Road Test: 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK300 car review

The 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class is something now that it wasn’t a decade ago. Then available only with an automatic transmission and a less-than-inspiring engine, the first SLK was spurned by purist sports car enthusiasts who rightly saw it as better suited for the boulevard rather than the winding backroads.

But the SLK did have something no other convertible or roadster had, the first modern retractable hardtop that converted a weatherproof, quiet and secure two-seat coupe to a topless almost-a-sports car in less than a minute.

Today the 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class still has a retractable hardtop, though refined from the original to take less trunk room when lowered, but the two-seater has been honed to a genuine sports car.

The differences are largely subjective, meaning the handling is sharper and such, but there are objective factors as well. Take power, for example. While the SLK-class received a significant restyling for 2009, with a crisper front end with a new front bumper that emphasizes the V-shaped hood and what Mercedes calls a “modified segmentation of the air intakes” for a more aggressive appearance, the V-6-equipped SLK350 received a 32 horsepower bump so that it now produces a healthy 300 horses.

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.

2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK300It’s matched by the suspension. The chassis is solid, even with the top lowered, and the SLK doesn’t rattle or shake, allowing the roadster to smooth out bumps and cracks as if they were made of terry cloth.

The manual shifter has the click-click to it that paddle shifters will never replace, especially for those who have had learning proper sports car shifting as a rite of passage. However—and this is significant—the pedal placement seems to have been determined more by lawyers than engineers, or at least sports car enthusiasts. The brake and throttle pedal are too far apart for easy heel-and-toeing, except for those with very wide feet.

If you don’t know what heel-and-toeing is—and it’s not dancing—disregard the preceding; it won’t matter to you. But it will to the hard core sports car enthusiast who will pass judgment on the SLK’s credibility as a sports car.

Steering is tight and direct with just enough feedback to read the road without harsh kickback. Mercedes touts what it calls “direct-steer” which replaces the previous speed-sensitive power steering boost that relied on, as Mercedes says, “sophisticated actuator units and complex sensors” that made it hard to create a constant feel. Direct-steer instead uses straightforward mechanical action to achieve a similar effect. Without getting too technical, the wheels steer more quickly the sharper you turn, so when you drive on the highway steering doesn’t get twitchy but it’s a lot more nimble around town. It is disconcerting at first but it doesn’t take long before it becomes second nature and one is left wondering why other cars don’t do that.

The interior of the SLK models was also updated for 2009. Most noticeable is a new three-spoke steering wheel—though only a 2008 owner would likely know—with new multifunction controls, and a new instrument panel and bezels.

Mercedes-Benz is now equipping the SLK with new NTG 2.5 generation of audio and telematics components. That surely means something to someone somewhere, and if it does to you, well, there you go. BlueTooth is a standard in the SLK-Class and there’s an optional plug in the glove box for audio devices such as an iPod or other mobile media, allowing control of these devices by the standard instrument controls. Unfortunately there’s no lock on the glove box door.

Alas, our test SLK300 did not have the optional harman/kardon Logic7 audio system that can be optimized for top up or down driving, the best yet for its roadster, Mercedes claims. Still, we were impressed with the standard AM/FM/WB radio with 6-disc in-dash CD changer and nine speakers.

Other standard “comfort/convenience” features standard with the SLK350 include leather upholstery, 8-way manual sport seats, dual-zone climate control and remote central locking with standard “Smart Key” keyless starting and access.

Our SLK300 was also equipped with options including the Premium 1 Package which includes Sirius satellite radio, the iPod/MP3 interface, 8-way power seat and 4-way (telescoping and tilt) steering wheel adjustment with three-position memory, auto-dimming driver’s side and interior rear-view mirrors, infrared remote roof actuation (cool), rain-sensing wipers and an interior ambient lighting package that uses LEDs for an automotive version of mood lighting—though there’s just one mood. This group has a price tag of $2,950.

Our test roadster also had optional digital automatic climate control, which allows setting of a specific temperature rather than just a warmer/cooler control. That costs a rather stunning $730. It should be standard equipment, no?

Also included and to our opinion a “mandatory” option is the lighting package that includes bi-xenon headlamps, cornering fog lamps and high pressure headlamp washers. The brighter headlamps alone are worth the $1,030 cost of admission.

Another thing that Mercedes roadster owners should not do without is the heating package which bundles Mercedes’ exclusive “WindScarf”, heated seats and a cloth windscreen. The latter is transparent black mesh fabric taken straight a Frederick’s of Hollywood catalog and stretched between the headrests to block wind swirling between the seats. The WindScarf is cool. Or warm actually, basically a hairdryer in the seatback that blows heated air on the occupant’s nape of the neck. Turn on the heated seats, fire up the WindScarf turn up the heater, slip on that Frederick’s of Hollywood windscreen and raise the side windows to create a bubble of warm air that can make al fresco driving in cooler temperature without it being too fresco. It’s a $990 package, but by letting you enjoy more of what you buy a convertible for it’s certainly worth the price.

Our tester was equipped with the Sport Package which includes 18-inch AMG five-spoke wheels (replacing the standard 17-inch rims), AMG front air dam and aero trim including a rear deck spoiler and—worth the ticket to sports car drivers—sport suspension. It all adds an extra $875 but sport handling is why one buys a sports car, no? (Admittedly we didn’t have the opportunity to drive a non-sport package SLK300, but if it were going to be our car…).

Of course, sport suspension doesn’t a sports car make. Indeed, driving is the true test, and there the SLK300 shines. It’s easy to prefer the bigger-engined models. More horsepower in a sports car is always a good thing, right? And 235 horsepower isn’t that special anymore, almost common in mid-level sedans. We’ll have to confess, however, that Mercedes did well by the SLK300 with its 3-liter six. The engine is smooth and if peak power doesn’t wow ’em, the broad spread of torque, 221 lb-ft from 2500 to 6000 rpm, gives a flexibility and ready punch to the SLK300 to accelerate, if not in a berserker rush, in a solid and even manner.