MERCEDES SLK Review

We’ll quote ourselves from the time we had our first contact with SLK The Third: The second incarnation of the SLK (R171) didn’t necessarily try to turn the whole story into a driver’s one, instead continuing on the “pose” pathway that was chosen in the beginning. It tried to take all the assets of its predecessor and add bonus points for each one.

Now that Mercedes has turned the SLK into a trilogy, bringing the R172 generation to the world, the company claims that it has brought the car closer to the ideal compact roadster, not only bringing an evolution of the qualities that the car has been known for, but also upping the ante on the dynamic front. On top of all that, one of the master classes written with the biggest font in the car’s curriculum vitae is the efficiency one.

Since going fast was mentioned, we became interested and, as a result, invited the SLK 350 to join our testing party. This naturally-aspirated V6 version is the most powerful European one and the only one offered in America until the SLK55 AMG arrives early next year.

We got to play with a car that had been machine-gunned with optional goodies, so we enjoyed one icing after nother, such as an AMG exterior package, AMG rims, LED taillamps, Designo leather, a Vario roof and others.

We’re not violent creatures, but on the hot summer day we met the car we became so: once we were in the driver’s seat, we started hitting things. At first, we hit the button for folding the metal roof, then we hit the “pause” button of the audio system and subsequently we hit the road, heading for the seaside (please excuse the cliché, we just couldn’t help ourselves).

Get ready to feel the wind in your hair, is time to go for a drive, a test drive!

The SLK has always been an interesting proposition in terms of styling cues. An we’re not saying that just because it is a magician that pulls a coupe roof out of its cabrio hat. The SLK has offered a design that is best described as being “smart”. The third generation follows the same pathway, taking things even further.

It’s no cliche - the SLK is now mature and this has brought a robotic image to it. We really like its angular styling cues, which also offer the impression of force. As for the “smart” image, it’s simple - you just look at this car an feel it’s packed with goodies. And it’s not just the angular shapes that give you the idea that you’re riding on a robot instead of driving a car - the details, such as the air intakes on the hood and the air vents on the sides are also important.

The most striking element is the upward front grille: you see it and your brain is instantly overwhelmed with emotions, as it strongly resembles that of the SLS AMG supercar.

The rear end doesn’t manage to be as impressive as the front of the car, but we can’t say that the SLK can be entered into the “one-end-only” beauty category.

The vehicle we tested was fitted with the AMG exterior package, as well as with LED headlights, riding on 18-inch rims. All these rather subtle changes made a world of difference - it’s like comparing an athlete waiting to take off the line with a casual jogger.

The Germans have paid a lot of attention to details. For example, the wind protection now comes via two transparent panels that are attached to the rollover protection elements (you have to rotate them by hand). Your eyes will love this feature, but only until you get inside the car and they become a bit watery, as this solution is not the most practical one.

Have you read the “exterior” chapter? Well, to find out things about the car’s cabin you can use the same idea (evolution of what the previous generation had to offer) and replace headlights with dials, doors with seats, the hood with the center armrest and so on. There you have it, the description of the SLK’s cabin. After all, with the metal roof hidden away in the trunk, you can spread as far as you want, so the interior is infinite (for those who believe the Universe is so).

Just kidding – we shall now go through the interior details. The SLK’s cabin almost made us dizzy. Yes, this is what happens when your brain is fooled, being unable to choose between sensations.

You climb aboard and, just like in the previous generations, you feel a little cramped. However, just when you were about to write something on the “-“ list, you start looking at the details and one, actually more smiles appear.

You get a retro feeling that makes you think about Mercedes roadsters from many, many years ago. This comes from goodies such as the air vents and the radio, which uses a “skin” that brings a classic scale on the Command Aps multimedia system display.

The vehicle we tested was gifted with an optional two-tone Designo leather finish. The titan pearl color of the seats reminded us that we are inside a robot, and so did the buttons on the center console, which made us say “precision”.

Speaking of buttons, we'll have to tell you that the ergonomics are excellent. We also liked the optional analogue watch placed on top of the dash.

The driving position is one of the sportiest parts of the SLK and this has nothing to do with the fact that we got to play with a set of paddles for the 7G-Tronic gearbox.

With the top down, things are pleasant, but only if you don’t reach the higher gears, as the transparent rear wind protection might be pleasing for the eyes, but certainly won’t help your ears too much.

