That’s still fewer than the SLK55, modified by Mercedes’ in-house AMG tuner by among other things with the familiar 255-horse 5.5-liter V-8 under its hood. The SLK that we tested, however, was at the other end of the spectrum.

The SLK300 replaces the SLK280 of 2008, but despite the name change which would typically indicate a change of engine size, the 2009 SLK350 has largely the same V-6 as last year. However, that engine like this year’s is a 3.0-liter engine so actually the name change rights a wrong.

There’s no horsepower change behind the name change either. It remains at 228 horsepower. However, driving an SLK300 is a little more environmentally friendly this year. Not only has the engine been “optimized” for lower fuel consumption, its CO2 emissions have been reduced as well. All the better, one supposes, for top-down at-one-with-Mother-Earth motoring.

Standard equipment with the SLK300 is a six-speed manual transmission. Mercedes’ 7G-Tronic automatic transmission is optional on the SLK300 and standard on the SLK350. There’s also a “Sport” version of the automatic that includes paddle shifters on the steering wheel for manual up-shifts and down-shifts. The Sport version’s shifts are quicker as well. The AMG SLK55 also gets the 7-speed automatic, though special tuned for that application.