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A Baby SL For Half The Price, But The SLK230 Is No Sports Car
Date of Review: Dec 30, 1999
In the context of Mercedes' production model lineup, the SLK230 can certainly qualify to be the lightest and sportiest car it offers. But in the context of its competitors, the BMW Z3 and Porsche Boxster, the SLK is hampered by a number of compromises to be considered a sports car. Think of the SLK as a baby SL--which is no shame in itself--both roadsters are solid as a tank and can be driven at high speeds for long hours in complete comfort.
The Mercedes SLK230 was introduced in the 1998 model year. Designed under the direction of Bruno Sacco and first presented as a prototype at the 1994 Turin Motor Show, the SLK's styling was influenced by Mercedes' own 1955 190SL and 1957 300SL roadsters. The SLK designation is an acronym for Sportlich Leicht Kompakt, or Sporty Light Short in english. In spirit, today's SLK resembles a modern version of the 1955 190SL, sharing the same personality traits including a 4-cylinder engine type (the 190SL's was not supercharged, however).
The SLK's most distinctive feature is its Vario roof: a collapsible steel roof which converts the roadster into a rigid coupe and vice versa. A red button on the center console activates the entirely automatic process. Pulling the button backward lowers the roof, while pushing the button forward raises the roof. A hydraulic pump in the trunk is linked to two hydraulic cylinders to operate the roof, two more to move the trunk lid, and a fifth cylinder controls the automatic locking/unlocking of the roof at the windshield frame header. The entire process from start-to-finish takes just 25 seconds.
The downside to this technical marvel is two-fold. The Vario roof adds a significant weight penalty, contributing to the SLK's final curb weight of 3,036 lbs. By comparison, the BMW Z3 2.8 weighs 2,910 lbs and the Porsche Boxster weighs 2,756 lbs. Secondly, the packaging of the Vario roof, when lowered, reduces the trunk's storage capacity from 12.3 cubic ft. to just 5 cubic ft. Compared with the Z3's 6.2 cubic ft capacity, and the Boxster's dual trunk combined capacity of 11.2 cubic ft., the SLK is the least practical of the three German roadsters for shopping and traveling.
The SLK230's 2.3-liter DOHC inline-4 supercharged engine produces 185 hp at 5300 rpm and 200 lb-ft of torque at 2500 rpm. Maximum boost from the intercooled Eaton supercharger is 7 psi. While these numbers are competitive, the sound of the engine and exhaust are not. The cheap sounding noises are out of character for a $40,000 vehicle, especially when you consider a $20,000 Mazda Miata with its stock exhaust sounds more impressive than the SLK's. You would think a simple change in exhaust system would cure the problem, but someone already has gone that route and reports an aftermarket sport exhaust merely exasperates the pitiful noise. Until Mercedes attends to this issue, the most common solution is just to turn up the volume on the Bose stereo.
Another perplexing statistic is the SLK230's 0-to-60 mph time of 7.2 seconds ... with 5-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission. Going against logic that manual transmissions almost always return quicker acceleration times, the SLK's balky shift linkage is to blame, as well as the higher gear ratios which require a shift into 3rd gear to achieve 60 mph (2nd gear maximum is 58 mph). What the manual can offer is more driver control, but with the compromises already going against it, the SLK seems more proper with an automatic.
ASR traction control is standard and defeatable via a center console switch. Both doors are equipped with side-impact airbags, and the seat belts have impact pretensioners.
The interior's serious charcoal-colored trim and upholstery is a disappointing contrast to the classy theme of the rest of the car (colored inserts are available in salsa (red), oyster (grey) and navy blue, but much of the rest of the trim is still in standard charcoal). An all-Java-colored leather and trim color scheme would certainly warm-up the interior mood, but to-date it is not available.
The seat bottoms in the SLK seem overly firm and flat, and both seats have all-manual adjustments, a disappointment considering Mercedes' wonderfully-intuitive power seat adjustment controls found on every other model in the lineup.
Another out-of-place material is the faux carbon fiber inserts that adorn the center console, interior door latch panels, and the headlight control knob panel. If Mercedes wants to appeal to younger buyers, they should continue to offer lower-priced high-performance vehicles. Mercedes should also know that family sedans and sporty coupes from Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, and Volkswagen (which define that younger buyer segment) are usually outfitted with wood trim (fake in Hondas but real in VWs) or chrome trim or aluminum trim ... not fake carbon fiber trim. Most Mercedes buyers expect the traditional leather and wood combination in their cars anyway. A Mercedes with faux anything is ruining their reputation, not expanding their customer base.
The option list is surprisingly short for a German car: automatic transmission, heated seats, CD changer, cellphone, metallic paint, and a Sport Package.
The Sport Package consists of AMG 5-spoke 17-inch wheels (standard wheels are 7-spoke 16-inch) with 225/45-17 tires up front, and 245/40-17 tires on the rear wheels. In addition, the package adds more aggressive body-colored AMG front and rear bumper spoilers and side skirts. The front bumper spoiler incorporates round projector-beam fog lights which look better than the standard rectangular units, but the tradeoff is the tacked-on look of the bumper spoiler itself. The AMG wheels, though, look great and add some extra grip to the SLK's handling.
A handy electronic service indicator, Flexible Service System (FSS), measures actual driving conditions and habits and activates an indicator light (a wrench icon) in the instrument panel when the vehicle needs service. Drive mostly on the highway, and service intervals will be lengthened. The contrary is true for city stop-and-go driving.
Like BMW, Mercedes also offers a free-of-charge regularly scheduled maintenance program for 4 years/50,000 miles (BMW's covers 3 years/36,000 miles). The same terms apply to the SLK's limited warranty.
Very little is officially known about the AMG version of the SLK, other than it is expected to surface soon (2001 model year is my guess). Hopefully, it will bring about a change of character like that of a E320 to E55, or C230 to C43. The latest rumor surrounding its engine specification is that it will be a supercharged version of the company's 3.2-liter V6 engine.
Until the AMG SLK debuts, I can't recommend the SLK230 over a BMW Z3 2.8 or Porsche Boxster (or even a Honda S2000 or Mazda Miata) for a thrilling modern sports car experience. And even when it does debut, like all other AMG-modified Mercedes production cars, the AMG SLK will be a hot-rodded version of the touring-biased chassis. But the current SLK is a fine touring car in the tradition of its grander bigger sibling, the Mercedes SL, with the added cachet of its roadster/coupe transforming Vario roof. Whereas the larger SL unquestionably succeeds in the luxury GT convertible segment, the SLK faces much more sporting company. Mercedes-Benz is capable of producing fine sports cars--the 1955 300SLR, the recent CLK-GTR and current McLaren-Mercedes F1 cars come to mind--now they just need to package that know-how into the SLK.
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