So we just picked up a new 2013 SL550 today

We had our 2005 SL600 for almost 7 years and I am sad to let it go, but it was time to upgrade to newer tech...
Still, one of the sharpest looking SL's built-to-date and the twin-turbo V12 was pure joy.

We grabbed an Iridium silver in red/black premium leather, nicely equipped with about all options (minus ABC, B&O audio, soft-close doors).

Would have preferred ABC over Magic Sky, but that's still one cool roof. The price was just right as well ($9500 off sticker).

I'll post some impressions/pics soon, but I can't wait to drop the car and see what I can do with the wheels...

 

nice color combo, that was my alternate choice as I was deciding when ordering.

 

That sounds a good deal , happy driving

 

Congratulations, it's one hell of a car.

 

First off, many thanks for you kind comments!

We have only driven the car for a couple hundred miles or so, but I thought to share impressions (in no particular order) for those who might consider making the switch as well.

Interior:
Overall - much higher quality than the old one. More aluminum, better fit, less plastic, better ergonomics.
Seats - more comfortable than the old SL's, especially on the upper back. Massages function greatly improved.

I was normally not crazy about the red/black combo before but unlike earlier SL's, the red is actually a much darker red then what the photos show. It's look sporty and elegant with the darker hue of red. Even without the flash, the camera still seems to over impose. For iridium silver, it's one of the best color combos.

We had Napa leather on the SL600 and have it in the 750. The premium leather option here is not like the 600. The Napa leather is on the seats and armrests/door pulls, but the door panels and dashboard have standard leather. Nice piping details (see pics).
Go for the premium leather. It's only $900 more (in Germany it's almost 4000 Euros!) and it is a huge upgrade in feel and look, especially around the headrests.

Gauges:
The speedo/tacho needles are simply too red for my taste; as in the clock. I liked the neutral colors better.

My radar detector actually works! Even with Distronic plus on active and front radar enabled in my short time of testing I get GPS lock and proper X, K & Ka band readings. Passed several traps so far, they alerted at the usual range

I have a Passport 9500iX with the latest firmware. I was told this will not work. Go figure…
Perhaps the 9500ci is now in the picture

iPhone integration:
I am having trouble with Pandora. Seems like the Media interface gives preference to the iPod interface. Definitely inferior to BMW's approach unless I am missing something. Does anyone use Pandora in their SL's?

Comparison to the SL600:
There is obviously quite a bit of age difference, but the TT V12 is a fantastic engine by any measure. The SL550 definitely feels fast to 60 and beyond, the V12 felt immensely more powerful and accelerated with much for force. There is just more torque coming. I still give the SL600 the speed advantage and fun factor.

Transmission: The V12 had a 5-speed auto to deal with the torque, but the shifting was too lazy. The 7 speed is great and has a decent shift pattern for the car. Would have been nice for the sport setting to change the shift behavior though.

The car feels very light as compared to the V12, which was very front heavy and the steering made you feel that . The steering is great, much better than in our BMW

Exterior:
As reported time and time again, people either love or hate the looks. I have to admit that this is the first Mercedes that didn't win me over in person. Over the years, I thought many times that a new model looked bad on photos just to be surprised and impressed when in front of the car.

Not this one. It is a very aggressive look overall, but not consistently from every angle. The headlights from afar just don't look as well integrated as in other models and the front grill appears simply too dominant.
Then, at the same time you have these wimpy looking, deeply inset wheels and larger boxier body that is sitting a couple inches to tall.

The car is growing on me though and I like it better, but there is good news. When looking at the SL65, the front bumper is quite different and designed to look as if the grill is still part of the hood. It is also smaller and has a smaller looking double grill slates around the star which de-emphasizes the front a bit. Seems like a good swap.

But first thing first. That car needs to drop (next week) and those wheels need to go. I like the forged AMG 19"/20" combo or will find some nice concaves. Perhaps anyone has suggestions?

I am also contemplating using our old 19" SL wheels which has a 15mm difference in offset to the newer ones in the rear. I will try those out shortly.

Suspension:
I was baffled to see that the car has springs. I am so used to Airmatic in the S-Class and ABC in the SL/CL over a dozen years or so that it didn't dawn on me to really check. Springs aren't bad but ABC outperforms them in any way (plus is cheap & easier to lower).

Verdict:
This car is a huge improvement over previous SL's and with a few mods will look great from every angle. It already has great presence on the road and definitely sticks out from the crowd.
Have gotten lots of compliments already; no haters so far either which is nice...

 

I will take proper pics once the car is lowered and post them...

 

I am particularly fond of the V12 engine (so I am a bit biased), but we used to have several SL500's, SL55 and several S/CL's.

So, comparing this SL any R230 SL500/SL550 it is a no brainer. This car will run circles around any model year of these and then some. IMO, it is a vastly better car (more so with ABC).

 

Great review , thanks for that
Your stock wheels are dandy too . However, I think you may be interested in these :

1- 19"





2- 19"
3- 19"

4- 19" front / 20" rear


5- 19" front 20" rear :



Go for SL65 front end , they look nicer and more slicker

 

Since the R230 wheels have a lower offset (mostly in the rear) I thought it might be nice to check out the look. Driver-side rear...

The wheels are 19" AMG with better Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's on it and a direct bolt-on. Tire sizes are identical. The offset looks also fine to clear the wheel well and outer lip.

They may work just well in the meantime and make the rear stance look a bit more aggressive (once the car is lowered).

Thoughts?

 

Interested if you have any reaction to the ECO mode operation?

 

I know this is much debated and have mixed feelings about it.

First thing I do is to turn it off when I start the car
There should obviously be a default setting in the cluster to change the On/Off default.
While I don't believe that they will implement this (since it screws up the milage rating for the car), they will eventually make it selectable in the Star Tek software so that the dealer can de-activate that for you.

This was the same scenario for the BMW. First they said no way and then after sufficient levels of complaints they started to deactivate the feature on customer request (default off) for free.

That said, I have used the ECO feature in Germany on a Diesel (rental) and hated it. Just terrible but understandable with $9 a gallon.

I have had very little time to check it out, but so far it bothers me less on this engine.
So may be we'll use during a slow commute where it helps and doesn't matter.

I'll post more on this once I know better.

 

re: eco. 1,000m and 3w into ownership and i (now) don't find it a problem. it never lets me down and has never left me stranded or without power. i don't understand it or how it engages or works but the power is always there when i need it. though, at first, i didn't like it, it is ok now. don't care either way to be honest. didn't buy the car to save on gas mileage!