Mercedes SLK 230 compressor, silver arrow. But dreams aren't what counts now, only centimeters and seconds.
First we try on. Back seat…, not quite backwards, because then we don't reach the pedals. For the first time, the seat distance adjustment is more than enough even for the long-legged. Unexpectedly a lot of space for a roadster, also at shoulder height. Plus Mercedes style gauges, which look like this, as if they wanted to convince, that they will still please the grandson of the current owner. It is not a toy, enjoyable between one rains and the other, only smaller SL. Proven car.
Or even better: two in one. "Everyone has two good sides", says Jurgen Hubbert of the Mercedes board of directors. Roadster and coupe, attainable in 25 seconds. At the push of a button, which activates the unfolding of the rigid roof, hidden in the trunk. In the margin: also works reliably then, when the car is parked with one cat on a high curb. The closed SLK runs as quietly as the C-class, no squeaks, only with a slight noise in the area of the rear left pillar.
Mercedes bosses are silent about the shadow on one of the advantages of SLK - the open version of the roadster has only a 145-liter trunk. Enough space for a suitcase and a half and a soft "wardrobe" for clothes between the roof halves. But what to do with a shopping basket and a case of cola, when two go shopping on Saturday? Today, many avid roadster enthusiasts will find out, that this genre of car needs to be abandoned.
The grief for it disappears as soon as you press the gas pedal in the open air for the first time. The hairstyle is still holding more or less to speed 100 km/h. With a windshield as standard, which is pulled over the protective hoops like a stocking, even to 150.
By that time, thoughts flashed to the engine long ago: 2,3-liter unit with compressor, criticized in class C for being too gentle, Ultimately, it ennobles the SLK as a sports car. Not only because of the accelerations achieved (7,9 s to "hundred") nor the enormous torque, thanks to which you can drive from here to Rome on the number three – but because of that sound. Where SLK 200 it sounds timidly like a boy's choir, an engine with a compressor can make definitely "adult" sounds. And we like it.
SLK can shift gears. We do not yet experience the feeling of playing with a joystick as in the Mazda MX-5 or the precise steering of the BMW Z3., but the gears have never been so well under a three-pointed star. We wish the same for the C and E classes.
The driving experience is also one of the best in this 3.99-meter car. SLK is thrilling, makes – that we are looking forward to the next corner. Why? Steering system, which at first seems too soft, allows thanks to the short ratio (3,1 rotation from resistance to resistance) for agile returns. In addition, there are powerful brakes from the E-class and a typical Mercedes driving impression, that even the stupidest mistake of the driver cannot throw the suspension out of balance. It probably has little to do with driving a traditional roadster, but at least it's very safe.