ctrider

hello all, in about another week i will be receiving a 2004 SL 500. I am wondering about the horsepower, in the booklet it says 6.1seconds but based on 2003 model, does anyone know the actual number? I haven't driven it yet, is it fast ? I know it won't compare to a 600 or 55 but is it still pretty quick? Thanks.

erichen

I have a 2004 SL500, from last November. It has the new G7 transmission. I read in the reviews and other sources that the new G7 transmission is suppose to shave a little time off the 6.1 sec mark for the mercedes 500 models (less than 0.3 seconds). But the stats I saw were for the E class. I have not yet seen the official numbers yet. Somebody raised the same issue earlier but I don't think anyone got a proven 0-60 time on the SL 500 with the new transmission. But it should still be at least 6.1 seconds. I can tell you that it's pretty darn fast during acceleration if you really punch the gas. there is a little irritating delay if you hesitate, so, don't hesitate. I gave myself a whiplash when I hesitated and let go of the gas for just a millisecond before hitting it again... Took me about 2000 miles to really learn to drive that car. After I got 20" rims, the acceleration seemed a bit slowed but when I pumped the psi in the tires up to 36, the lag seemed to have disappeared. Hope you enjoy your car.

shoes

I owned an early model 2003 SL500. It always felt lethargic and the gas mileage wasn't good. Then I got an early model 2003 SL55. It was certainly quick, but I had the gremlins shared by many on these boards. I was about to get a 2004 SL600 to replace it, but when I drove it, the SL600 felt lethargic, and I wasn't happy about the lease cost. So, just for fun, I drove the 2004 SL500 with the 7 speed and I fell in love. It is very responsive, I have no hesitation problems at all and I get consistent mileage around 25 (I have 3,000 miles on the car). Curiously, when I drove the E500 with the 7 speed, it felt slow, just the old 5 speed. I have no modifcations on my SL.