2017 Mercedes-Benz SL450: MBWorld Exclusive Review
MBWorld.org finds out what it’s like to use the 2017 Mercedes-Benz SL as a work vehicle.
“You’re lucky I brought my car today. I usually bring my bike.”
That’s what motorsports photographer Rip Shaub told me as he drove the two of us to the key photo spots that ringed the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) one sunny Saturday. I was there to take pictures of two days of ChumpCar World Series endurance races and Rip was kind enough to show me the best places to snap away. He was teaching me the lay of the land. I was going to learn even more by using the 2017 Mercedes-Benz SL450 as my transportation around the circuit.
Mercedes loaded my test car with a variety of options, including Magic Sky Control, a black Dinamica headliner, the Bang & Olufsen BeoSound surround sound audio system, the conveniences of the Premium Package, and the safety tech of the Driver Assistance Package. Those looked great on paper, but on the street, the SL looked odd and somewhat awkward. At first. At the home of the United States Grand Prix, I began to see the SL differently. It started to look like a sculpture to me. The swept-back designo Cardinal Red Metallic bodywork sat in beautiful contrast to the simple yet dramatic lines of the two-tone 19-inch wheels under it. If I wasn’t watching the ChumpCars zoom by through my camera’s viewfinder, I was taking another fond glance at the SL.
I packed light for my weekend at the track, but I was still pleasantly surprised by the SL’s cargo capacity. When the top’s up, the trunk can hold 13.5 cubic feet of luggage. Top down, that capacity shrinks to 8.5 cubic feet. That was still plenty of space for my tripod, briefcase, camera and associated equipment, and bagful of cleaning supplies. Getting to or securing my gear was easy because of the power trunk that I could open or close from inside of the car. When the top was stowed away and the trunk was popped, the push of a button in the back activated the optional Easy-pack system and tilted the roof panels up so I could access my stuff quickly.
About halfway through Saturday, Rip and I switched from his Ford Focus to the SL. Going to the various turns of the 3.4-mile track and getting out to take shots of the ChumpCars as they wound their way through the various hairpins and Ss was sweaty work, but the SL made up for it. I kept the car running with the AC on and the seats’ ventilation at the max level. I also set the tint of the optional Magic Sky Control feature to its darkest level to cut down on the amount of sun entering the cabin through the Panorama roof panel.
As comfortable as the SL was, I realized using it as an A-B car is a waste of its thoughtful engineering. It’s more of an A-Z car. It made me want to leave the stop-and-go confines of COTA and drive cross-country with my seat set to Classic Massage, the top down, and the sound system cranked up.
Before heading to the track with the top down on Sunday, I thought it would be a good idea to apply sunscreen. I figured I would be set with a few quick spritzes on my face, neck, and arms. After applying those, I was protected from the sun, but I was also covered in what might as well have been motor oil. It soaked my shirt sleeves and made me phobic about every move I made in the SL, even after I rubbed most of it off with a handkerchief. I was already nervous enough driving around a $108,385 car that didn’t belong to me. The fact that its cabin was trimmed with designo Deep White Nappa leather seats made me even more on edge. I was careful to not touch the Black Exclusive Nappa leather or Black Ash wood trim around me. I gripped the wheel lightly. Despite my best efforts, the world’s most obnoxious protector managed to get on the pristine white armrest to my right. Luckily, its beauty was not the fragile kind. I was able to rub the dried sunscreen off of the surface, leaving the white underneath it as pure as it was worrisome.
According to the ChumpCar website, ChumpCar events are about “everyday cars” and “real racing.” That weekend at COTA I saw 1990s Honda Civic hatchbacks, a beat-up 1980s Audi sedan, and a pair of rough Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyders lapping the 20 turns of the only F1 track in the United States for a total of 16 hours. They were machines of humble origins doing a damn good job of being something more than what they started life as.
I had no illusions about what the SL was going to be. I knew it wasn’t going to be a sports car. I didn’t expect it be. I just wanted to experience it. After driving it on suburban streets, highways, and the uneven pavement around the track fences at COTA, I couldn’t help but notice how solid it felt. Nothing disturbed its steering. Its grip on the road and its stability with every turn of the wheel was constant, absolute. It was as if I was using an ingot of silver as a slot car.
The increased output from my review vehicle’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 – 362 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque – did more than transform the base SL from the 2016 SL400 into the 2017 SL450. It moved my media loaner down the road with a satisfying urgency. Regular and paddle shifts from the 9G-TRONIC never left me waiting. The Dynamic Select system was designed to sharpen the throttle response, shifting, steering and other characteristics with every push of a button that took it from Eco to Comfort to Sport to Sport+ mode. An Individual mode allowed me to tailor particular characteristics, such as the engine and suspension settings, to my liking. No matter which mode the SL was in, the ride quality was smooth and pleasant. Ultimately, the SL was too buttoned down and serious to come across as playful. Brake pedal feel was luxury-car soft, its messages to me muffled. That impressive solidity that I appreciated kept the SL from ever feeling tossable. The SL and I both knew what it was. It refused to pretend to be a sports car, even when I tried to force it to. That didn’t stop it from performing well at an F1 track, though.
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