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 SLK was initially only available with a responsive 1.8-litre four-cylinder, not especially dramatic but adequate for a good, brisk drive. This supercharged engine is the same as the one that powers the C200 K, with 163bhp. It’s not rev-happy, but works hard and can be kept on the boil, using the gearshift buttons mounted behind the steering wheel.

There is also a brilliant 3.5-litre V6, with 272bhp and 35.69kgm, a proper sports car’s motor. It sounds fabulous, and gives genuinely thrilling performance. It’s even faster than the SL500. With a better power-to-weight ratio and seven gears to exploit the 272bhp, 100kph comes up before the end of this sentence. The SLK shoves you back in the seat after a hard launch, and you’re pretty much pinned there for a good 10 seconds at least, top whack a limited 250kph. It’s complemented perfectly by the seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox, in which you can change gears via buttons on the steering wheel. It works seamlessly, and has the unique ability to skip gears, which gives great performance and drivability. Despite its large engine, the seven-speed auto and modern mechanicals helped us achieve 5.7kpl in the city and 8.2 on the highway.

Unlike its stodgy predecessor, the SLK rides and handles really well. While the on-centre feel of the steering wheel is unimpressive, just like on the C-class, the car starts to respond superbly to the weighty wheel as you turn further away from dead-ahead. As a result, the SLK turns enthusiastically into corners and feels agile and willing to play like any self-respecting sporty convertible should. Body control is great: you can place the car accurately and the quick steering even allows you to make corrections when the suspension is loaded up in a corner. The brakes are well weighted, too.

Filed under: Mercedes Cars in India