allfortheunion

very soon Streamliner will post that that would only be so until someone sticks a knife in your nice new soft top.

for myself, it seems the only natural state for a soft top is down and stowed. with the top up it just looks like a temporary compromise to keep the rain out. the current SL looks equally as it should with the top up or down.

Utopia Texas

I owned two soft top convertibles, VW and BMW, before my 3 SL’s and for me never again. Here in Texas where we have 4 months of the year with 90F- 115F temperatures and huge amounts of sunlight soft tops need extreme maintenance so they don’t start looking bad and I became tired of having to wear a baseball cap while driving with the top up due to heat radiating from the roof area.

jrupp

Same here. I live in Mississippi. Bought an Audi A5 cabrio and loved it...until the glass rear window just fell out of the soft top. Called Audi and was told the fix was to buy an entire new top, around 5K! Found out my problem was not unique. Thought that was an unreasonable fix so I traded car for an E350 cabrio. Much better engineered top, but a soft top nonetheless. My SL seems perfect for me with the top up or down.

places

Under camouflage the rear certainly poses similarities but overall I see AMG GT.

Wolfman

I am also not a fan for the opposite weather. Snow here for 5 months a year and a soft top represents a less robust design against the elements.
Our GTC sits in the garage while we were driving our SL’s in the snow.
That said, these cars are nice enough for me not to care either way.
We will either keep the current car or get the next SL. Decision time next month…

js_cls

TennesseeZ4

I will just share that when we moved from the R231 SL550 to our current A238 E450, there was concern with the soft top of the E relative to the hard shell of the SL. After having the E class for about a year now, I can say that the only time that I notice increased noise levels in the E is when I am passing a semi on the freeway, or a group of Harley's motors by, both would also increase the interior noise levels of the SL as well, but the nod goes to the SL. We garage our cars and the exposure to sun, rain, et al, is not an issue for us; I do miss the solidity of the SL top, but IMO, there is but a small difference in the interior comfort of the cars. The top employed by MB on the E class is similar to the old drop head coupes, with multiple layers of fabric, and a very tight seal on the windows. Here in Tennessee, we have nine or ten months of drop top weather, and as much as I enjoyed the SL with the top down, I sure do enjoy the E class with the top down. Enjoy the drive!

Panama

We owned a Volvo C70 ragtop for a few years. I doubt we will ever own another cloth top convertible. They are noisy and I can guarantee the Volvo engineers tried to insulate it....but it is cloth.

This new Mercedes even looks a lot like the C70 did... very similar lines. They can put whatever engine and trans in it that they want. We buy vehicles with looks in mind and I just don't see anything distinctive about it on the exterior.

The SL roadster has always had a distinctive look.....something set it apart when you saw it. You KNEW you were looking at the Mercedes SL, no matter what year. It just had that look. The new one doesn't. It looks too cookie cutter common to me.... For me, they have made the last SL. Sorta sad really.

I would see that new SL on the road and would not know it was a SL without looking for a badge or emblem.. nothing distinctive about it to me.

MBNUT1

Last week I helped my neighbor glue his glass window back into his Audi TT. Same story new top $2K.

js_cls

I don't think we're looking at the same pictures at all...

Panama

It looks more like my old Volvo C70 than it does my SL...OR ANY SL. They have always had a distinctive flair about them...all the SL designs..

That new design is just not eye catching.. And with the rounded sloped corners it does look a lot of cars on the road now. It is just too cookie cutter ..... and I understand it is not a roadster anymore. Has a backseat like my Volvo C70 Convertible had too if what I have read is correct.

I am glad we have one of the last roadsters they made....if what I have read is correct..

js_cls

They are both Convertibles with 4-seats, I cannot fathom how one could mistake this for a C70.

I get that owners of current generation vehicles are never fond of their successors or at least skeptical, but I for one am glad they are refreshing the SL and bringing something new and exciting to the table. The SL over the last decade or so has become far too stale/forgettable on the market and even Mercedes themselves seem like they forgot they make the car, some of us even thought Mercedes was gonna kill the SL for good. With AMG at the healm of this generation I have high hopes for this SL and definitely will be waiting to get to drive one of these.

