Review: Mercedes SLK 350

Too small and uncomfortable..  That more or less sums up what I think of the Mercedes SLK 350.  

I have always enjoyed Mercedes cars and my SLK experiences started with a 2002 SLK 320 Manual. It was bright red and my, so called, friends refered to it as a "hairdressers" car!  

Looks aside, it was not a bad car, the gearbox was a bit notchy and the suspension was not very sporty but on the whole I quite liked it.  So when I first took delivery of my SLK 350 auto with the F1 style front end and the more powerful engine I was excited, I like to drive fairly quickly and I enjoy driving for drivings sake.   The new car looked better than the old model and the interior felt more up todate. 

My first drive of the 350 was quite interesting. As I pulled away, with far too much throttle, the rear wheels snatched at the tarmac for grip and the car snaked it's way up the road. My first impression was positive, I like a lively drive and this certainly felt quite lively.  But my initial impression did not last for very long.  I discovered that if I drove the car with too much vigour that the gearbox would soon start to mess about, it would refuse to change up and hold the car in a gear for far too long.  On one occasion I arrived at a t-junction which was on a fairly steep incline; the car would not move! it just sat there with it's engine revving away.  After what felt like an age a gear was found with a bang and away we went.  

I continued my drive in a far more sedate manner and the car behaved as it should, but this experience had tainted my view and I was never particularly happy with the car's performance. 

Another problem with the SLK 350 Auto is one of having a very slow gearbox when it comes to selecting reverse gear after drive.  If you are driving along a busy high street and spot a parking space you pull up just past the gap and select R on the auto box and then wait.......it feels as though it's going to take forever. The only thing I will say about this is that it's a problem with ALL modern Mercedes auto's and the SLK is not alone.

The Interior cabin of SLK is quite well appointed, if a little on the small side.  There is a distinct lack of accessible storage and trying to find find somewhere to put your house keys, mobile phone and pack of gum is quite a challenge. 

The folding roof is quite superb and should be a standard feature on all cars.  The only small problem is the amount of luggage space space left when the roof is folded down.

The cars perfomance on a nice wide open, smooth, bump free road is very good. The car accelerates well and stops well.  The engine feels a little harsh when being driven in anything other than a docile way and I have already given my opinion of the gearbox.

The car's suspension is very hard and is set up in such a way that hard driving into corners will produce a little initial understeer followed by very controllable oversteer.  The suspension is, in my opinion, just too hard for everyday use.

In conclusion, The Mercedes SLK 350 is not my type of car.  It's not an exceiting drive in the sense that a Caterham or a TVR is exciting and it's not comfortable like some of it's bigger brothers.  I think this car is targeted at the 50+ female driver who does not want to drive quickly and is more interested in the look rather than build quality and performance.