Let’s face it, the old SLK was no oil painting but because it was relatively cheap (for a Mercedes!) it developed a huge following and residuals are still high. The original SLK (which stands for Sports, Light, Compact) was launched back in 1996 and featured a very clever party trick – a folding hard roof. This was the envy of the motoring design world.
Ever since then the convertible roof has been copied (sorry) imitated by the others. The new cars roof opens in just 22 seconds. On the go the original was never interesting or much fun for the enthusiastic driver but this has been address to some extent with the new car.
Open top motoring traditionally is about getting close to the elements, feeling the cold, getting broken veins on your cheeks and rain down your neck, but I’m afraid Mercedes has designed a car so cosy that with the roof down it feels just like a car with its sunroof slightly open.
The SLK’s new party trick is the optional ‘Neckscarf’ ventilation system that is housed in each seat back. It blows varying degrees of warm air towards both the driver and passenger’s necks and I am almost ashamed to say it works really well. Apart from the Neckscarf the SLK has a good heater, heated seats and a wind break that does a very effective job of shielding turbulence that other wise would destroy one’s hair-do. The interior is very classy and a nice place to spend time in.
The entry level 161 Bhp ‘SLK 200’ has a 1.8 litre supercharged engine and gets to 100 Km/h in just 8.3 seconds with a top speed of 140Mph. There are two gearboxes available, my test car was the automatic version and while it was silky smooth when accelerating hard the self shifter never really felt right. Despite having two settings (C & S) plus a manual option the auto box was always a step behind what I wanted to do.
The six-speed manual would give more direct control over your progress and would be the one for more enthusiastic drivers. An AMG animal will be available shortly but for the moment the SLK 350 (V6 3.2 litre) will keep most petrol heads happy.
In reality the most important thing about sports cars isn’t how good they are to drive but how you feel owning one. The SLK feels special and every inch a class act despite lacking the dynamics thrills of the best in its class. It’s not bad value either starting at fifty five odd grand.
The new Mercedes SLK is almost the complete package.
- Michael Sheridan
