My Ardit Car

In Mercedes-Benz ‘speak’, SLK stands for ‘Sporty, Light & Short’ - from the German ‘Sportlich, Leight und Kurz’. The SLK has been a fixture on the world automotive stage for almost 17 years. The Mercedes-Benz SLK was all those things it purported to be with its initials - correction: it was really only two out of the three seeing as it kicked off at about 1400kg and remains in that ballpark today. ’t mind losing significant boot space. Unfortunately, however, from the outset the Mercedes SLK was also clubbed enthusiastically by the ‘effeminate’ styling stick. The balanced opinion of red-blooded men everywhere tended to the view that it was a kind of sportlich, (not-so) leight und kurz hairdresser’s car. The R171 Mercedes-Benz SLK is a curious combination of engineering excellence and its polar opposite. Among the positives: The powered roof mechanism is a 22-second engineering miracle from whoa to go.

You can’t operate it without wondering how they did that. It’s brilliant either open or closed, and especially so while in transit between the two. Anyone who thinks the SLK remains bespoke ladies’ transportation should perhaps drive the top-of-the-range SLK 55 AMG, which is simply one of the best-balanced (mind-blowing) AMG cars available - and that’s saying something. At first glance, you might doubt that a small car with a big atmo V8 shoved up its snout, and rear-drive, would do anything particularly well - apart from accelerate. A short squirt up an engaging, winding road will cure that view. It is simply brilliant, at everything from steering and (fade-proof) braking to cornering and (of course) accelerating. The SLK 55 AMG is one of the few AMG cars you can buy that give you the added bonus of 3D ‘surround sound’ effect of the roof down coupled with glorious exhaust bellow and atmo V8 induction roar.

It’s hard to imagine 265kW ever sounding better than that. When you add 510Nm to the miraculous and silky smooth paddle-shifted 7G-TRONIC seven-speed auto, you get immense grunt everywhere - especially exiting corners like you’re wearing the red-and-blue Spandex from Krypton. After a week spent doing that, it’s hard to go back to an ordinary mortal’s car - even a good one. Going back to your own car after a week in an AMG is just like walking forwards to business class (easy) and then, later, back to economy (heart-breaking). The bottom line is that the SLK 55 AMG is one of the purest and most enjoyable driving experiences available. Few cars on the road can match its performance, few people will ever experience it, and few drivers can operate at a level that exploits all of the car’s massive performance potential. Having said that, it’s debatable whether the SLK 55 AMG is especially good value. On paper, it appears that less is more - or, at least, less costs more.

30k cheaper, plus more prodigious on the performance front with 71 additional kilowatts and 90 more Newton-metres - that’s 27 per cent more power and 18 per cent more torque in a car weighing just 10 per cent more. 180k-esque pricetag. And you could probably drive right over the top of an SLK 55 in it. 45k cheaper than the base-model Porsche 911 Carerra, a car that it dead-heats with from 0-100km/h, and which is (let’s be frank) much less pleasant to drive daily. The Benz is the fully loaded ‘works burger’ model, whereas the more expensive Porsche remains the ‘poverty pack’ in the range. On the minus side, the Mercedes SLK’s ride quality right across the range isn’t that compliant, and the SLK 200 Kompressor entry-level model is anything but inspirational (or aspirational). 40k for the three-pointed stars. Or maybe the other way around. With 125kW inside a 1400kg body, you’re looking at the same kind of yawn-inducing power-to-weight ratio as a Toyota Camry (not an exaggeration).

A six-speed manual is the standard transmission offering on SLK 200 K, with a five-speed auto optional - certainly the ‘hairdresser’ driveline in the range. Overall, the entry-level SLK is simply an example of getting the style without the substance. 5k more. The base-model Z4 is a full second quicker to 100km/h. If you’re operating at this sort of pricepoint, it’s a pretty simple decision - provided your head (and not your heart) is doing the deciding. The V6 SLK models are sportier than most owners will ever need - but the pricepoints overlap key competitors like the Z4 and Porsche Boxster/Cayman. If you’re in the market for a mid-range SLK, you’d best test drive equivalents from these other Euro sportscars for head-to-head comparison. And if you just want the super-cool folding roof … maybe you’d rather have the Volkswagen Eos, and a nice, long holiday in Europe? Incongruously, the SLK 300 and 55 AMG ride on 18-inch alloys but the standard wheels for the other models are 17s. All the models except the AMG will run happily on 95RON fuel.