Vehicle: 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLK350 with Sport Package, AIRSCAFT, Bi-Xenon headlights with active curve illumination system and 7G-Tronic transmission
Price as tested: CDN$77535

Handling: New SLK’s driving dynamics is simply a delightful surprise, to say the least. Along with the wonderfully stiff chassis and a fined tuned suspension system, it has to be considered as one of the solidest convertible I have ever driven. There are absolutely no cowl shakes through the roughest pavements and railroad track. Its exceptionally well-balanced thanks to RWD 50/50 perfect balance. It shoots into every corner precisely thanks to the sports-tuned multi-link suspension. The Contential tires provide plenty of grips. The harder you pushed the SLK, the more rewarding it drives. When you are pushing the SLK hard into a corner, you quickly realize its not a typical Mercedes-Benz. It got springs firm enough for enthuisastic driving without sacificing the ride comfort soft springs provide. The outgoing car’s rough ride at low speed and floaty ride at high speed are things of the past. The steering is precise, responsive, sharp and provides tons of feedback. Its also weighty enough without losing the lighter weight during slow speed parking. The body rolls are next to non-existence. If there is one pet peeve, it has to be that typical Mercedes ESP instrusiveness. Although its less instrusive than the equivalent systems in CLK and SL, it still feels more instrusive than other system like Porsche’s PSM which has 3 levels of threshold. Mercedes needs to adapt this kind of ESP in SLK given its real sports car status.

Performance: The 3.5L 90 degrees V6 DOHC engine is simply a gem. Its smooth-revving with class-leading refinement, smoothness, flexability and trackability. In order to match SLK’s sports car status, Mercedes engineers have tuned the exhaust note with entertaining music. The rumbling sound has Teutonic’s solid character that are simply a joy to my ears. The throttle response is instant. The major contributing factor for this V6 engine’s lowly 2500 rpm @ 100 km/h is the impressive new 7G-Tronic. The gear ratios are well-spaced. This system encourages spirited driving because of the aggressively tuned ratios, however, it still won’t let you rev into redline before upshifting is a slight disappointment.

Brakes: The pedal feel also lives up to Mercedes’s usual high standard. That means exceptional pedal feel and modulation. The stopping distance is short while ABS won’t kicked in until absolutely necessary.

Interior: The interior is very logically layout. The instrumentation gauges are clear and analog. The tasteful combination of aluminum trim and plastic, its a nice breakthrough from previous SLK’s sober color theme. The sports seats are comfortable with great supports all around. Mercedes designers also realized the use of knobs for climate control and stereo system are logical instead of relying on buttons. The AIRSCRAFT is an impressive feature for SLK. Once you turned on the system, it heats your head like what heated seats to your butt. It has a desired effect for a below 10 degrees Canadian weather today. If there is one drawback, its the quality of plastic. While Mercedes has improved its plastic quality a lot over the last couple of years, it still lacks the expensive feel of what you expect in a Mercedes-Benz product.

Conclusion: The new SLK has to be the best handling Mercedes ever, and rightly so. Its sharp reflexes are great enough to please sports car buyers while its also comfortable enough to satisfy typical Mercedes loyalists. In short, a very intriguing package. The AMG version would only make this great car even better.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2005 MERCEDES-BENZ SLK350
========================================
Performance: 5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4.5/5
Value-for-money: 5/5

Overall rating: 5/5