Once you turn the car into a coupe -the process is annoying, as you have to bring the car to a complete stop in order to (un)fold the metal roof – you get mixed emotions again. Our test car was fitted with the optional Vario Roof, basically a transparent roof, so that the light comes in, but the soundproofing is not that good, and we’re not only referring to the roof here.

When it comes to the luggage compartment, things really get nasty. Its capacity (225/335 liters) is bigger than that of many rivals, but what might’ve seemed like a practical solution when it was conceived, is actually a disaster: you have to manually slide a cover over the luggage, before you can drop the top. Not only is this a part that wears rapidly and may cause trouble, disengaging from its position when the luggage moves around due to irregularities of the road, but it also makes access difficult.

Visiting a city can be an important deal. Fist of all, you have to choose the right location, one that has special things to offer. Then, there’s the route, as well as your way around it, and the list of things to do in order to have a sweet experience can go on for a few lines. However, Mercedes has reduced the answers to all these questions to just three letters: S, L and K. Yes, one of the things that the SLK does best is to take you around town in style and bring a smile on your face while doing this.

You see, this is where something that might be seen as a weakness of the SLK, the fact that it’s fast, but not all that focused on raising the hair on your racing clothing, becomes an asset. This is because the car feels relaxed on any occasion, allowing you to cruise on urban roads.

The overall visibility is decent, while the compact dimensions of the car will allow you to “blitz” through the traffic. Of course, you have to add the fact that you can always literally set the sky as the limit above your head.

The vehicle we tested was fitted with the Parktronic parking sensors, so this part of the urban game was also taken care of.

Of course, there are also parts of the car that dent its urban armor. First of all, the engine is economical, but you'll still have to struggle a bit to achieve a fuel efficiency of 18.8 mpg (12.5 liters per 100 km).

Then, there’s the ride height-rough suspension couple, which makes certain parts of the city difficult to access.

However, city driving manages to conceal some of the car’s weaknesses, such as the brakes, that don’t really know how to stop a car, and the transmission, which hasn’t learned how to change gears too well. At the kind of speeds you use inside a crowded city, you won’t get to feel these issues to much.

You don’t even have to know your way around Mercedes designations too well, when you read “350” and “AMG package” you instantly thing about the open road. However, we didn’t take this car outside city borders immediately, as it felt extremely nice in urban areas. Eventually, we realized that we had to do this – here’s what we found out.

The 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 likes to rev and has enough muscle to make the 3,395 lbs (1,540 kg) of the car one fast contraption. The first hundred arrives in about 5.5 seconds, which makes the car almost as fast as the AMG version of the 1st generation SLK. And yes, you’ve guessed it – the top speed is electronically limited at155 mph (250 km/h).

However, the 7G-Tronic transmission has skipped certain gear changing classes, so the superb advantage of an instant response, offered by the naturally aspirated engine, almost disappears, as you only get to enjoy it during in-gear acceleration.

The weak point of the SLK is clearly its braking system. The brakes of the SLK 350 we tested disappointed us, both in terms of stopping power and fading resistance. Trying to stop the SLK 350 when travelling fast is like being on roller skates and literally having an Achilles’ heel.

We don’t recommend using the SLK as a long distance partner, at least not in the configuration we tested. First of all, the Vario roof (a transparent panel in the roof) has a negative effect on the soundproofing, bringing this to a point situated halfway between a metal folding and a canvas roof.

Then, there’s the optional adaptive suspension, which doesn’t even need long trips to hurt your back. Not only is this setup (which also included a 10 mm lower ground clearance, brought by the AMG trim) uncomfortable, but it can also give you a feeling of unsafe handling, as the car bounced around on irregular roads, even when in “comfort” mode.

Handling wise, the SLK does what you ask it to. The direct steering, which, together with the aforementioned suspension, is included in the dynamic driving package, is sharp and has the right weight, but doesn’t offer the best feedback. Like we said, the car will listen to you. But that’s all it will do – you won’t become involved in the driving experience.

And there's more bad news. The luggage in the boot is almost impossible to access when the protection that allows you to lower the roof is in its place.

The SLK doesn’t feel so good on the open road as it does in the city, due to issues like disappointing soundproofing, suspension rigidity and difficult luggage compartment access. However, the car does offer sweet acceleration, as well as fair handling.