Thanks to MB Bishop’s Stortford, I had this for 24 hours over the weekend.
It impressed me much more than I expected it to.
Engine:
The 3.5 liter V6 is smooth, almost turbine like, and quite quick (this is relative!) once it gets going. However, it is too quiet, and what sounds it makes, seems a bit synthesized (even though it is not) and a touch dull. It is free revving, and eager to rev; responsive in Sport and Manual mode and really a fine engine. Economical too at motorway cruising speeds .. I got it to 36mpg on the motorway, a figure I haven’t seen in years and years.
The relative lack of power does mean that the power is more usable during spirited A and B road driving. Downsides are that you have to been much more aware of the gear you are in, and the mode you are in .. it’s not a point and squirt car. You need to plan your overtakes .. something I don’t even think about in my CLS55. There were a number of times I was in the wrong gear in manual mode when hoping to take advantage of a gap. I was also bemoaning the lack of torque in some corners which I entered in too high a gear. I imagine that the SL400 with 110NM more torque (480v370) and 27hp more (333v306) will be address these ‘issues’ and be perfect for the ‘baby’ SL.
7G+ Gearbox:
Mostly excellent. Superbly smooth and quick on up shifts. Clumsy and clunky on some downshifts, ones where engine speeds increase significantly. That could be because the engine is not quick enough to rev up, but the matching of gear and engine speed is poor, leading to a slight shunt and jerk. 7G+ is light years ahead of the 5 speed auto in my CLS55.
E mode is sluggish and lazy, like a not fully awake teenager. Sport mode is OK, but has shades of a teenager having drunk too much red bull; holding on to low gears for too long with revs too high; I suspect the SL400 will improve things with its 110NM additional torque.
Ride:
Generally superb for a roadster. The chassis absorbs bumps beautifully, with bumps being more heard than felt with suspension in Comfort. Where there are multiple bumps of differing sizes and severity, the ride falls apart a bit like someone losing his cool when trying very hard not to. It’s not terrible, it’s just quite different from the way it deals with one off bumps. Overall though, ride is leagues ahead of the SLK and the E class Cabriolet. On good or decent roads, ride is excellent.
In Sport mode, body control is noticeable better, with sharper turn in and flatter cornering. However, the car feels a touch brittle and unsettled on our nasty roads. Nothing to worry about, but noticeable.
Steering and handling:
SL is a wide car. It’s pointy and agile, even taking account of its size. Steering is the weakest part of the car. At town speeds, utterly artificial, lifeless and play station like; completely devoid of any feel or weight. At higher speeds on fast A and B roads, steering is much improved as there is a bit more weight, but still no feel. You really have no real clue what the front tyres are doing or how much grip you have. The only way to decipher how hard to go is how much lean and roll the body (less than I expected) is experiencing. After more driving and experimenting, the SL can be hustled into and out of corners. It flows well and is fluid on fast A roads. I had a great time with it on Essex and Herts A and B roads. I was really surprised how much fun there is to be had.
The rear axle is not as well tied down as I would like. At times during aggressive throttle inputs, the rear tyres felt a wee bit overwhelmed with a noticeable loss (but not significant) of total control and grip (more torque will no doubt make this worst). It needs care in the wet.
The roof:
When closing and opening, it thunks and clunks, almost as if to let you know it’s locked closed or sprung open. This detracts from the calm and well engineered impression that it gives generally. I expected Mercedes to do better, to remove all traces mechanical shudder. Perhaps the test car’s roof needs adjustment.
Roof up, very refined. With just under 3000 miles, there was already a persistent interior rattle which I could not pin down. Worrying, and not acceptable for Mercedes’ flagship roadster.
Roof down, electric wind deflector (optional) deployed and all 4 windows up, the cabin is well protected. Buffeting and wind noise is present, but not intrusively. Not as calm as a Porsche 911 (991) Cabriolet though, but much better than SLK and E Class cab.
The boot lid appears to be carbon fibre .. the underneath has carbon fibre weave.
Interior:
Too much plastic. For example, the A pillars are hard plastic (cloth would be better) which jars with the rest of the interior.
The seats, covered in nappa leather (optional!), are superb. Once adjusted, they were fabulously comfortable. They are designed for large Germans! Would be great if the side bolsters were adjustable to hold you in more, but that can only be had with the £1725 dynamic multi contour seat package. There is no simple and less expensive multi contour seat package for some reason.
The COMAND dial, the suspension and gearbox settings are set too far back for me. It required some contortion to reach these buttons, which mars an otherwise good driving control environment. It’s shocking that on such an expensive car, ambient lighting is not standard.
Frontbass sound is impressive once set up to your tastes. If anything, it’s is too bassy. The treble is occasionally shrill and slightly screechy at high volumes. However, for a standard sound system, much better than other set ups. Other niggle is that there is no fader (front/back adjustment) control.
While the interior is mostly well built and solid, and the design is functional and looks OK, the disappointment is that the interior does not have that bank vault depth of solidity and indestructibility that a flagship Mercedes should have. The interior of my CLS55 feels more substantial, with for example, real metal door opener handles (SLs are metal effect plastic). The metal look plastic seat controls are flimsy, cheap and nasty; the black plastic on my CLS is much better. Another example is the blind for the panaromic roof: on the R230, the was a catch to move it, on the R231, no catch and the blind is less "well oiled" as the R230 blind. When you see these details being compromised, you wonder what else they have cut back on.
In Summary:
As time passes, I have grown to like the looks of the SL. Yes, it’s a bit ungainly with the enormous rear and rear overhang. However, it is one of the few modern Mercs with a relatively clean design without too many ‘features’ such as creases, strakes and other decoration. I do like the high bonnet and the double fins on each side, it felt good looking past them on the road.
Colour and interior choices on the SL is very limited, and mostly unimaginative, unless you go AMG. Even then, there’s less choice than the E Class Cab for example. Folks spending lots of money on an SL want choice, not the very restricted palette on offer; perhaps this contributes to the low sales volumes.
It is also a rare car, and other folks seem to like looking at it (it is white, after all!).
It is the driving experience and package that is most impressive; the car feels well developed (with some exceptions noted above), handles with aplomb and grace in most driving situations (not track days), rides like a proper Mercedes should and goes well, even with a ‘small’ engine. I came away liking it much more than I had anticipated. It has hidden talents and is a car one can enjoy owning, and getting to appreciate its many talents. I am genuinely surprised that there are so few on the roads.
R231 SL is, for the first time, a serious contender for my next car. I am waiting to try the SL400, the SL350 is just not powerful enough for me. Salesman says I should get the SL500, but that is £10000 more than the SL400.
It impressed me much more than I expected it to.
Engine:
The 3.5 liter V6 is smooth, almost turbine like, and quite quick (this is relative!) once it gets going. However, it is too quiet, and what sounds it makes, seems a bit synthesized (even though it is not) and a touch dull. It is free revving, and eager to rev; responsive in Sport and Manual mode and really a fine engine. Economical too at motorway cruising speeds .. I got it to 36mpg on the motorway, a figure I haven’t seen in years and years.
The relative lack of power does mean that the power is more usable during spirited A and B road driving. Downsides are that you have to been much more aware of the gear you are in, and the mode you are in .. it’s not a point and squirt car. You need to plan your overtakes .. something I don’t even think about in my CLS55. There were a number of times I was in the wrong gear in manual mode when hoping to take advantage of a gap. I was also bemoaning the lack of torque in some corners which I entered in too high a gear. I imagine that the SL400 with 110NM more torque (480v370) and 27hp more (333v306) will be address these ‘issues’ and be perfect for the ‘baby’ SL.
7G+ Gearbox:
Mostly excellent. Superbly smooth and quick on up shifts. Clumsy and clunky on some downshifts, ones where engine speeds increase significantly. That could be because the engine is not quick enough to rev up, but the matching of gear and engine speed is poor, leading to a slight shunt and jerk. 7G+ is light years ahead of the 5 speed auto in my CLS55.
E mode is sluggish and lazy, like a not fully awake teenager. Sport mode is OK, but has shades of a teenager having drunk too much red bull; holding on to low gears for too long with revs too high; I suspect the SL400 will improve things with its 110NM additional torque.
Ride:
Generally superb for a roadster. The chassis absorbs bumps beautifully, with bumps being more heard than felt with suspension in Comfort. Where there are multiple bumps of differing sizes and severity, the ride falls apart a bit like someone losing his cool when trying very hard not to. It’s not terrible, it’s just quite different from the way it deals with one off bumps. Overall though, ride is leagues ahead of the SLK and the E class Cabriolet. On good or decent roads, ride is excellent.
In Sport mode, body control is noticeable better, with sharper turn in and flatter cornering. However, the car feels a touch brittle and unsettled on our nasty roads. Nothing to worry about, but noticeable.
