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By
EWAN KENNEDY
30 June 2008
The Mercedes-Benz SLK is an important milestone car in the latter
day history of the automobile. It led the way in the modern
folding-hardtop regime when launched in the mid 1970s, a body type
that has since been copied by many other marques. Some of the
newer folding hardtops are direct competitors, others operate in
completely different areas of the fun-car market. So it made a lot
of sense for Mercedes to upgrade the SLK to work at keep it at the
forefront of its class.
Speaking
of the front, the latest facelift of the second-generation car
sees it gain some styling cues pointing in the direction of the
Mercedes McLaren Formula One car. A very smart move as the F1
machine is currently one of the leaders in the formula that marks
the pinnacle of motorsport.
There
are also changes to update the rear end of the low-slung roadster,
specifically a deeper bumper sitting over a diffuser-type
undertray, with an interesting shape of exhaust tips sitting
adjacent to it.
Rear
tail-lights now feature LEDs for faster lightup and are done in an
interesting arrow style that works nicely on a sports model like
this. Also getting the arrow shaped treatment are the blinker
repeater lights built into the door mirrors.
Team
these subtle, yet effective, body revamps with some new designs of
alloy wheels and the overall effect of the latest Mercedes-Benz
SLK really works beautifully.
And
if the standard body isn’t quite enough for you, Mercedes offers
an AMG style body-kit upgrade that gives even more visual punch.
Inside
the cabin there's a redesign of the trim, which is now offered in
new shades of material are offered. There are changes to the
instrument layout to give a three-dimensional look. This latter is
at its best at night, so perhaps ask your Mercedes dealer to let
you sample the vehicle with a test drive after dark as well as
during the day.
Both
the four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and the naturally-aspirated
V6 are improved versions of the units in the just superseded SLK.
They not only offer significantly more performance than ever
before, but do so while using less fuel and producing fewer
emissions.
The
largest engine is a big 5.4-litre V8 that’s modified by AMG.
Note that it’s a 5.4-litre, though Mercedes, with a very
un-German lack of precision, insists on calling it a 5.5. This
engine is as in the previous SLK, but that’s certainly no
drawback as it continues to be an inspirational 265 kilowatt
powerplant with plenty of grunt and a great exhaust note. The sort
of note that demands you power the roof down as often as possible
simply to revel in the sound.
We
have test driven all three variants of the new Mercedes-Benz SLK
roadster as part of the company’s introduction to the cars out
of Brisbane and south to the top end of New South Wales.
The
suspension is firm as you would expect in a sports model, but we
found it was inclined to pitch at times. It bottomed out on large,
not huge, bumps and potholes on several occasions so is not always
happy on Australian backroads. You may care to have your test
drive include some hard conditions if you feel you will be doing
some exploring during your time with these lifestyle machines.
Incidentally,
you don’t have to confine your exploring to balmy summer days as
the mid- and top-line variants of the SLK have Mercedes' clever
Airscarf feature that blows warm air onto the back of your neck
and shoulders. Team that with the heater going full song in the
cabin and the car can be surprisingly pleasant when it’s cold
outside.
Obviously,
the grunt of the big V8 in the SLK 55 AMG makes it a full-on
sports car, but the 350 has plenty of punch and makes an excellent
compromise if your budget can’t handle the $164,900 (pre
luxury-car tax changes) of the top model.
Even
the four-cylinder supercharged engine has its place, with decent
acceleration and a lighter feel in the front that does a lot for
its balance on interesting roads. The Mercedes-Benz SLK 200
Kompressor starts at a reasonable $86,780 in six-speed manual
format.
The
complete Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class range, with prices (excluding
on-road costs), is:
SLK 200 Kompressor 1.8-litre two-door convertible: $86,780
SLK 350 3.5-litre two-door convertible: $112,380
SLK 55 AMG 5.4-litre two-door convertible: $164,900
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Marque Publishing Company
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