Wolfman

We were recently in Europe for a couple of weeks and drove a 2015 SL400 rental. Since we put a couple thousand miles on the car going through Germany and the Cote d'Azur we had a chance to put the car through its paces and compare it to our SL550.

Here are a couple random thoughts...

1. The car's exhaust was incredibly loud and quite sporty (throaty) sounding. This thing sounded more like a Porsche than a Mercedes! Our SL550 is extremely quiet in comparison.
This was very surprising. I never drove a 400 version in the US and don't know if Europe offers a different exhaust...

Either way, the car sounded great

2. The car was nowhere close in acceleration to the SL550 and lacked torque but was fast to the punch at any speed. Quite good at 160-220kmh (100-135mph) which is an important passing speed in Germany. Top speed was 160mph (not 155). Quite comfortable to drive top down at that speed if it weren't for the crappy run-flats which were quite bumpy.

That said, I was quickly outmatched when I got in-between a race of a Ferrari FF & Aventador LP750-4 which went to 200mph

3. Like the European headlight design much better (Eyebrow is a fine white LED instead of the orange one in the US and no orange side marker).

4. Driving the SL in Southern French & Italian coast is wicked fun as the steering is accurate and the AMG suspension very compliant for such a large convertible. Best driving experience on these roads with an MB...

Really missed the dynamic seats and the seat massage plus the lack of a backup camera made maneuvering a bit more difficult.

Overall, the SL400 is a great car. Nothing like the old V6 SL's of the past. Fast enough, great sound, really good handling (even in the Swiss mountains) and a excellent long distance cruiser.

I think it's an excellent option for people considering to get an SL besides the 550.

Hans_ACS

How did you like the small and tiny roads in the south of France ? Scares me everytime to be honest.


I am wondering how the sound compares to the 'old' SL350.

Wolfman

We used to live in Switzerland and went to southern France (and Italy) at least 6 times a year. Frankly, I love driving on these small curvy roads which are sometimes too narrow for two cars to pass each other

Nothing better than in a convertible top down overlooking the ocean!
We used to do the same with an S-Class. That was more of a challenge

The SL400 was the "loudest" non-AMG I have driven. The car literally sounded faster than it was...