REVIEW DATE: 21 Apr 2008
Few thought Mercedes would craft a contender for best car in the world when they proposed the latest SL model but it's a car with a legitimate claim on that crown. June Neary reports.
I thought I had the SL all figured out before I even got behind the wheel. I had, after all, driven quite a few versions of its little brother, the SLK roadster. Surely an SL was just going to be an SLK writ large? As such, I was struggling to see the benefits. The SL350 I received may have been the entry-level car but at around £65,000, it's still a serious investment. As soon as it rolled up outside the office I could see where the money had gone. As well as being bigger, it's a whole lot sleeker than the SLK. Some of my less informed colleagues couldn't believe that it was a convertible car, so well integrated is the styling. Although it may be a little ostentatious for some, I just knew the Mercedes SL was going to spell fun.
Although practicality is probably not an overriding concern for many buyers of sporty roadsters, the SL is better than many. The hood is the chief reason why. It genuinely doubles up the Mercedes' appeal, offering hushed coupe-style motoring with added security when fixed in place or, at the touch of a button, a sporty al fresco feel. The super-slick mechanism is a magnificent piece if machinery, a generation on from the SLK's accordion roof. With the roof in place there's a respectable level of space available in the SL's boot and the shape is easily accessible. Unfortunately, when you drop the roof that capacity shrinks considerably, something to bear in mind if you set off on a trip with the hood up and the boot stuffed. Unlike many of its rivals, amongst which we'd count the Maserati GranTurismo, the Porsche 911 Convertible and the Jaguar XK Convertible, the Mercedes SL is a strict two seater, although there is a useful compartment behind the seats that you can throw bags into - something you'd only ever do with the minuscule rear pews of these rivals in any case. Up front there's plenty of room to lounge about if you feel like cruising although the SL350 is never one of those cars that seems to shrink around you. The thought that here is a big, expensive, low-slung car with 315bhp on tap never really fades.
The interior has been given the once over in this latest SL, with a completely restyled instrument cluster with the speedometer and the rev counter finished in a classic chronometer design. A three-spoke steering wheel and more supportive seats also debut. In tandem with its bi-polar coupe/convertible personality, the SL can play the monied boulevardier as well as its predecessor, but unlike the old car can also snap to attention and perform a very convincing impression of a sports car. Extensive use of aluminium body panels has kept the weight down and the SL350 rides flat and true through corners. Combined with the ESP stability control system it gives the Mercedes an uncanny level of security should you really press on hard. Turn the ESP off and the SL will happily display its lairy side. If you can overcome the initial unease, the SL is extremely capable and a whole lot of fun. In the past, some sporting Mercedes models seemed, in my experience, to wilfully introduce impediments to the process of enjoyment, either lazy automatic gearboxes, laughably poor manual gearchanges, vague steering via steering wheels that resembled something from the Cutty Sark or woolly chassis. It appears the killjoys never got their hands on this SL's design. The sprint to 60mph is completed in 6.6 seconds flat and like all SL models the top speed is limited to 155mph. A specially tuned exhaust gives a fruity rasp at the higher end of the rev range, answering critics who felt that the smooth V6 engine didn't sound charismatic enough for a sports car. With a combined fuel economy figure of 27.4mpg and competitive CO2 emissions, the SL350 looks a smart investment, especially when you factor in its bombproof depreciation. A six-speed Sequentronic manual gearbox is fitted, effectively a manual gearbox with automatic selection, this system features wheel-mounted shift buttons which can be set into a manual or sport mode. If you want the car to do the work for you, it's possible to set it into a mode that replicates a self-shifting automatic box. If you have more money to spend, the next SL variant up from the '350' is the SL 500 with its burbling 5.5-litre V8 still producing 388bhp. Above this sits the mighty V12 SL 600 which harbours a twin turbocharged 5.5-litre V12 developing 517bhp. In the SL 500, 0-60mph takes 5.4s and the SL 600 achieves the same in a supercar humbling 4.5s. If that's not fast enough, the SL 63 AMG model offers 525bhp, while the flagship SL 65 AMG delivers a thumping 612bhp.
As long as I could keep my Corolla for those trips to the garden centre, I think I could. In fact, I'd even go as far as to retire the little Toyota, use the passenger seat of the SL to transport bags of pea gravel one sack at a time and leave my other half at home nodding his head to his drum and bass CDs. The Mercedes SL350 is one of the most complete cars I've ever had the fortune to drive. Now all I have to do is work out a convincing explanation when the Mercedes Press Office ask me why the footwell is full of gravel.
