R231 SL350 24 hour test drive

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
I was going to test drive SL400 but before it happened, I stumbled upon great leasing deal on other brand. So no Mercedes for another 2 years but I can go back to SL idea later.

I'm sure you will enjoy SL, it's lovely car.
The S8 deal is sensational and what a machine !!!
 
I'm sorry. You are an old fart who drives an estate. Your opinion is worthless.

That made me laugh, looking through this thread there a quite a number of old farts driving E class Estate, albeit with different engines:cool:

Now I've ordered the SL the next project is replacing the E Estate which is only two years away:crazy:

It'll be a 450 - C, E or GLC - we have no reason to own a diesel any longer, we'll be doing 6000-8000 miles a year in each of the two cars we own.
 
That made me laugh, looking through this thread there a quite a number of old farts driving E class Estate, albeit with different engines:cool:

Now I've ordered the SL the next project is replacing the E Estate which is only two years away:crazy:

It'll be a 450 - C, E or GLC - we have no reason to own a diesel any longer, we'll be doing 6000-8000 miles a year in each of the two cars we own.
I am the worst offender ,40 years old with a diesel estate. A "youngish" old fart. Get a C63 next and annoy the hell out of us.
 
<-----46 next week

They had a C63 Estate in Gatwick today and it looked nice but it's RWD and a little bit bonkers.

Real world I figure a C450 Estate 4wd is as fast and might actually handle a bit better.

There was also one car in Gatwick today I'd take at a heartbeat - an S500 Coupe with premium pack. It's like a lear jet and a Riva Aquarama all rolled up into one with achingly beautiful looks. It is the nicest car design MB have come up with in decades. I just can't stomach £50k depreciation in 24 months otherwise I'd have been ordering that today not an SL, in Emerald Green and Tan hide exclusive pack.
 
<-----46 next week

They had a C63 Estate in Gatwick today and it looked nice but it's RWD and a little bit bonkers.

Real world I figure a C450 Estate 4wd is as fast and might actually handle a bit better.

There was also one car in Gatwick today I'd take at a heartbeat - an S500 Coupe with premium pack. It's like a lear jet and a Riva Aquarama all rolled up into one with achingly beautiful looks. It is the nicest car design MB have come up with in decades. I just can't stomach £50k depreciation in 24 months otherwise I'd have been ordering that today not an SL, in Emerald Green and Tan hide exclusive pack.
24 months time ...
 
The nice thing about the s-class and the SL is that they remembered to put in a screen for infotainment and didn't just glue a iPad copy to the dash.
 
It's lush and I would pay £60k for it. They lent us an S63 for 3 days before the E63 came. It was gorgeous but if I'm honest,I was struggling to see where £160k was in it.

I quite agree £60K is about the sweet spot for these, still in warranty, the bulk of depreciation done and why would you want an AMG version of this? The 500 is a 4.7 v8 twin turbo with 455hp. It's perfect and it oozes style.
 
The nice thing about the s-class and the SL is that they remembered to put in a screen for infotainment and didn't just glue a iPad copy to the dash.

That's why I'm buying an SL now before they stick an iPad thingy on in the "facelift" as an "improvement".

The best part of £20K discount is also a bit of an incentive :rolleyes:
 
S class coupe has presence and looks good from most angles, but looks oddly proportioned from others

will of course depreciate heavily .. will be around £40k in 3 years :)

and no roof down action

I wonder if the facelift SL will have iPad stuck on or properly integrated dash like the S/S coupe .. no doubt the former is cheaper to implement
 
Did we like it enough to order one?

Yup, we placed an order today and paid a deposit. The only question was the colour.

So in the end we went with Cavansite and Porcelain but I'm not a big fan of any of the colours on offer really. So we've asked the dealer what it would cost to paint the car Designo Mystic Blue.

Our SLK was Cavansite Blue and it is a very surprising colour. It seems to morph between near-black in dull light to a brilliant-blue in sunshine. It was very much admired. If you decide to keep the colour, if you are not into detailing, I would strongly recommend having one of these ceramic/polymer coatings applied because that colour looks as naff as black paint when dirty and almost, almost shows swirls and scratches as much too.

Anyway, congrats on the purchase and hope you have as much fun as we do with the SL.
 
I have my fingers crossed that we can get Mystic Blue to be honest. I'm not a detailing freak.

The SL is built in Bremen where they also build the SLK.

Mystic Blue is a Designo option for the SLK so I'm hoping the fact it's actually used at that factory may help.
 
S class coupe has presence and looks good from most angles, but looks oddly proportioned from others

will of course depreciate heavily .. will be around £40k in 3 years :)

and no roof down action

I wonder if the facelift SL will have iPad stuck on or properly integrated dash like the S/S coupe .. no doubt the former is cheaper to implement

The S coupe seems to look better in light colours, the white ones look really nice. The one black one I saw looked dull to be honest.

We enjoyed the roof down action yesterday, it was what made our mind up about the SL. Even 24 hours later when I usually get the "have I done the right thing" feeling, there's not a bit of it, we can't wait for the car to arrive now.
 
I have my fingers crossed that we can get Mystic Blue to be honest. I'm not a detailing freak.

The SL is built in Bremen where they also build the SLK.

Mystic Blue is a Designo option for the SLK so I'm hoping the fact it's actually used at that factory may help.

makes sense! but logic does not always mean possible.

when I usually get the "have I done the right thing" feeling, there's not a bit of it, we can't wait for the car to arrive now.

:thumb:
 
Update.

Yes we can order Designo Mystic Blue, £4,791.67 + vat (£5,750.00 incl).

It extends the lead time by 8-10 weeks so it's highly unlikely we'll have the car this year.

This is just within what I'm willing to pay so I've said yes.

I guess we'll have the only SL400 in Mystic Blue and Porcelain.

I figured if I'm spending this much on a car that we intend to keep for some time I'd be crazy not to pay to have it in the colour we really wanted.

The only picture I can find of an R231 in Mystic Blue is an SL65. But it gives a good idea of what it will look like.

mercedessl65amg3.jpg
Update.
 
Last edited:
Update.

Yes we can order Designo Mystic Blue, £4,791.67 + vat (£5,750.00 incl).

It extends the lead time by 8-10 weeks so it's highly unlikely we'll have the car this year.

This is just within what I'm willing to pay so I've said yes.

I guess we'll have the only SL400 in Mystic Blue and Porcelain.

I figured if I'm spending this much on a car that we intend to keep for some time I'd be crazy not to pay to have it in the colour we really wanted.

fantastic fantastic news :bannana:

well done MB

it will be a very rare beast, but just think of the huge discount!

do you still get the discount even though it will arrive in 2016?
 
fantastic fantastic news :bannana:

well done MB

it will be a very rare beast, but just think of the huge discount!

do you still get the discount even though it will arrive in 2016?

There wasn't any suggestion that I couldn't.

I've been asked for an extra £4000 deposit now though as it's a special order. Which is fair enough.
 
There wasn't any suggestion that I couldn't.

I've been asked for an extra £4000 deposit now though as it's a special order. Which is fair enough.

I expected them to ask for the entire cost of DBM upfront.
 
I expected them to ask for the entire cost of DBM upfront.

I paid £1000 on Saturday, so this brings it up to £5000 in total.

It's a big enough number to let them know you're serious, which I figure is what the increased deposit request is all about.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom