SL55 AMG whats it really like?
Discussion
Sorry to hear about the 996, glad you're okay.
As for the SL55, far different to character to your Porker, heavier obviously, possibly gruntier, and sounds like a NASCAR.
SL's in general aren't an uncommon sight and I've heard mutterings that the SL has been called 'a bit footballer's wives'. That said the SL55 is very well regarded as a very fast car - easily able to hold its own in all dynamic respects. Evo magazine gave it a very good review as I recall. Might be worth doing a bit of googling for.
Let us know how you get on, and keep an eye out for any more trees jumping into your path.
As for the SL55, far different to character to your Porker, heavier obviously, possibly gruntier, and sounds like a NASCAR.
SL's in general aren't an uncommon sight and I've heard mutterings that the SL has been called 'a bit footballer's wives'. That said the SL55 is very well regarded as a very fast car - easily able to hold its own in all dynamic respects. Evo magazine gave it a very good review as I recall. Might be worth doing a bit of googling for.
Let us know how you get on, and keep an eye out for any more trees jumping into your path.
As a "fast cruiser" I'm not sure what could beat it - even a DB9 or 575 - the SL55 is an astounding car. Loads of grunt, beautiful to behold, the roof comes off and it has a TV... nuff said! The manual paddle-shift is a bit slow, but still good fun if you're not used to the M3 system. You'll probably find the steering quite dead compared to the Turbo, but it's not hard to get used to. It is a big heavy car, but it can really shift when you want it to. Oh, and it does sound like a NASCAR! Only downside so far is the mpg (I'm getting an average of 13.2, but that's a lot of town driving).
superlightr said:
Inbetween cars - 996 turbo written off and waiting for cheque from Ins co, curious as to the SL55 AMG
Perhaps Im looking for a more a fast cruising car then a balls out car.
Any views on the SL55 AMG
Thx
Mine went back to the dealer (for good) after 8 weeks.
Nearly 7 of these were spent in various Mercedes dealerships.
The list of faults was endless eg; ECU failure causing powerloss when overtaking (scary), roof failure (several times) electric seats moving of their own accord, windows dropping of their own accord, steering vibration, crankshaft oil leak (twice), seat belts pretensioning for no reason, tyre pressure contol failed, battery failure (twice)etc.
Whilst I accept that the car was probably a "Friday afternoon" job, I do feel that it is over rated as a drivers' car.
The steering is lifeless, the brakes have absolutely no feel and, despite the clever suspension, you really know this is a heavy car when cornering. The gearbox is primative compared to the Alpina B5 I test drove a few weeks back.
The quality of the interior is shocking for such an expensive car with a never ending cacophony of rattles, squeaks and clunks. The plastics, trim and controls would not look out of place on an elderly Ford Focus.
On the plus side, the car looks good, has astonishing power and straight line speed and makes a wonderful sound.
If you loved your 911tt, as I did my C4S, you will not enjoy driving this car. Also, if you thought OPC's were poor, try your local Merc dealership for size.
I was getting c12 mpg.
Avoid.
>> Edited by whoami on Wednesday 4th May 09:26
I found the ABC suspension to be amazing, keeping the car nice and flat. Trouble is you never knew when you were approaching the limit of adhesion. A bit of roll is useful for this.
Regarding quality, I have owned five Merc convertibles and have now bailed out for a Boxster S. Merc quality has gone downhill. My last CLK had lots of rattles which could not be found, the driver's electric seat failed (in my memory position not my wife's) and the wipers did'nt even work properly. If you get a car with keyless go be careful - my last SL was forever telling me the key was not in the car when it was in my pocket. Pretty annoying when you can't start the thing. Still like the SL though, it has lots of presence and the SL55 noise is amazing.
Regarding quality, I have owned five Merc convertibles and have now bailed out for a Boxster S. Merc quality has gone downhill. My last CLK had lots of rattles which could not be found, the driver's electric seat failed (in my memory position not my wife's) and the wipers did'nt even work properly. If you get a car with keyless go be careful - my last SL was forever telling me the key was not in the car when it was in my pocket. Pretty annoying when you can't start the thing. Still like the SL though, it has lots of presence and the SL55 noise is amazing.
Andrew Richmond said:
I found the ABC suspension to be amazing, keeping the car nice and flat. Trouble is you never knew when you were approaching the limit of adhesion. A bit of roll is useful for this.
Regarding quality, I have owned five Merc convertibles and have now bailed out for a Boxster S. Merc quality has gone downhill. My last CLK had lots of rattles which could not be found, the driver's electric seat failed (in my memory position not my wife's) and the wipers did'nt even work properly. If you get a car with keyless go be careful - my last SL was forever telling me the key was not in the car when it was in my pocket. Pretty annoying when you can't start the thing. Still like the SL though, it has lots of presence and the SL55 noise is amazing.
Forgot about the useless Keyless Go system.
It very rarely worked on mine.
Got and Sl500 and an s55amg kompressor
No problems with the sl500 so far, test drove the SL55 grip is actually very good, doesn't turn in or change direction like a 996, doesn't have the steering communication either, but it's much easier to exploit the performance and drive it very hard, very forgiving. Much better cruiser 120% as comfortable as close to limo comfort as you can get in a sports car (the Sl500 ride is a shade softer) amg speedtronic works better than the porsche tiptronic, smoother more responsive.
