Borrowing an SL55 for a few days

[PC Dave]

A friend who has lots, lots more $$$ than me sold his Ferrari 575M a few weeks ago to take delivery of a new SL55. He saw me drooling over it, and casually said I should take it for a week while he was traveling to a wedding. I didn't argue. He left this morning, and I just picked it up. What a car!

First thing I noticed is that it's kind of tight inside. I think the 129 had more room in the cockpit (though it's been a few years, so I can't say for sure). I haven't played with all the toys yet, he left it with the top down and I didn't put it up - I'll probably call everyone in my office out to the parking lot to watch the show when I do. The materials are obviously outstanding, leather dash, alcantara on top of the instruments and under the shift knob, etc. I only drove it through town to the office, but it's clearly the most powerful thing I've ever driven, by a big margin. This should be fun. I'm off to read the manual at lunch, to see how the toys work. Or maybe I'll skip lunch entirely to start losing lots of weight so I fit in the car better.

[rickg]

Too bad you didn't have it back over 4th of July weekend when I was down that way.
We want a full driving report when you're done with it

[pentoman]

I agree.. let's have your opinions and impressions..!

[PC Dave]

1. I'm sort of irritated at the lack of legroom. I'm tall (6'3"), but it's in the torso - I only have a 30-32" inseam, and I need more legroom. Now that I think about it, I felt the same about the 129. I test drove a W202 C class the other day and had plenty of legroom - more than in this one. Why does MB do that, especially in a car that's so big? In a similar vein, this won't be an SL for old folks in Arizona. You sit down on the ground inside the car, and the side rails are almost as high as a C4 Corvette.

2. I'm overwhelmed by the power. I've driven a few 911's, and they don't compare (never driven a turbo). I really can't compare it to anything. I took it on some backroads and floored it a couple of times, and it just takes you to whatever speed you want to be in a couple of seconds (up to 95 at least, I didn't go beyond that - yet). It doesn't feel like it off the line (unless you floor it), there seems to be a bit of a lag, and two detents in the accelerator/ECM/fuel injection mapping. I did most of my driving between closed and the first detent, and it was very smooth, good power, just like any other car. When I needed power, I would push it past the first detent, and I had all I could use. Past the second detent, i.e. into the floor, was frightening - in a good way.

3. Handling is outstanding for something that size. You feel the size all the time, but the limits are very high and the handling is linear (I didn't find the limits - I was on public roads in a borrowed car). I drove one of our local canyons, a few hairpins, mostly sweepers, and while I didn't time the run, it was faster than I've ever made it before in my E34 with Dinan/Bilstein suspension or on any of my motorcycles.

4. The top up/down exercise gets a lot of attention. I did it from outside with the key (I really didn't want to crawl in or out with the top up) and everyone within about 50 feet would stop and stare.

5. A friend watching the up/down process, who thinks any car with less than 60k miles hasn't depreciated enough, raised a fair point: you'd hate to be the one who has to pay to fix that top when it's out of warranty. Everything on the car is electronic, I'm sure there are many more examples. The first owners may not care, but for someone like me who might buy one after 4-5 years, it becomes a real concern.

I've got to travel tomorrow, but I'll have it for another 2-3 days before I have to give it back. We'll see if I can find out more.

[pentoman]

Originally posted by PC Dave
5. A friend watching the up/down process, who thinks any car with less than 60k miles hasn't depreciated enough, raised a fair point: you'd hate to be the one who has to pay to fix that top when it's out of warranty. Everything on the car is electronic, I'm sure there are many more examples.

[rant mode]
Aarrghh.. I can't describe how much these 'lifes not worth living unless you live it cheaply' types of people annoy me...
How cynical. Why don't we all drive VW beetles. Actually think of all those moving parts. Better get a horse instead.

And a new car isn't worth buying. You can get the same one cheaper second hand.

Tell your friend to live a little.
[/rant mode]

On the electronics though, if done properly they aren't going to be a problem, exactly the same as with an engine. Electronics are 'scary' to second/third owners if you're in an Italian car. Or a French one. But this is a German car and in theory it will rarely go wrong. In its day a W126 was stuffed with electronics, but current owners aren't having problems with paying for fixing them because it's properly engineered. Of course, wether Mercedes still has its touch with engineering will remain to be seen.

Also, remember computers are very reliable. They run our banks, flights, offices and MercedesShop access etc. every single day. When was the last time a hardware part of your computer just broke? The problems are in the design of the software, which is by humans. Again we'll have to wait and see if Mercedes' software writers wrote foolproof gearbox/roof/whatever software, or if they were larking around and it's full of bugs.

It will show in the second hand values if they are problematic..

[PC Dave]

Originally posted by pentoman
[rant mode]
Aarrghh.. I can't describe how much these 'lifes not worth living unless you live it cheaply' types of people annoy me...
How cynical. Why don't we all drive VW beetles. Actually think of all those moving parts. Better get a horse instead.

And a new car isn't worth buying. You can get the same one cheaper second hand.

Tell your friend to live a little.
[/rant mode]

That particular friend is sort of manic about reliability and maintainability. He retired from the US Navy last year after a career in submarines during which he commanded a Los Angeles class fast attack sub as well as the Alaska, one of the Trident missile subs; he rose to that via Engineering Officer slots, so he's quite familiar with advanced systems. I think it's ingrained in him that technology eventually breaks and has to be fixed, and a maintainable system is more important than a flashy one. The Navy salary and three kids has also left him a confirmed used car buyer (though his used cars include a 914 and an E-Type, so at least he's got taste).

I agree with your comments on electronics, up to a point. There's a perennial debate within the BMW motorcycle world between those who favor the old boxers which broke now and again, but which you could fix on the side of the road with the tool kit, and the newer fuel injected bikes that seldom break, but when they do it requires replacing an expensive system and a tow. The same point comes up in re. VCR's. Nobody can fix them, but so what when a new one with more features costs $60 or so? Just replace when broken.

In any case, we really don't have a choice in the matter, do we? The new cars provide much improved dynamics for the same money or less, and that's largely technology driven. Enrique, the much-loved (here on the board) LA mechanic told me that the last easily maintained MB's were the 124's, 126's, and possibly 202's, he strongly recommended against 140's and 210's, and the newer generations have gone well beyond those. The electrics better be reliable, as we'll run out of the old style cars within a decade or so.