The SLK feels ponderous and it is not just the weight that gives it flabby handling. Amazingly, despite the low profile tyres and the suspension’s composure in bends, the SLK’s ride quality is excellent. Even the largest bumps merely elicit a distant thump and the car’s ride stays on the comfortable side of firm. The car rides well, unlike the earlier SLK which was twitchy, soaking up the bumps without pitching or jiggling and yet it stays flat through corners with a taut, responsive feel, and the heavy steering wheel give it sparkle free dynamics. Then again, asking an SLK to go slithering round corners like a go-kart is asking it to behave unlike a Mercedes.
Those looking for out-and-out performance in the current SLK lineup are going to want the 350 and it even seems to have an unanswerable argument. Till you hear the price. The car that we had on test came with a lot of equipment apart from the alphabet soup of electronic lifesavers like ESP with EBD and brake assist, ABS, and so on, for which you will have to dish out a rather exorbitant 70 lakh rupees. For that much money, you could get the 200 and a C-class with the spare cash. But the best part about the SLK 350’s price tag is that it’s just shy of a 911’s.
But then it wouldn’t be a convertible. That’s the thing with the joy of joys that is open top motoring. In a hardtop like a 911, all you want to do is drive till you have exhausted your resources from every last fibre in your body. But when you don’t have a roof, you are among the sights, the sounds and the smells and that’s when unknown landscapes become alluring destinations. Cars without roofs do that to you and then it doesn’t matter if it’s a 2005 hardtop or a 1951 ragtop. They also help you understand why dogs love to put their heads out of car windows.
With most of the driving done for the day, we are heading back to base and I floor the SLK hard, relishing the cry of the engine for the final time. But for all the SLK’s baritone propelled motion, the MG is hanging on hard behind, almost.
If the SLK becomes a collectible it will become one for the way it looks, not because of the way it drives. Don’t get me wrong here, the SLK is a wonderful car, almost all the roadster you will ever need, yet somehow in being and having less the MG is the more intimate car to drive.
As the sun turns to haze and the smoke trails from chimneys almost disappear and the dark sky looms large it is time to put the roof up and head home. Lights out.
THE OTHER GERMAN
I drooled when I saw the original SLK and went ga-ga over it in a long-winded story after I drove it for the first time way back in 1997. The SLK was a refreshing change to the world of Mercedes-Benzes and when it came to the scene – along with the A-Class – it changed the way the world looked at Mercedes-Benzes. I can easily replay that first test drive in the bright yellow SLK on the winding B-roads in and around Heidelberg. Eight years is a long time and lot of things have changed. To begin with, the old SLK played second fiddle to such masterpieces as the Boxster and the ‘girls car’ is now dead. The problem is that the old Boxster has been rolled back to a museum in Zuffenhausen and a new one has hit the road. I have driven the new Boxster S (BSM, April, 2005) so allow me a quick comparison.
The Boxster is still the better car, but the SLK has caught up. The Boxster felt nimble, light and sharp while the SLK felt a tad too heavy and needed to be woken up for action. You take ten seconds to be comfortable in the Porsche and you take ten minutes in the Mercedes. Okay, make it five minutes. The SLK sounds great all the time while the Boxster needs revs to make music. The Boxster driven by a good driver can tail a 911 driven by a mere mortal. No such chance with the SLK, though I am sure the SLK 55 AMG can cure most of the potency issues. But wait a minute, isn’t this the wrong SLK for Indian roads? Bring on the tri-turbo diesel version and maybe the ‘average’ conscious Indian buyers will flock to the dealerships. Just maybe. -Bijoy
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