Panama

I never said I would mistake it for my C70. I SAID that it looked more like my C70 than it does my SL.

ALSO...they did kill it. It is not a roadster, and it bears very little similarity to any other SL I have seen.. The only way you would know that vehicle is a SL is if the put the badging on it.

I have owned several Corvettes and have been impressed year to year with their model changes...some mechanical changes maybe not so much.... but the lines and the style have usually improved. You could still see a Corvette distinction and it deserved the name, not so much with a four seat cloth top SL....I don't care how it drives.. It is not a roadster sports car anymore. Refreshing is not the word that comes to mind.

js_cls

To me the same argument could be made of the R231 and R230. They bear very little resemblance to the original SL and have had some questionable design choices depending on pre-and post facelift models. If anything the AMG GT is the closest to a modern take on the original SL's design and uses a lot of similar design cues and shapes.

Wolfman

Funny thing is that the facelift SL that you drive is modeled directly after AMG GT and now the new SL will take an even more direct approach.
This is also not a 4 seater but 2+2 like a 911...

Utopia Texas

Isn’t using 2+2 but saying it’s not a 4 seater just semantics? What exactly does 2+2 mean? 2 front seats and 2 what in the rear? If they are not seats what exactly are they? Why isn’t the R231 called a 2+2?

Panama

I mean no disrespect to anyone here. I am a novice SL owner compared to some members here. I know Jeeps and Corvettes a little, but the SL is new to me. I love the SL and most things about it that I have learned and if I have a question, I come here for help. This is a great forum and good people. I am sorry if I offended anyone.

I just personally don't think this new car is an SL. I really don't mean to cause an argument. That is just my opinion.. I have owned and driven several nice cars ... Cadillac, Lincoln, Volvo, Corvettes, several Jeeps, etc .. BUT no matter what I drove I always noticed the SL since I was in college. I have a great admiration for the car and even more so now that I own and drive one. I ALWAYS noticed them.

In my humble opinion - from a novice's view..... it does not look like one, it does not have a retractable convertible hard top, it has a cloth top, it is not distinctive with the SL look, and I still say it has 4 seats and is not a roadster anymore. The SL WAS a roadster....always to my knowledge. The new car isn't.

I will leave this thread now. I only came by to express my views and did not mean to get into this and stir anything up. That is not my personality. I have been here over a year and this is the first time. I apologize. I am glad I bought the car we did before they changed it from being an SL roadster. I could have handled it better with them calling it an SL if they had not put the back seats (or whatever they call them) in it and made it a ragtop. I just don't see an SL when I see it.

Utopia Texas

Well, My opinion is known on the matter but all in all the final word will be number of sales of the R232. We shall see. I personally believe sales will not be to MB’s expectation and the 232 will be the last rendition.

Wolfman

We are all passionate about these cars and for the right reason. They are great cars and a pleasure to drive…

I don’t think anyone is or should be offended by your comments, but they are a bit odd.
The SL’s have been ragtop convertibles for about 45 or so of its 65+year history and a couple models could be had with some odd looking rear seats. They were never meant to seat anyone of course; just to look better than an empty box.

To be clear, I am not a defender of soft tops and prefer hard tops but the view on these tops has changed over time.
To Mercedes it has become outdated and not beneficial.
But the hardtop does not make the SL…

js_cls

Sales will be low regardless of how good or bad the car is purely because we sadly live in a world that no longer admires convertibles or anything that doesn’t sit high off the ground.

mercedesmax

Sales numbers aren't an issue if per unit profit is where it needs to be.
The GT sells in really small numbers yet is quite profitable.

Utopia Texas

LOL, In the past the base GT sells for 40 thousand more than the base SL.

Wolfman

The SL will sell for GT pricing moving forward.

Utopia Texas

Ouch.....
Think I may go find another R231 for a spare. 😊

pmlnnrt

I am keeping my 2018 - no way would I sell it for a rag top - I predict in a few years - it will increase in value too -