The SLK looked a bit like a German tank, especially with the top in place. The SLK’s design is the folding metal roof, which can convert it from a practical car to a sporty open-top in seconds. You sit low in the sporty, two-people-only cabin, looking at sexy hooded dials, holding a fat, sporty steering wheel. The seats are firm and very supportive, and the black-and-aluminium cabin is well finished and built. The headrests are similar to those found on the SL and legroom is generous even for tall passengers. And getting comfortable behind the wheel is no problem whatsoever, even if you’re above six feet tall. The central console is so well built it would seem at home in an E-class; the buttons and switches, excepting the window buttons on the door-pad, seem well built and the soft-feel buffalo-hide-like finish is really special.

The first time you floor the throttle on the 350, what strikes you is not so much how quick this car is, but how good it sounds. It emits a cultured snarl even while cruising around and flooring the throttle gives way to an angry high-pitched bark. Acceleration feels brisk rather than explosive, and keeping the throttle pinned to the carpet will bring up 100 kph on the Speedo 8.3 secs later. Compared to the SLK 200 K the 350 offers more than an extra 100 horses and the smooth warbling of a V6. While the 200 K did absolutely nothing to risk offence, the 350 feels like the engine that was meant for this chassis. The 3500cc V6 that develops 268 bhp at 6000 revs and a creamy 35.67 kgm of turning force from 2400 rpm onwards. It gives 80 to 120 kph takes just over 5 seconds, while the 100-140 kph dash comes up in 7 seconds flat.

The SLK chassis rides on a three-link front coil and five-link rear coil spring suspension that keeps it stable and planted in corners. Turn-in is crisp, and though you can carry huge amounts of speed through corners, it lacks the nimbleness of a small, light roadster, making it a more of a GT. Remarkably, despite the super low Continental 225/45R 17 fronts and 245/40 R17 rears and the suspension’s composure in bends, the SLK’s ride quality is excellent. It soaks up the bumps without pitching or jiggling, and yet it stays flat through corners with a taut, responsive feel – though the heavy steering wheel takes the involvement away somewhat.

Those looking for out-and-out performance in the current SLK line-up are not surprisingly going to want the 350 over the 200 K. The car comes with a lot of equipment in addition to the alphabet soup of electronic lifesavers like ESP with EBD, ABS, and the works.

It has highly polished, rich black leather, and a beautiful leather-clad four-spoke steering with a well-crafted Mercedes-Benz logo at the centre. The Speedo took centre-stage on the instrument binnacle, with the tacho on the right and the rest of the gauges on the left - the dials all ringed with chrome on an ivory background.

The supercharged four cylinder 2295 CC engine is silky, and delivers power smoothly, but at happy revolutions. You get almost 200 horses at 5500 rpm and over 28 kgm of torque from 2500 revs onwards.

Filed under: Mercedes Cars in India