Here’s something you don’t get often – the Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG outperforms its predecessor and costs almost $22,000 less. And that’s not the only good news. This is a cracking sports car with a luxury finish. The V8 AMG is the top of the third-generation SLK range, which also offers four-cylinder and six-cylinder versions. They all come with upgraded styling that includes Mercedes’ new widemouth corporate grill design, which is tougher-looking and heads off any tendency of people like TV motoring journalist Jeremy Clarkson to still call the SLK a ‘girl’s car’. In fact, sports car enthusiasts have plenty to appreciate in the SLK, which is priced at $155,550 plus on-roads in 55 AMG form. The two bigger Mercedes sports roadsters, the $243,000 SL and $487,000 SLS, are not only more expensive but also less wieldy. The SLK acronym stands for Sportlich (sporty), Leicht (sport) and Kurz (short) and that certainly sums up the car. The enhancements of Mercedes’ AMG performance division to engine, suspension, brakes, wheels and tyres make the SLK a machine that has more in common with a compact sports car than GT muscle-car, despite its 310 kiloWatts of thumping V8 power. However, it has no direct rival in Australian showrooms. BMW’s Z4 sDrive 35is and the Porsche Boxster S have only six-cylinder engines, although some critics say they handle more sharply than the ‘Benz’. The SLK sprints from rest to 100 kmh in a claimed 4.6 seconds and on to an electronically-limited maximum speed of 250 kmh. Driven more normally, it consumes petrol at the rate of 8.5 litres per 100 kms; that is, 30 per cent more economical than its predecessor. The beauty of a V8 is that it’s effortless in almost any circumstance. Squeeze the accelerator and it responds instantly and strongly, while some smaller engines that use turbochargers or superchargers to achieve their power may hesitate momentarily before exploding in a rush of speed. And there’s nothing like the sound. AMG cars are renowned for the quality of their exhaust and engine tones. The SLK’s song changes when flaps in the exhaust open at a certain speed to release the gases faster. It’s music to enthusiasts. Coupled to the hand-built engine is a seven-speed automatic transmission, which has shift finger-paddles behind the steering wheel for manual control. A Sports switch on the centre console sharpens the transmission’s responses. If the auto is still not quite up to the mark of the very best sports gearboxes, the steering is exemplary.
Its use of traditional hydraulic assistance rather than the modern, powersaving electric systems results in sensitive feel and a nice linear quality to the weighting at any steering angle and speed. The SLK is a wolf dressed as a sheep. It might be readily identifiable as an AMG, but the look is hardly macho. And at town speeds, the ride is smooth and quiet and the engine relatively muted. If you wanted a performance car able to be driven to work every day, this could be it. It’s also got abundant comfort. The electrically-adjustable seats are firm, supportive and beautifully upholstered in leather. This leather contains another Mercedes innovation: it’s heat-reflective and cooler to sit on. Clear plastic screens behind the headrests block some draft, while Mercedes’ patented ‘Air Scarf’ blows heated air on to your neck from ducts at the base of the headrests. Add backrest and cushion heating plus a strong blast on your feet and topdown driving will be comfortable in the coldest weather. The cockpit is finished impeccably. The only thing one could wish for would be more storage space in the console and doors; some European designers don’t seem to know that the rest of the world likes to drink while driving. The leather and Alcantara-suede steering wheel offers good grip. The bottom of the circle is flat in racing-car style, although in this case the flat bottom is clearly to facilitate access, not competition. Open-top driving comes at the touch of a button on the centre console. Apart from an obscure Mitsubishi, the original SLK when launched in 1996 was the first modern sports car to employ a folding hard-top instead of a fabric roof. Virtually every convertible manufacturer has followed suit, but the SLK’s Transformer-style mechanism remains among the best. When shut, it provides all the comfort and security of a coupe; open, it’s a proper sports car, albeit one that sacrifices significant boot space to the folded panels. But who’s complaining when the most powerful SLK ever made is also $22,000 cheaper?
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