EDITOR’S NOTE: Before we march on to the gist of this article, allow us to give you a little background as to where exactly this little review stems from... As we put this issue you hold in your hands to bed, the entire country is lethargically breezing through an intermittently wet and dry four-day-long weekend. It’s the third day of said long weekend, and it’s yours truly’s big three nine. Our friends over at CATS Motors’ marketing department – observant, smart folks that they are – decided to give The Philippine STAR and its readers first dibs on the SLK 200, which is making its local test drive debut in a broadsheet in “The Only Paper You Read From Cover To Cover” right this very moment. Our gratitude to CATS Motors for the first dibs birthday test drive – as always we, and our readers, are thankful and appreciative for the exclusive.
Writing exclusive firsts is never an easy task. But we at The Philippine STAR have always welcomed such challenges. These thoughts were running through my head as I was handed the keys to the brand spanking new, bright red Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 for a long weekend test drive. It was – as we had stated earlier – the first time CATS Motors would be sending off one of their SLK units to someone who didn’t have the cold hard cash to actually seriously think of purchasing their vehicle, but whose job it was to analyze and criticize.
As it was, I felt that the critique part of the entire process would be doubly difficult – seeing as to how much more enticing this iteration of Mercedes-Benz’s roadster looked. Thanks to its familial resemblance to the instantly iconic new SLS, the SLK looked like a serious automobile from the get go. The fact that it came in a ridiculously attractive shade of red didn’t make it any easier to dislike the car. Quite simply, it was gorgeous (In fact, I still have to decide if it looks better with its hardtop roof or without it). Still, despite its awe-inspiring stance, we were sure that the car had to have its kinks.
The first little kink was immediately evident as we eased our way into the vehicle’s cockpit. Like previous SLK variants before it, this new iteration was obviously built for people not exactly stratospheric in height. I would eventually find a way to fit snugly into the vehicle, but suffice it to say, more than a few people above six feet would have trouble with vehicle ingress and egress. To its engineers’ credit, the SLK’s seats are so ergonomically correct that you’ll actually feel like the seats have been designed around you. And the leather used in the seats is typically Mercedes-Benz – unless you have the dermatologic sensitivity of a billionaire on skin sensitivity treatment, there’s hardly anything to complain about.
One little complaint about visual ergonomics, however... As you will most likely lower the driver’s seat in order to fit into the cockpit with the roof on, the tendency is to lose one’s direct view of the lower part of the SLK’s right hand side mirror. It might seem a little nitpicky on my part, but overtaking along the South Super Highway did have its difficulties, so my little complaint is not exactly without merit. Aside from that small observation, however, everything else about the SLK’s visual ergonomics was spot on. The car offers a great view of the outside world – with or without the roof on – as I’m sure it projects a great view to the outside world that’s looking in as well.
Speaking of ergonomics and aesthetics, the new SLK is as beautiful a roadster as one can find. From the side, it’s got some nice, flowing lines that hint of movement even at a standstill. Up front, it opens up with a grille/headlamp combination that is reminiscent of the new SLS Gullwing. This leads to a long (as it’s intended to be) hood that’s both sexy and functional with its hood intakes. Finally, it closes with a short end that’s so sound you’d think Mercedes-Benzes were all built as roadsters initially. In other words, outside, the SLK is a beauty that‘s simply head-turning to say the least.
Inside, it’s all typically Mercedes-Benz with the aforementioned comfortable leather seats being complimented by intuitive controls that are presented in an eye-friendly leather/aluminum combination. Deserving of special mention are the round airconditioner vents which hint of classic MB styling from the 1970s – very classic. Ditto the AM/FM, MP3, Mutli-CD, Bluetooth and AUX ready head unit that’s paired with a great-sounding Harman Kardon speaker system. Sound reproduction – especially in a supposedly difficult to address setting such as a roadster – is simply superb.
Aside from being drop-dead gorgeous inside and out, the SLK is also quite the efficient automobile. Depending on variant, the SLK features a slew of BlueEFFICIENCY measures such as direct injection and the ECO Star/Stop function that make the car up to 30% more efficient compared to its predecessor. The base grade’s (the aforementioned SLK 200) 180 or so horses propel the SLK from 0-100kph in just 7.3 seconds so it’s no slouch, either. It does all this while spewing out Euro 5 standard emissions – and with the legendary Mercedes-Benz level of luxury and comfort that can’t be expected even from many of the marquee’s rivals.
At the end of the day, the Mercedes-Benz SLK makes a great case for itself for the roadster buyer who is simply out there looking for a handsome yet comfortable Sunday car. No. It is in no way practical. But whoever said roadsters ought to be? The car lives up to its reason for being – and even raises the bar in some departments. I got one for my birthday too, lucky me. Unfortunately, by the time you read this my birthday’s done. And so reality kicks in. Still, that’s one ride, I’m not likely to forget any time soon…