Test Drove
reviewed by Lori Hindman

6/16/08

SL-, SLK-Class Get Mom’s Motor Revved

By: Lori Hindman

I can’t imagine anything more freeing than a fabulous convertible and an open stretch of road, or anything classier than a Mercedes-Benz roadster. I’m pretty sure that the folks at Mercedes’ headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, work hard to keep it that way.

Redesigned for 2009, the SL- and SLK-Class offer a complete escape from the drudgery of modern mommydom, but it won’t come cheap. In fact, unless you’re willing to stuff a kid into the trunk, you may have to sell one of your children to make it work at all. (Trunk-stuffing is not recommended by MotherProof.com) The SLK-Class is the smaller of the two roadsters. (In case you’re wondering, a roadster is a two-seat convertible fun-mobile.) Starting at $45,825, the 2009 SLK300 offers a 228-horsepower V-6 engine and a redesigned steering system. The SLK350 bumps things up to 300 hp. The best number, though, is 22 — that’s the number of seconds it takes for the top to open.

The SL-Class is the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz roadster lineup and has long been a standard of convertible luxury; if you’ve ever longed to own a tennis bracelet, odds are this is the car you want to match it. This newest generation doesn’t fall far from the tree. For 2009, the SL-Class lineup starts out with the SL550 (382-hp V-8) and moves up to the SL600 (510-hp V-12).

Inside the SL550, there’s a new burl walnut trim; a 5-inch LCD screen; voice-activated DVD, Bluetooth and Sirius radio; and a very nice iPod interface in the glove box. The seats adjust in eight ways, and the steering wheel tilts and telescopes into place. A nifty “air scarf” directs warm air around the neck for a more comfortable experience with the top down. With all those goodies, there’s not much room for anything else. There are two small storage consoles, one in the center and one in the rear wall. Beyond that, there’s no room for anything behind the seats other than an envelope and a stick of gum, but no one gets into a little roadster like this and expects to bring much along anyway.

These cars are all about driving, so I left thoughts of my kiddos behind and took to the hills in the SLK300. To call this car quick and agile is cliché. Just the growl of the exhaust tells the tale — well, that and the dust I left behind. My main difficulty while driving was the limited visibility. I felt as if I were sitting in a hole with no view except for directly ahead. Of course, as fast as I was going that was all that mattered, at least until I got into traffic and got nervous. Even with the airbags and safety features, I was still apprehensive. I wonder if that wears off the more one drives a small car. Further research might be necessary.

Much bigger and heavier than its cousin, the SL550 feels solid on the road, but not heavy in the turns. It had plenty of room for my not-petite self as well as a huge trunk (that gets much bigger with the top up). I was stunned that such a powerful car could be so smooth and quiet to drive. Up, down and through the hills, I reveled in my vehicular escape and fantasized about unknown destinations. This all sounds great, right? At these prices, they had better be.

As I drove this fabulous getaway, though, I found myself annoyed. And then I was annoyed that I was annoyed by a $96,000 luxury car. At that price, I should feel nothing but bliss. Why was I annoyed, you ask? I couldn’t figure out the instrumentation. I’m usually pretty good at that sort of thing, but the SL550 had me frustrated. And that’s after I put my water bottle on the floor because if the cupholders are in use, the controls are blocked.

I eventually figured things out, but remained perturbed. Which is probably a good thing, as falling in love with this roadster could only ever end in heartbreak. There is no way I could make either the SL or the SLK work in my life. As two-seaters, they could only fit one of my kids at a time — unless, of course, they relax those restrictions on passengers in the trunk.

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