When the first production SL was unveiled in 1954, it set “new standards for style and comfort”, said Nick Rufford in The Sunday Times. Sophia Loren snapped one up, as did Clark Gable and Tony Curtis. It lost its way at some point after that, but the latest model “recaptures the original car’s distinctive looks: cartoonishly long bonnet, oversized wheels, huge grille”. This SL has also reverted to a soft top, the better to hark back to “the golden age of motoring when it was in its element crossing continents”.
At this price point, said Richard Lane in Autocar, you might expect more than 469bhp; you could buy the “faster-on-paper” Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS for less. However, that bhp figure is a little deceptive, as it’s the “easy-going sledgehammer manner” of the SL’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 that really “informs much of the car’s personality”. It might lack the “bite” of some rivals, but there is a pleasing lack of lag, giving the performance real “press-and-go”. It also has “agility-enhancing” rear-wheel steering, which works in contrary motion to the front wheels at anything below 60mph. The SL is comfortable to drive, barring a “slight brittleness” that creeps in on poor surfaces.
The cockpit is “nicely crafted” and looks quite futuristic, said Car Magazine. But you might need to spend a while “touching, swiping and zooming” for the software to reveal its full potential. A lot of the functions can also be accessed via very sensitive controls on the steering wheel, which can feel “a bit much”. There are lots of cosy features, though, such as massage seats, neck warmers and heated door panels, and even with a soft top, the car is “hush quiet”.
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UK price from £108,000; mercedes-benz.co.uk
In pictures: Mercedes-AMG SL
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