The Mercedes SLK brings with it a delightful combination of an attractive design, excellent styling and the feel-good factor.
However, being a roadster – and the original roadster at that – it also has to make an authentic statement about its performance. We took the current generation SLK 350 out for a spin to find out how it does so
The SLK has always had a special place in my heart, for it was the first sports car that I ever got my hands on. It was about four years ago that a kind-hearted friend gave me the key to his SLK 200 and let me take the car out for a spin. Had it not been for him, the passion for hardtop convertibles would never have been kindled in the first place.
Talking of hardtop convertibles, let us remember that it was the SLK, which, 15 years ago, introduced the concept of a two-piece hardtop folding back into the boot to make the car a convertible. Today we are witness to the third generation of the SLK and what we see on these pages is a variant of the current generation – the SLK 350.
No doubt it is a beautiful car. The upright grille with its single, horizontal division boldly shows the SLK’s resemblance to the SLS AMG. In fact, the proportions of the headlamp and grille, the layout and the overall effect of the fascia point to an admirable combination of retro styling and modern-day design language of the three-pointed star. Start moving rearwards and you realise how long the bonnet of this car is. And it’s not just long, but a very strong element defining the character of the SLK that leaves the driver’s seat almost behind the half-length of the car. At the stylish rear end of the SLK are clusters of LEDs that make for a decent set of tail-lights, muscular wheel arches and a typically Mercedes boot-lid.
The beauty of this car is not restricted to the exterior alone. Get inside and one of the most pleasant cabins welcomes you. The air-conditioner vents are straight from the SLS AMG and so are most of the controls for the multimedia system. The instrument console, which takes a number of cues from the SLS, is a much subtler version of the big brother. The quality of everything in the cabin is top-class. Not a single thing to grumble about.
There is a new introduction in the SLK which will appeal to many – the ‘Magic Sky Control’ panoramic vario-roof in Mercedes language. Well, it is basically a sunroof equipped with a switch to control the transparency of its glass. Interesting, isn’t it? From outside, you just see an iridium-finish, dark blue sunroof. From inside too, it’s the same until you press this particular button that lets more sunlight pass through the glass. So when the sun overhead is too bright for comfort, you may switch to the dark tint; when it’s moderate, you may opt for the transparent one and when it’s pleasant outside, stash the whole roof away and let the cool breeze commune with you while you munch the miles!
But then the SLK is not just about styling or the feel-good factor. It’s more about performance. It’s more about being a roadster – a true, original roadster. So how do Mercedes take care of the sporty character of this SLK? They put a naturally aspirated V6, displacing 3.5 litres of capacity and producing over 300 PS of peak power, all of which invite one to see for oneself what this car is capable of. With that much power at one’s disposal and a rear-wheel drive configuration, one cannot really question this car’s potential, can one? The indicated power and torque (370 Nm) figures assure good straight-line acceleration, which turned out to be 0-100 km/h in xx seconds in our case.
However, sports cars are not only about going quick and fast. More importantly, they have to behave themselves round the corners. Needless to say, this one impressed us on that count too. There is adequate power to go fast through almost every corner that you come across on a mountainous section. I said ‘adequate’ because that was the first impression I got when the car was merrily going around in the ‘Comfort’ mode. It just takes a bit of toggling through the E-M-S mode to shift to ‘Sport’ and then there is a whole new character to this car. Suddenly, there is a growl that is a treat for your ears and a throttle and transmission that respond quicker than your reflexes. The car limits the traction control in this mode and if you start pushing a little harder through the corners, the rear of the car starts sliding a bit here and there, reminding you how you are a mere mortal and the SLK is there just to mock at your restricted abilities on public roads.
While moving around in the city, there is enough practicality in the car so far as the driving experience goes. It is small and extremely nimble – a must for Indian traffic. The steering wheel is very light at low speeds, giving the driver good manoeuvrability. The power and torque come very linearly and, most importantly, in a very predictable manner, giving you an exact output in accordance with your input. Even the ride quality is not too stiff, which can actually make you think of driving around in this car on a daily basis. However, what goes against this car is the set of mirrors. The left side ORVM is a normal glass mirror and not a convex one, as it usually is, and thus offers poor rear visibility. The inner rear-view mirror is also a pain because its mounting is rather huge and it can actually block the front visibility of a six-foot tall driver.
There were a couple of drawbacks to this car that came to my notice, both related to the folding roof. Firstly, though the roof can fold and unfold while the car is in motion, it operates only at low speeds. And when I say low, I mean as low as less than five km/h. Secondly, the boot becomes cramped with the roof down. Since there is no space behind the seats, you hardly have any option to keep even medium-size bags.
All in all, though, one has to admit that this car is a package that offers amazing styling, great performance, impeccable quality, Mercedes safety and the look-at-me feel. A modicum of impracticality rides piggyback with this, but then we are talking of a sports car. I wouldn’t mind owning the SLK so long as I don’t have to drive my parents around or take the kids to school. One also needs to bear in mind that this car has always been looked at mostly from the feminine perspective because of the image created over the years. Although Mercedes are trying hard to get rid of that and make the car appealing to men as well, they haven’t succeeded much in the task. Nevertheless, there is no reason why a man would refuse to be seen behind the wheel of one of the current generation SLKs.
Story: Adhish Alawani
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