The S55 has basically the same chassis,as said above the ABC suspension does an amazing job , drive feels slightly different, but performance/grip is similar (both weigh about 2 tonnes), like the SL55 it's fairly easy to exploit the cars full performance and I've past faster more focused performance cars at the track , TVR350C, Porsches etc, just because it's easier to drive hard (you should see the look on some folks faces when a fat limo takes them
) You'll leave Vanquishes and Bently Gts behind if they play on the motorway as well, a 996tt driver better not fluff a gearchange if he wants to get by
I get 23 mpg on a long run (90 cruise), day to day has been 18.7 mpg last time I looked,this is tootling in and out of Manchester with some longer trips and the odd hoon down the lanes.
Clips give an idea of performance, SL is a whisker quicker, but is easy to get these cars to match or better manufacturers performance figures.
http://us.share.geocities.com/mrjumjum/S55bigclip_0002.wmv
0-100 clips dry but slightly damp surface, traction control on, sounds better in real life and even better in an SL with the roof down.
www.geocities.com/mrjumjum/0-100mphworselaunch_0002.wmv
www.geocities.com/mrjumjum/0-100mphBadLaunch.wmv
Overall I'd say an Sl55 would give you 90% of the fun of the porsche, but 120% of the comfort. Stuck in traffic or on a long motorway trip it's the SL is much nicer place to be.
Good luck choosing
>> Edited by JumJum on Thursday 5th May 12:39
No problems with the sl500 so far, test drove the SL55 grip is actually very good, doesn't turn in or change direction like a 996, doesn't have the steering communication either, but it's much easier to exploit the performance and drive it very hard, very forgiving. Much better cruiser 120% as comfortable as close to limo comfort as you can get in a sports car (the Sl500 ride is a shade softer) amg speedtronic works better than the porsche tiptronic, smoother more responsive.
The S55 has basically the same chassis,as said above the ABC suspension does an amazing job , drive feels slightly different, but performance/grip is similar (both weigh about 2 tonnes), like the SL55 it's fairly easy to exploit the cars full performance and I've past faster more focused performance cars at the track , TVR350C, Porsches etc, just because it's easier to drive hard (you should see the look on some folks faces when a fat limo takes them
) You'll leave Vanquishes and Bently Gts behind if they play on the motorway as well, a 996tt driver better not fluff a gearchange if he wants to get by I get 23 mpg on a long run (90 cruise), day to day has been 18.7 mpg last time I looked,this is tootling in and out of Manchester with some longer trips and the odd hoon down the lanes.
Clips give an idea of performance, SL is a whisker quicker, but is easy to get these cars to match or better manufacturers performance figures.
http://us.share.geocities.com/mrjumjum/S55bigclip_0002.wmv
0-100 clips dry but slightly damp surface, traction control on, sounds better in real life and even better in an SL with the roof down.
www.geocities.com/mrjumjum/0-100mphworselaunch_0002.wmv
www.geocities.com/mrjumjum/0-100mphBadLaunch.wmv
Overall I'd say an Sl55 would give you 90% of the fun of the porsche, but 120% of the comfort. Stuck in traffic or on a long motorway trip it's the SL is much nicer place to be.
Good luck choosing
>> Edited by JumJum on Thursday 5th May 12:39
If you buy second hand make sure you find out what warranty work has been done. My 19 month old SL500 has been a pain in the neck:
Boot leaks - 5 attempts to fix but still resembles a swiming pool.
Windows not retracting fully.
Boot lock not functioning.
Ignition switch replaced - car would not open if the weather was cold or wet!
Roof not retracting properly.
TV failed.
Parktronic failed.
Various other comfort system problems due to corrosion to the hydraulics caused by the water leaks.
Beware.
Boot leaks - 5 attempts to fix but still resembles a swiming pool.
Windows not retracting fully.
Boot lock not functioning.
Ignition switch replaced - car would not open if the weather was cold or wet!
Roof not retracting properly.
TV failed.
Parktronic failed.
Various other comfort system problems due to corrosion to the hydraulics caused by the water leaks.
Beware.
I agree that the SL55 is a great car, perfect for long distances like holidays and trips away. There's no doubting its superb performance and given its weight, it's competent on the twisty bits as well. Where it falls down is if you like to be involved - feedback fro mthe car to you the driver is rather muted which makes the car rather boring to drive after a while. I have a 911 C4S as my daily driver and I find that a much more involving - and enjoyable - car to drive. But, I drove to northern Italy last month and the SL55 was both the obvious choice and a brillant companion.
Reliability is a bit pot-luck. Mine has been more of less OK, a few funnies (like the headlamps overheating on "auto" when entering all the tunnels in the south of France) but I'm hoping the car has now settled...
Reliability is a bit pot-luck. Mine has been more of less OK, a few funnies (like the headlamps overheating on "auto" when entering all the tunnels in the south of France) but I'm hoping the car has now settled...
I had some issues with the drivetrain on mine and the tech backup from the dealer network is dire.
But I absolutely adored it. Looks good, stomps like dragster and has poise and elegance at low speed too. Always a joy to walk back to. So much more decorum than an uncouth Porsche. Thoroughly recommended.
>> Edited by phatgixer on Wednesday 15th June 20:41
But I absolutely adored it. Looks good, stomps like dragster and has poise and elegance at low speed too. Always a joy to walk back to. So much more decorum than an uncouth Porsche. Thoroughly recommended.
>> Edited by phatgixer on Wednesday 15th June 20:41
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