The Latest Mercedes-Benz SLK Class: Love It or Loathe It?

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JMarine25
A car company I've recently been into was Mercedes-Benz. Usually, its styling is unmistakable, especially in Brilliant Silver. The silver color to Mercedes-Benz is like red to Ferrari. GTPlanet, say hello to the SLK350 and the V8-powered SLK55. No, not the last one, but the latest one. I kind of remember being in some small car from MB at the Houston Auto Show last year. This car, even standing still, just wants to bathe in the sun with the top down. I've seen all the inside anemities, the slick body lines, and looks which drawn DNA from the alluring McLaren-Mercedes SLR. Its acceleration from 0-60 is perhaps good for 5.4 seconds. Sounds like a good sports car, don't you think? Or is it a good sports car? Perhaps a great one? Or am I just wolfing up crap and talk about stuff I don't even know about even if my life depended on it? GTPlanet, I've kind of grown a habit of making such topics about one certain car and what you think about it. So are you ready for this one? The question:

The [new] Mercedes-Benz SLK350: little wonder or little pretender?

Well, fire away.
 
Saw one the other day in the dark and I thought it was an SLR :ouch: .
These mega Mercs are cool imo but to me there like those stealth bombers where there actually impossible to fly by man alone without computers making miniscule adjustments to the rudder etc... You can never completely disable the T.C. and if you could with all the power AND weight they would be hard to keep in a straight line.

On a straight.

In the dry.

:nervous:
 
sportscars with auto 'boxes...no thanks. although the new SLKs ride is supposed to have improved over the old one, i hate the styling. too much mini-SLR for me, thats just cheap.
 
vladimir
sportscars with auto 'boxes...no thanks. although the new SLKs ride is supposed to have improved over the old one, i hate the styling. too much mini-SLR for me, thats just cheap.
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Acutally, the SLK350 comes has an 6-speed manual transmission. The SLK55 AMG is the only one with an autobox as standard with no available manual.
 
I considered purchasing this car over the Elise... so I went into a dealer and took it out for a spin. They only had a car with the autobox on it, so that was a bit of a disappointment. I'm not expert reviewer of cars, but from what I experienced the car ride was smooth. And it's very quick! I went on the on-ramp and blasted down the freeway at about 95mph. I didn't really notice any road noise while in the car (top up)... but I was talking to the salesperson the whole time.

I didn't like the inside too much, though. I felt very cramped inside... sure it's a 2 seater but the dashboard or the seat could have been furter apart. I'm not a tall guy... about 5'10, but I felt squished. I like having the seat far back in cars so that there's a slight bend to my arms when reaching the steering wheel.

The center console felt overy cluttered with an enormous amount of buttons and dials. Even the steering wheel had all sorts of buttons, that I honestly think, it could do without. The cluttered and confusing console is really what bothers me about the car.

The outside styling is great and I quite like it.

Overall i think it's a fun car. The outside looks great... but the inside could use some refinement. The 45K base price isn't too bad. But it could be driven down by quite a bit if a lot of the "standard" options in the car were made non-standard and something the customer could include if desired.
 
MrktMkr1986
Acutally, the SLK350 comes has an 6-speed manual transmission. The SLK55 AMG is the only one with an autobox as standard with no available manual.
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i know, that comment was targeted generally for the whole mercedes amg range, which are supposed to be more sporty than the normal models.
 
vladimir
i know, that comment was targeted generally for the whole mercedes amg range, which are supposed to be more sporty than the normal models.
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I understand what you're saying. Maybe because Mercedes-Benz's brand image is that of luxury why they only use automatics throughout the AMG range. BMW's brand image is also of luxury, but leaning more towards the performance side which is why all M models come with manual transmissions (except for the SMG). Same thing goes for Damiler-Chrysler and SRT (with the exception of the Crossfire SRT-6 which is really a Mercedes-Benz SLK32 AMG underneath).
 
