New SL350 AMG Sports Pack Lowered Suspension Versus ABC

[Village Guy]

Just about to finally purchase a new SL350 (June Build that includes Sport Pack) and am having a problem deciding if I should stay with the now standard 10mm lowered / firmer suspension with sports / comfort damper control or cough up the extra for Active Body Control.

Is it worth having on the new lighter chassis?

There seems very little information regarding ABC on the new model and I note that it is no longer standard on the SL500!

 

[Peter DLM]

IMHO I found the previous SL with ABC to still be at least equal, or a bit superior, to the standard suspended R231 I've been using recently.

I think an ABC R231 would be definitely worthwhile.

 

[Village Guy]

IMHO I found the previous SL with ABC to still be at least equal, or a bit superior, to the standard suspended R231 I've been using recently.

I think an ABC R231 would be definitely worthwhile.

Thanks for your input but is the slight improvement you realised worth an additional £4K?

I have no idea if it is true but I heard from an MB mechanic that ABC can become a maintenance nightmare after 4-5 years and since I plan on keeping the car for considerably longer, I am naturally concerned.

I have no real idea how both systems work aside from reading the wiki but is appears that ABC controls suspension while the standard provision only controls the dampers. Even MB no longer seem to be pushing ABC as a must have addition!

 

[Peter DLM]

Probably not £4k's worth though.....

You'd definitely want to make sure you keep the extended warranty going once the 3 years is over. ABC can be troublesome on older cars, though there may have been improvements in this area recently.

 

[C240Sport97]

ABC unnecessary on R231 SL; it's 140kg lighter, and it comes with adaptive damping as standard

if you're worried about the right being too stiff, delete the sport suspension .. a no cost option

 

[Village Guy]

ABC unnecessary on R231 SL; it's 140kg lighter, and it comes with adaptive damping as standard

if you're worried about the right being too stiff, delete the sport suspension .. a no cost option

Alas this option is no longer possible, see June specification.

 

[Peter DLM]

Argh, loads of additional standard spec. I need to get me one of these.

 

[C240Sport97]

2014 may be cheaper, but a whole less colour and interior colour options.

looks like they may have also deleted exclusive nappa leather, which if true, is a real shame

 

[Village Guy]

2014 may be cheaper, but a whole less colour and interior colour options.

looks like they may have also deleted exclusive nappa leather, which if true, is a real shame

Nappa leather in porcelain is an optional extra £710 but does include sunshine protection, not really applicable in this country

 

[C240Sport97]

exclusive means nappa leather on dash, door tops, every where, plus alcantara on roof.

 

[Village Guy]

In case anyone is interested, this is my experience driving the latest SL350.

Two years ago I test drove an SL350 with ABC suspension and was blown away by the road handling and comfort. I came close to pulling the trigger on the purchase but decided to hold back after hearing that the new model would be out in around 15 months.

This week I test drove the new SL350 to compare my with my previous experience, and am so pleased I did. The car I road tested had lowered sports suspension and 19" AMG wheels. With the shock absorber setting set to comfort I found the car to be quite a bone shaker and no longer quiet driving at 70 MPH on the motorway. The bone shaking was not quite in the class of driving a Porshe but certainly came close.

Let me be clear for the more sensitive Porsche and SL owners, my last statement is not a criticism it is simply my perspective after my earlier experience of driving an SL350 with ABC that seemed to float on a cloud and was very quiet yet able to tackle fast bends in its stride.

I had the car for the best part of a day and found the road holding to be amazing compared to my E350 with air suspension. Fuel economy was not even close to that published by the manufacturer, the best I could achieve driving a reasonable distance at 55 MPH was 33 MPG and my overall economy figure over 60 odd miles was 28 MPG. Not a big deal really if you can afford to buy the car in the first place you should certainly not be worrying too much about fuel economy. Also bare in mind that this car only had 20 miles on the clock!

One real concern I have is that the hard top would not open or close when the car was in motion. I even tried driving at around 1 MPH, barely moving and yet the car insisted on telling me to slow down before attempting to close the roof Can you imaging getting caught in the rain and stuck in a slow moving traffic jam The car was brand new and could have been suffering from a production fault but if this is how it is supposed to operate then I am no longer planning to purchase a new SL.

Taking everything into account I can only assume that the ABC suspension is a must have for me. I am not a go faster merchant at any cost, I like my creature comforts but also like to add a mix of excitement to my driving. I will now arrange a test drive with a car that has ABC and also check out the open/close of the roof while driving.

 

[1945wickedred]

What a bummer.

 

[Berkshire Rich]

Just about to finally purchase a new SL350 (June Build that includes Sport Pack) and am having a problem deciding if I should stay with the now standard 10mm lowered / firmer suspension with sports / comfort damper control or cough up the extra for Active Body Control.

Is it worth having on the new lighter chassis?

There seems very little information regarding ABC on the new model and I note that it is no longer standard on the SL500!

MB in changed suspension spec and different options, without any proper information shocker!

Exactly my experience when buying the (much more humble) W204 coupe last year. sympathy