Maybe a little too cozy, even claustrophobic. And the newly unveiled SL roadster, SLK’s big brother in the Benz lineup, loses its fabric roof in favor of a retractable hardtop. SLK is no longer alone with this feature, with Lexus following Mercedes (as it often does) with a retractable roof for its new SC430 sports car. Plus, it draws admiring crowds whenever it’s retracted or deployed. And with the top up, the cabin is as snug and secure as any coupe’s. The folding top eliminates the security and maintenance hassles of cloth while allowing a full-fledged convertible experience. The retractable steel roof remains SLK’s signature element and a feature that strongly boosts its appeal. Standard equipment includes anti-lock brakes and side-impact airbags.
Like all Mercedes cars, the body structure feels solid and well built. There is some tire thump over rough surfaces and sharp raps from such things as freeway expansion joints, but it’s never akin to the buckboard rides of vintage sports cars. The firm suspension, which comes equipped with Mercedes’ Electronic Stability System that helps control skids in case you get too sporty, permits flat cornering and good road feel without being too hard on the occupants.
MERCEDES BENZ SLK 230 KOMPRESSOR DRIVER
The six-speed is superb, with precisely chosen gear ratios that allow the driver to wring out optimum performance or to cruise quietly on the freeway in six-gear overdrive.
So does the fine handling and responsive steering of the diminutive fliptop. The engine and tranny were new for 2001 and carry over for 2002. Now, I’ve had the SLK as it should have been in the first place, equipped with the smooth and powerful V-6 and a slick, close-ratio six-speed. But once again, this test car came with automatic. Then came the third, an SLK 320 fitted with Mercedes’ sparkling 3.2-liter V-6, which also powers the fine E320 sedan. But it was a balky unit that still blunted the experience. Mercedes, finding its SLK at the bottom of most drivers’ sports-car shopping lists, began offering SLKs with the option of a five-speed manual. Competing sports cars, from the retro-themed Mazda Miata to the desirable Porsche Boxster, were being sold mainly with manuals. Mercedes brass said that market studies showed Americans were not interested in shifting for themselves. And the automatic was just all wrong for a reputed sports car. Performance was uninspiring, despite the 185 horses claimed for the engine, which also was harsh and lacking in low-end torque. kompressor in German) and an automatic transmission. That SLK 230 Kompressor contained a four-cylinder engine equipped with a supercharger (a.k.a. The first one I had back in ’98 seemed rushed into production to compete with the new flock of latter-day roadsters coming out of Germany and Japan. The first three SLK models were not quite right. And all it took was an extra-fine V-6 and a slick-shifting, six-speed transmission. But this is the first one that I can say without reservation has the equipment and performance to qualify as a bona fide sports car. This is my fourth turn in the wedgy little two-seater with the folding steel top. Mercedes-Benz’s SLK roadster has finally arrived.
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