ROADTEST MERCEDES SLK 200 SPORT AUTO:Mercedes' new SLK roadster offers all the bling a sports car fan could want, but when it comes to driving, the 1.8 litre just can't deliver on its promises
THERE'S AN EPISODE of the US TV comedy Friendsin which Joey pretends he owns a Porsche. He has the jacket, the keyring, even a car dust cover. The one minor flaw in this plan to improve his street cred is that for all the posing, he doesn't actually have the Porsche, just a pile of boxes stacked in the shape of a car under the tarpaulin.
There’s a hint of the Joey factor with the new SLK, a car that oozes street cred and supercar menace, but doesn’t live up to the billing, in this entry-level format at least.
The new SLK has all the eye-popping appeal of the German firm’s SLS supercar. While not identical to its powerhouse sibling, it’s certainly an homage to its general design.
It will leave strangers slack-jawed and annoy rivals. It delivers on all the key traits of a showboating sports car, except one: if sports cars are motoring Viagra, then this 1.8-litre version seems to be in the placebo group.
The bigger-engined variants may well pack a virile punch, but few if any of these will arrive on these recessionary shores. Instead, Irish buyers will look for the version that carries the cachet without draining the cash.
And that’s a sensible approach to take in the current climate, but in a way the new SLK makes too bold a statement for owners to be allowed to get away with skimping on performance. It screams “look at me” but then lacks the star quality.
Don’t get me wrong, its performance is not that of a supermini in supercar garb – this car can move. It just doesn’t do it with the poise and roar that its looks promise.
And what looks. First impressions of this car are really striking. It looks fantastic, with its dominant front grille and long, sweeping bonnet with the inset air ducts. It’s got the sports-car menace. Round the back, the rear looks a little too pert, but there are some lovely quality touches, such as the wraparound light clusters.
The folding metal roof, meanwhile, is a toy you will never tire of playing with. Its relatively small size also means it can be flipped down and folded away in the time it takes traffic lights to turn from red to green. It’s actually designed to turn fellow motorists green with envy at the same time.
Inside, the shining metal and chromecoloured plastics are too bling. Again, it’s clear the design is trying to mimic the larger supercar look, but the quality is clearly not the same between a €50,000 roadster and a €300,0000 supercar, and the end result is a bit too close to the motoring equivalent of a dayglo shirt opened to the navel.
The SLK has always worked well with female buyers but has never quite drawn in the male buyers which, supposedly, is why the makers have made the SLK more butch.
Whatever about the gender of the final buyer, they will certainly be a brave soul – or someone with a teflon ego. While the stigma of the new registration plate has thankfully receded – thanks in part to the scrappage scheme – you’d need to be particularly immune to public opprobrium to drive a new, shiny, sports Mercedes with the roof down through the recessionary streets of Dublin.
At the very least you’d need to be sure the car lives up to the billing. And that’s where the problems lie: if you’ve got the crowd-pulling looks, you need an act to back them up. The SLK sits there threatening to set hearts racing but pulls off with all the roar of an A-Class.
We might seem a little harsh on the SLK, but after a week with the car, we couldn’t come to terms with the disparity between image and reality.
On the open road the engine is fine, settling into its stride. And the car is actually good fun to drive once you let it loose on a clear stretch of road – it seems to love a twisting country road. The handling is sharp, the steering feel is good and it has all the agility of a well-honed roadster. So long as you maintain a momentum of more than 80km/h, things are really quite enjoyable and the whole package makes sense. But slow down or find yourself crawling through traffic and the engine whine and unsettled automatic transmission will start to grate on nerves.
Around town, the seven-speed automatic seems to struggle to find the right cogs. The wheel-mounted gearshift paddles let you help it along but it’s never quite right. We had a routine every time we got in. Start engine, switch off annoying stop/start eco system, set transmission to sports setting and then pull off. This had a detrimental effect on the fuel economy – Mercedes suggests savings of up to 30 per cent if you stick to the eco mode – but it was the only way to get the car to offer anything like the responsiveness we expected.
That’s what annoyed us most. Roadsters are meant to be responsive and eager, like a six-month-old springer spaniel. The SLK does have these traits when offered the open road, but around town, it’s surly.
On paper, a time of seven seconds from standstill to 100km/h is competitive, but then there are only a handful of roadsters with which it competes. The Audi TT is perhaps its main rival, as the BMW is cursed with a ludicrous tax-band rating.
There’s a host of also-rans, from niche players such as Alfa Romeo, but in reality, few aspiring Mercedes buyers are going to even consider the Italian brand. Similarly, the RCZ may be a great mainstream sports car, but be realistic: given the fact that roadsters and sports cars are 90 per cent about image, what potential Mercedes owner is going to opt for a Peugeot?
By default, then, the SLK will do well with its core – if very small – market. But if you want a roadster that harks back to the glory days of MG roadsters and the like, save yourself nearly €20,000 and get a Mazda MX-5.
Factfile
Engine1796cc petrol engine putting out 181bhp at 5,250rpm and 270Nm of torque at 1,800rpm
0-100km/h7.0 seconds
Top speed237km/h
Emissions(motor tax) 158g/km (€447)
SpecificationStandard features include: dual front airbags with sidebags in the seats; ABS with Acceleration skid control (ASR); electronic stability programme; electric parking brake; crash-responsive head restraints; tyre pressure loss warning system; cruise control with speed limiter; radio/CD with USB connection; air-con; 3-spoke multifunction steering wheel; twin chrome tailpipes; heated exterior mirrors; daytime driving lights and fog lamps; Vario-roof, painted in body colour and operated electrohydraulically. Options include headscarf heating system
L/100km (mpg): urban - 8.6 (32.8); extra-urban - 5.3 (53.3); combined - 6.5 (43.5)
Price€49,700 (test car: €67,950)