I drove a $78,000 Mercedes-Benz CLE450 Coupe. It's a high-tech, modern car with the heart of a classic GT.

I was impressed by the CLE450's powerful turbocharged, mild-hybrid inline six-cylinder engine, luxurious cabin, excellent tech content, and attractive styling.

There wasn't a lot wrong with the CLE, but my biggest gripe with it, and most current-generation Mercedes-Benz products, is their cumbersome capacitive touch controls. More on that later.

My CLE450 4Matic Coupe test car started at $65,650. Freight fees and a long list of tech, luxury, and styling options added nearly $13,000 to the price tag.

The CLE's front end features a large three-dimensional effect chrome grille that creates the impression of a galaxy of small stars surrounding a large central Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star logo.

The rear end of the CLE is dominated by its steeply raked roofline, prominent LED taillights, and large chrome faux exhaust tips.

At 191 inches, the midsize CLE is an inch shorter than the E-Class and six inches shorter than the C-Class Coupe.

The CLE450 is powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine that produces 375 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque.

Its helped by Mercedes' 48-volt mild-hybrid system, which uses an integrated starter generator to contribute an additional 23 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque. It's designed to mitigate the effects of turbo lag and quicken the response of its auto start/stop system.

My test car boasted EPA fuel economy figures of 23 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined.

The CLE450 delivers on its promise as a world-class grand tourer. The car is well-balanced with responsive steering. The suspension is set up more for comfort than outright cornering ability. But it remains a calm and collected customer in the twisty bits.

The turbocharged straight-six is smooth, dialing up near-instantaneous acceleration through its slick-shifting 9-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive system.

The mild hybrid system performed as expected, effectively filling in any holes in the engine's torque and smoothing the traditional harshness of an auto start/stop system.

According to Mercedes, the 375 horsepower CLE450 can run from 0 to 60 mph in an impressive 4.2 seconds.

The CLE's cabin borrows heavily from the current C-Class. Its interior is an elegant blend of modern design and callbacks to classic Mercedes-Benz of days gone by, like the giant 11.9-inch touchscreen sitting below the trio of vintage turbine-design air vents.

Material and build quality are excellent. However, I was not a fan of the shiny piano black lacquer Mercedes chose for the center console, which is highly susceptible to unsightly smudges and scratches.

My biggest complaint with the CLE's interior is the lack of physical controls. While the touchscreen and capacitive touch-sensitive buttons are modern and sleek, they feel imprecise and are clumsy to use, especially while driving.

The CLE has the third-generation Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotainment system. The system is pretty well sorted at this point. It's responsive and easy to navigate, and the graphics look terrific. The system's overeager voice assistance is also far less intrusive than in past iterations.

The screen is also home to the surround-view camera system along with a host of additional capabilities like YouTube video streaming and games.

The car comes standard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Instead of a traditional gauge cluster, the CLE has a 12.3-inch digital display. The display is highly configurable, with layouts ranging from a traditional dual analog gauge look to a full-page navigation map.

My test car was also equipped with a handy color head-up display.

The seats are ventilated with built-in massage functionality.

The seats work for short trips, but the limited heat and legroom may make adults uncomfortable on longer drives.

The rear seats can fold down for additional cargo room.

Standard features on the CLE include adaptive high beam assist, active brake assist, Parktronic with active parking assist, blind spot assist, and Presafe.

You'll need to pay extra to get goodies like adaptive cruise control, automatic lane change assist, and active lane-keeping assist.

My time with the CLE450 has been a blast. The miles simply breeze on by. It dispenses a sense of joy and contentment that only happens when you are at the command of a high-performance machine while swaddled in modern, high-tech luxury.

And that's the definition of a truly excellent GT car.