8/22/2011
Road Test: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK 350
I've been trying to drive my 12-year-old sedan like a brand new sports car. I've been going really fast around corners, driving with all the windows open and the air conditioning cranked and trying to merge on to a busy highway as if the ancient vehicle had any guts.
The beater doesn't like it at all. And I hate that my car doesn't drive like the 2012 Mercedes SLK 350. Every car should be this fun to drive. And easy.
Not that it's a bad thing. Let me give you some background. Many years ago, when I was young and athletic, I injured my left knee. It's never been the same since. Whenever it's cold (every winter) or humid (every summer), my left knee aches. Sometimes, I re-injure it - like I did recently when I tripped on a step - and it's excruciatingly painful. To make matters worse, last month I broke a toe on my right foot. So walking has been difficult lately. Driving? Well, for a few days last month, I couldn't put any pressure on my right foot, so driving was impossible. I still went to work, but I had to rely on the kindness of family members to get me there. When I tentatively got back behind the wheel of my beater, it was like driving a tank, so weak and fragile did I feel. But when I dragged my aching bones into the SLK 350, something amazing happened - suddenly, I was young and healthy again, flying along the highway, wind blowing my curls in the hot summer air.
Being a manumatic (no clutch), the third-generation SLK was easy on my left knee. And with 302 horsepower available from the 3.5-litre V6, my right foot did not need to floor it to reach hair-whipping speeds. The SLK goes from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in a mere 5.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 210 km/h.
The beauty of this car is that it can be driven many ways to suit not only the driver but her needs at the time. Feeling tired? Turn the switch in the centre console to E for Econo mode and take it easy. Feeling better? Switch to S for Sport mode. Want to shift faster? Put it in M for Manual and take control of the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
Inside the roadster, the opulent leather seats are fit for a queen. The adjustable driver's seat provided a soft and comfortable but snug perch behind the adjustable steering wheel. Snug in a good way - the seats envelop you until they feel like part of your body. No matter how fast I drove or how curvy the road was, neither I nor the car experienced the slightest hint of body roll, thanks in large part to the standard Dynamic Handling Package. It includes an electronically controlled fully automatic damping system for smooth operation even on terrible road surfaces - which is just about all of them in Toronto! Also included in the Dynamic Handling Package is the Direct-Steer system, which provides better handling and agility as well as reducing the amount of physical effort required when parking. Who says no pain no gain? Driving (and parking) this car was no pain all gain.
Virtually everything in the SLK is automated, from the seats - which can be powered forward (to reach the pedals) and then powered back (for a graceful exit) in just a few seconds - to the adjustable steering wheel to the "fixed" hardtop roof. The lightweight roof can be opened and closed with the flick of a button in just a few seconds. Want a coupe? Keep the roof - which is the same colour as the body of the car (in my case, Diamond White Bright Metallic) - closed. Open it and it's a roadster.
I felt like a 20-year-old again when I was driving the SLK. And those who saw me behind the wheel of the roadster seemed to approve. They saw a cool, composed (with the A/C blasting) woman of means (the SLK starts at $66,500) with flowing hair (not too flowy, as the new AirGuide draft-stop system kept the wind at bay) in her designer sunglasses (to hide the fine lines that are not yet telltale wrinkles).
The SLK was a babe magnet, attracting babes of both sexes. Nobody looks at me when I'm driving the beater, unless they are giving me looks of pity. In the roadster, I got many admiring glances. At a stoplight, one man asked if he could switch cars with me. He was driving a very nice convertible from a competing automaker. That should make Mercedes happy. In the past, the SLK was considered a "chick car" - as if that's a bad thing (all the chicks I know like to drive fast, powerful cars). In order to get more manly men interested, Mercedes decided to make the car more "masculine" by elongating the hood so that it looks more like that of the SLS AMG. And, from the front, it does look more imposing. But guess what? I like it, too, and I imagine a lot of other chicks will as well as plenty of women swooned over the SLS when I drove it last year. If you're too much of a girly girl or boy for such a huge-looking honker, don't worry - the car still looks cute and compact from the side.
Not only is it comfortable, luxurious and good-looking, the SLK 350 is also safe, fuel efficient and spacious, despite being a compact car. It features standard safety items such as the drowsiness detection system. Called Attention Assist and developed by Mercedes, it emits a loud beeping sound should the driver start drifting off to dreamland. An illuminated coffee cup on the dash also starts flashing. (When I first saw the cup, I thought it meant the car would make me coffee - it seems to do everything else ...!) There's also the optional "anticipatory occupant protection system" called Pre-Safe, which will apply the brakes autonomously in the event of an impending rear-end collision. In the fuel-savings department, Transport Canada rates the SLK at 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres on the highway. I achieved a pretty close 7.4 L/100 km - I think my foot got a little more leaden as my toe began to heal. And, despite the hard-top roof taking up a good chunk of storage space in the trunk, there was still room for a couple of carry-on suitcases for a weekend getaway for two.
The SLK 350 is like two cars in one: coupe and roadster. It looks large and menacing from the front but small and cute from the side. One can drive it hard or take it easy. It's sporty and fuel efficient. It's compact, but there's plenty of space in the cabin and trunk. And it's attractive to both women and men. One can't ask for anything more.
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