R231 SL350 24 hour test drive

[Peter DLM]

Nice!

Interestingly, on a private test track that has a roundabout on it, following an SL 400 away from it at full throttle for a mile or so in my SL 350 shows that at the top end of the revs there's little in it. The 400 is more powerful, but not by very much. I suspect the real difference is, as you say, at low to mid range.

Hopefully I'll be picking up a new 15 plate in May.

 

[C240Sport97]

The 400 is more powerful, but not by very much. I suspect the real difference is, as you say, at low to mid range.

MB figures for 0 to 62mph
SL350: 5.9
SL400: 5.2

 

[Peter DLM]

MB figures for 0 to 62mph
SL350: 5.9
SL400: 5.2

What I'm referring to is the top end of the rev range, I couldn't see a great difference between the two when blatting through the top 2,000 revs of each gear at full throttle following a 400.

The 0-60 measurement relies more on the bottom and mid range power.

 

[gl boy]

Great looking sl , I'm debating still on an sl or jaguar f type ,,, stillll un decided completely

 

[Red C220]

Resurrecting a 7 month old thread, how are the SL400 owners getting on with their cars a few months down the line and did you decide to buy one Sean?

Mrs Red and I went to Brooklands at the weekend for lunch (we only live 30 minutes away) and we fell in love with the SL400 that was there.

Mrs Red has mobility issues and we were really surprised how easy it was for her to get in and out with the seat raised up. Roof up or roof down.

We'd really like one as a second car and the write up above is very helpful.

This will be a weekend cruiser for us so the entry level engine is the obvious choice.

Colours are problem though, I'm really not impressed with the paint colours on offer. This car would look fantastic in the Brilliant Blue that is available on the new C Class. Or Designo Mystic Blue (or red) if it's available.

The only other car I liked was the S class coupe, actually I found the S500 nicer than the AMG version, it was just lovely in every aspect apart from the dashboard, which I found a little strange. I couldn't get that one past Mrs Red though!

 

[C240Sport97]

Resurrecting a 7 month old thread, how are the SL400 owners getting on with their cars a few months down the line and did you decide to buy one Sean?

Mrs Red and I went to Brooklands at the weekend for lunch (we only live 30 minutes away) and we fell in love with the SL400 that was there.

Mrs Red has mobility issues and we were really surprised how easy it was for her to get in and out with the seat raised up. Roof up or roof down.

We'd really like one as a second car and the write up above is very helpful.

This will be a weekend cruiser for us so the entry level engine is the obvious choice.

Colours are problem though, I'm really not impressed with the paint colours on offer. This car would look fantastic in the Brilliant Blue that is available on the new C Class. Or Designo Mystic Blue (or red) if it's available.

The only other car I liked was the S class coupe, actually I found the S500 nicer than the AMG version, it was just lovely in every aspect apart from the dashboard, which I found a little strange. I couldn't get that one past Mrs Red though!

SL350s are in the low 40s now .. I bet you could get one for high 30s.

I very nearly ordered an SL500 end of 2014, but bottled it. Since then, discounts have halved, and prices increased, so no SL for me (at least not a new one).

I agree colour and trim choices are very poor.

 

[Red C220]

SL350s are in the low 40s now .. I bet you could get one for high 30s.

I very nearly ordered an SL500 end of 2014, but bottled it. Since then, discounts have halved, and prices increased, so no SL for me (at least not a new one).

I agree colour and trim choices are very poor.

Orange wheels are offering a little over 18% discount on the SL400 which puts one around £63K with the options I'm interested in.

This would be a keeper for us rather than a 18 month car so I'm probably happy to buy a new one exactly as we want and maybe see if we can get mystic blue paint, even though it would probably be a £5K option if it was available.

What made you bottle at the end of last year?

 

[C240Sport97]

Orange wheels are offering a little over 18% discount on the SL400 which puts one around £63K with the options I'm interested in.

This would be a keeper for us rather than a 18 month car so I'm probably happy to buy a new one exactly as we want and maybe see if we can get mystic blue paint, even though it would probably be a £5K option if it was available.

What made you bottle at the end of last year?

orangewheels deal much better than DTD! looks like orangewheels prices similar to DTD year end 2014 prices.

I would do the same as you.

cavansite blue is free, and is a lovely colour, especially with porcelain leather; this is how I would have ordered mine. DMB not available on SL.

bottled it as I was not comfortable with spending so much money

 

[HB]

orangewheels deal much better than DTD! looks like orangewheels prices similar to DTD year end 2014 prices.

I would do the same as you.

cavansite blue is free, and is a lovely colour, especially with porcelain leather; this is how I would have ordered mine. DMB not available on SL.

bottled it as I was not comfortable with spending so much money

SL in Cavansite is lush Sean. I waxed the E63 at the weekend and it came up lovely.

 

[Red C220]

You'd probably like this one then:-

Mercedes-Benz SL 500 - 4.7 Litre Twin Turbo V8 | Surrey Near London Hampshire Sussex | Bramley

 

[C240Sport97]

You'd probably like this one then:-

Mercedes-Benz SL 500 - 4.7 Litre Twin Turbo V8 | Surrey Near London Hampshire Sussex | Bramley

that colour combination is lovely, but no longer possible

car also under offer

worse, no airscarf

 

[Red C220]

that colour combination is lovely, but no longer possible

That's a shame, it appears it's available on AMG models only, neither of which float my boat (nor can I afford them new).

To be honest if I was a position to drop £120K to £150K on a car (which I'm not) I'd first be looking for a late 80's Aston Martin V8 or I'd be looking at a new Bentley V8GTS.

 

[Red C220]

Some good offers on SL400's at the moment.:-

 

[garymj]

I went to buy a ex demo Sl63 last December but was put off by the new facelift Sl coming out later in the year. It is really quite different at the front. Ended up ordering an Amg gts instead. The new Sl is going to be very nice, might have been better waiting for that, only time will tell.

 

[Red C220]

I didn't realise the facelift was due so soon, that would certainly explain the offers available.

The facelift looks mostly cosmetic, there certainly don't appear to be any mechanical changes.

I quite like the current car and there might be some bargains available when it rolls out. I really quite like the current SL400

 

[C240Sport97]

facelift will have 9G transmission

 

[Red C220]

facelift will have 9G transmission

Will that make a lot of difference?

 

[C240Sport97]

Will that make a lot of difference?

improved acceleration and fuel economy

apparently, interior quality will improve too.

and you get iPad style stuck on thing (not an improvement IMO)

 

[PenelopePitstop]

There are also leasing deals on SL400, similar price to SLK55.

Mercedes SL Class 400 CGi AMG Sport Auto Contract Hire

I spent some time yesterday comparing both cars and will do some test drives in next few days. However I'm afraid SL400 is a bit too big for me and not as agile as I would want it. At least comparing to SLK55 and my current C63.

 

[Red C220]

My days of agile left me about a decade ago. I want comfy cruising with a nice turn of speed.

I'd be buying one of these though rather than leasing.

I'm wondering if closer to roll out of the new model there will be some even more attractive deals to be had.