Steering and handling:
SL is a wide car. It’s pointy and agile, even taking account of its size. Steering is the weakest part of the car. At town speeds, utterly artificial, lifeless and play station like; completely devoid of any feel or weight. At higher speeds on fast A and B roads, steering is much improved as there is a bit more weight, but still no feel. You really have no real clue what the front tyres are doing or how much grip you have. The only way to decipher how hard to go is how much lean and roll the body (less than I expected) is experiencing. After more driving and experimenting, the SL can be hustled into and out of corners. It flows well and is fluid on fast A roads. I had a great time with it on Essex and Herts A and B roads. I was really surprised how much fun there is to be had.
The rear axle is not as well tied down as I would like. At times during aggressive throttle inputs, the rear tyres felt a wee bit overwhelmed with a noticeable loss (but not significant) of total control and grip (more torque will no doubt make this worst). It needs care in the wet.
The roof:
When closing and opening, it thunks and clunks, almost as if to let you know it’s locked closed or sprung open. This detracts from the calm and well engineered impression that it gives generally. I expected Mercedes to do better, to remove all traces mechanical shudder. Perhaps the test car’s roof needs adjustment.
Roof up, very refined. With just under 3000 miles, there was already a persistent interior rattle which I could not pin down. Worrying, and not acceptable for Mercedes’ flagship roadster.
Roof down, electric wind deflector (optional) deployed and all 4 windows up, the cabin is well protected. Buffeting and wind noise is present, but not intrusively. Not as calm as a Porsche 911 (991) Cabriolet though, but much better than SLK and E Class cab.
The boot lid appears to be carbon fibre .. the underneath has carbon fibre weave.
Interior:
Too much plastic. For example, the A pillars are hard plastic (cloth would be better) which jars with the rest of the interior.
The seats, covered in nappa leather (optional!), are superb. Once adjusted, they were fabulously comfortable. They are designed for large Germans! Would be great if the side bolsters were adjustable to hold you in more, but that can only be had with the £1725 dynamic multi contour seat package. There is no simple and less expensive multi contour seat package for some reason.
The COMAND dial, the suspension and gearbox settings are set too far back for me. It required some contortion to reach these buttons, which mars an otherwise good driving control environment. It’s shocking that on such an expensive car, ambient lighting is not standard.
Frontbass sound is impressive once set up to your tastes. If anything, it’s is too bassy. The treble is occasionally shrill and slightly screechy at high volumes. However, for a standard sound system, much better than other set ups. Other niggle is that there is no fader (front/back adjustment) control.
While the interior is mostly well built and solid, and the design is functional and looks OK, the disappointment is that the interior does not have that bank vault depth of solidity and indestructibility that a flagship Mercedes should have. The interior of my CLS55 feels more substantial, with for example, real metal door opener handles (SLs are metal effect plastic). The metal look plastic seat controls are flimsy, cheap and nasty; the black plastic on my CLS is much better. Another example is the blind for the panaromic roof: on the R230, the was a catch to move it, on the R231, no catch and the blind is less "well oiled" as the R230 blind. When you see these details being compromised, you wonder what else they have cut back on.
In Summary:
As time passes, I have grown to like the looks of the SL. Yes, it’s a bit ungainly with the enormous rear and rear overhang. However, it is one of the few modern Mercs with a relatively clean design without too many ‘features’ such as creases, strakes and other decoration. I do like the high bonnet and the double fins on each side, it felt good looking past them on the road.
Colour and interior choices on the SL is very limited, and mostly unimaginative, unless you go AMG. Even then, there’s less choice than the E Class Cab for example. Folks spending lots of money on an SL want choice, not the very restricted palette on offer; perhaps this contributes to the low sales volumes.
It is also a rare car, and other folks seem to like looking at it (it is white, after all!).
It is the driving experience and package that is most impressive; the car feels well developed (with some exceptions noted above), handles with aplomb and grace in most driving situations (not track days), rides like a proper Mercedes should and goes well, even with a ‘small’ engine. I came away liking it much more than I had anticipated. It has hidden talents and is a car one can enjoy owning, and getting to appreciate its many talents. I am genuinely surprised that there are so few on the roads.
R231 SL is, for the first time, a serious contender for my next car. I am waiting to try the SL400, the SL350 is just not powerful enough for me. Salesman says I should get the SL500, but that is £10000 more than the SL400.
