent air that had previously circled my upper body also stopped, replaced by wind coming in from behind the car to fill the negative pressure left by the stowed rear portion of the Aircap. The effect wasn’t dissimilar to how fallen leaves don’t fly out of pickup beds—the steady negative-pressure breeze drastically reduced the amount of hair hitting me in the face, making the experience perfectly tolerable.
Parting Thoughts
We’re curious to learn if Mercedes-Benz tuned Aircap to work best at a specific speed range on the new CLE convertible (it’s also available on the SL-Class), but we hadn’t heard back as of press time. Regardless, the entire 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet ecosystem generally worked as advertised to make convertible driving with the top down far more pleasant than it typically is for someone with long hair. While Airscarf is probably something I can live without, it did effectively help keep me warm in tandem with the CLE’s heated seats. A cooling function is absolutely something that should be considered for the system’s next generation.
Aircap, despite mixed results on the freeway, also largely succeeded in making convertible driving more pleasant. Realistically, most convertible owners would put their tops up for interstate cruising (I certainly would have had I not been conducting this test), and with the top up the new 2024 CLE Cabriolet is nearly as whisper quiet as the coupe. Use the features as Mercedes-Benz likely intended—deployed while cruising along the beach or your favorite country back road—and Aircap helps make for an immensely pleasant experience, giving drivers a taste of the open-air freedom motorcyclists have so long raved about without any of the inherent danger or risk, and more comfort than most convertibles offer.
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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