I heard a great quote by one Ron Bordignon, BMW Auto & Collision, Vancouver BC, I can't remember exactly what he said but it went something like this:

"BMW takes the handling and performance of Porsche, and mixes it with the luxury of a Mercedes, with a dash of technology and a pinch of simplicity, these are the best damned cars I've ever seen. "

I guess the point he was trying to get across is that something too complicated (unfortunately this quote was about 2 years ago so probably didn't apply to the fandangled iDrive) results in problems, and something too simple results in inpracticality. It seems to me that BMW's goal is to make you feel like your in a bullet, all wrapped up in cozy fleece.

As for the styling of the new Benz's...thumbs down. It's getting too redundant, and I'm sad to say this is happening with much of the European car manufacturers (lack VW). What we need is more innovative styles, not some Bangle'd up lux-with-flux (ala the flux capacitor in BTTF :sly: ). This is why I declare 2005 the redundant car style year. Next to the all of the 60's.
 
Hell I think it is the best SLK ever made! I mean the price is not bad at all about 40 grand and then with all the performance and the luxary I think its worth it. Now the SLK 55 AMG! Now I think that needs to be a bit cheaper! if it was like 53 grand loaded it would be a damn good deal!
 
some mercedes comes in a 7 speed auto while it only comes with a 6 speed manual version right? personally i hate the idea of ANY "sports car" without a clutch. i know it sounds stupid and obviously it is because clicking a paddle or putting it into drive is easier and faster but.....it will never give the same feeling. that is my main problem with mercedes. i like the older ones a bit more because of their boxish styling. if they were only offered in manual they would be A OK with me <8- )
 
I haven't yet driven one so I can't comment on it from a standpoint other than economical, where I have to say it's an awful buy - the new Mustang and several Japanese cars offer so much better bang for your buck. All depends on what that three-pointed star is worth.

because clicking a paddle or putting it into drive is easier and faster but.....it will never give the same feeling.
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But when the chips are down, it is faster - feeling or not, isn't the point of a true sports car to be as fast as possible?
 
of course but whats the point of going fast if its not fun? if you wanted to go fast like purely for the sake of faster track times i doubt a big (in comparison) mercedes would apetizing compared to something basic and pretty much a track car like that arial Atom (thank goodness for topgear :)) then again a good driver in a ok car can usually keep up with a bad driver in a good car. i get off topic easily...i know, its like trying to keep a baby from soiling him/herself :nervous: speaking of the mustang i really want to see what will happen to it. i want to see some that can actually do the whole turning thing 👍
 
I like...It yet I don't, theres something with that front grill, with the mercedes symbol, its suffering the same nose problem that Nissan and the Evo 8 has, that pointless large square, or triangle in the middle with the grill, with the company logo on it. it'd look a lot better IMO without that useless grill thingy, performance wise, its nice, a lot better than the old SLK. The styling is great, other than the grill part.....Overall a great little car .
 
MrktMkr1986
I understand what you're saying. Maybe because Mercedes-Benz's brand image is that of luxury why they only use automatics throughout the AMG range. BMW's brand image is also of luxury, but leaning more towards the performance side which is why all M models come with manual transmissions (except for the SMG). Same thing goes for Damiler-Chrysler and SRT (with the exception of the Crossfire SRT-6 which is really a Mercedes-Benz SLK32 AMG underneath).
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that is exaclty what i dislike about mercedes, they offer some extreme sportscars like the SLR and the CLK AMG DTM but you don't get a manual box or you can't switch off the driving aids completely. even in the SLK 350 you can't switch off traction control completely. so in the end they are luxury cars with that image of old peoples rides.

BMWs M philosophy is differently, they do more than just swapping the engine. and even the SMG is a manual box (as the name sequential manual gearbox implies) even though it has no clutch and can work as an automatic (the other way round than AMG who have the automatic box that you can control, but it still acts like an automatic)..
 
SLK's are fine - if you are a girl, or a estate agent.

Merc-Benz just can't make a proper sports car. All the SL's have ever been are 2 seater versions of their normal luxury based cars. Don't get me wrong, i'm a big fan of Merc-Benz saloons (sedans) - its what they do best, but the SL's are just too heavy, too soft and just not focused enough to be classed as a real sports car. The Boxster 'owns' the SLK, its only other rival in that price bracket, the Z4 is also a more capable machine.
 

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