SL/R232: Mercedes-AMG Unveils the New 7th Generation SL Roadster
#101
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Yes, and just becomes exponentially more noticeable at higher speeds. The Portofino handles it a little better than the California did, but it's still not ideal for a sports car. Don't get me wrong I still understand the creature comforts of a hard top, but if I was the one designing the car and handling was a focus, I would have made the change to a soft top as well.
Last edited by Streamliner; 10-31-2021 at 10:46 PM.
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These threads are starting to feel like the new W223 S-class forum where W222 owners are posting just of how much better the prior models are.
While I sympathize over some lost features on the new SL, they are gone and are not coming back. Time to get used to that.
For those you can’t live without the hard top, stay with your current car. It won’t make it the better car but it will make it the better choice.
From what I have seen, we likely stick with our current ride but am eager to test drive the new SL63. But I will judge the car for what it is an not what it isn’t.
While I sympathize over some lost features on the new SL, they are gone and are not coming back. Time to get used to that.
For those you can’t live without the hard top, stay with your current car. It won’t make it the better car but it will make it the better choice.
From what I have seen, we likely stick with our current ride but am eager to test drive the new SL63. But I will judge the car for what it is an not what it isn’t.
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#105
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These threads are starting to feel like the new W223 S-class forum where W222 owners are posting just of how much better the prior models are.
While I sympathize over some lost features on the new SL, they are gone and are not coming back. Time to get used to that.
For those you can’t live without the hard top, stay with your current car. It won’t make it the better car but it will make it the better choice.
From what I have seen, we likely stick with our current ride but am eager to test drive the new SL63. But I will judge the car for what it is an not what it isn’t.
While I sympathize over some lost features on the new SL, they are gone and are not coming back. Time to get used to that.
For those you can’t live without the hard top, stay with your current car. It won’t make it the better car but it will make it the better choice.
From what I have seen, we likely stick with our current ride but am eager to test drive the new SL63. But I will judge the car for what it is an not what it isn’t.
#106
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I suppose under this logic, a coupe with a fixed roof is not the best configuration for a sports car.
I test drove the Portofino M and it offers all the handling a person could ask for in a practical convertible. It’s a sports car, and it will surely out-handle this new R232 behemoth.
I mean, what are we doing here. What are we talking about with fixed roof vs soft top. Does anyone see the logic in an obese person giving a speech about why he/she always eats Quinoa cereal for breakfast with skim milk?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way my SL63 handles - it absolutely crushed the canyons of North Carolina and Tennessee. I’ve lived it. I also hit 150mph multiple times in a controlled environment and the car drives effortlessly at that speed. Without excessive noise. Thank you, hard top. (Ever drive in Germany? The SL63 is an autobahn crusher. Thank you, hard top.)
I highly doubt the 185,” 4500lbs R232 without ABC (with a wheelbase 5” longer than the outgoing car) is going to out-handle my smaller, lighter SL63. My SL63 can do just about everything a 911 can do on canyon roads. Not quite, but it’s darn close. It’s a car that doesn’t receive enough credit.
I test drove the Portofino M and it offers all the handling a person could ask for in a practical convertible. It’s a sports car, and it will surely out-handle this new R232 behemoth.
I mean, what are we doing here. What are we talking about with fixed roof vs soft top. Does anyone see the logic in an obese person giving a speech about why he/she always eats Quinoa cereal for breakfast with skim milk?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way my SL63 handles - it absolutely crushed the canyons of North Carolina and Tennessee. I’ve lived it. I also hit 150mph multiple times in a controlled environment and the car drives effortlessly at that speed. Without excessive noise. Thank you, hard top. (Ever drive in Germany? The SL63 is an autobahn crusher. Thank you, hard top.)
I highly doubt the 185,” 4500lbs R232 without ABC (with a wheelbase 5” longer than the outgoing car) is going to out-handle my smaller, lighter SL63. My SL63 can do just about everything a 911 can do on canyon roads. Not quite, but it’s darn close. It’s a car that doesn’t receive enough credit.
The Portofino is of course great and I loved my time in one. I wonder if the SL's starting price was $215,000 if they could've found more room to lightweight the platform. Alas, it's going to start about $100k under that and Mercedes has margins to mind.
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#107
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I'll take you up on that bet. I'm 100% willing to bet the R232 with it's lower center of gravity and more aggressive suspension setup is going to outhandle the R231 SL63. With AMG leading the development and it's platform also meant for the AMG GT it's going to be more dedicated towards handling and agility than the previous model, which was already great (I've got plenty of seat time in a SL63). ABC isn't some magic cure-all suspension solution- the breadth it provides is notable but it's best capability isn't actually in aiding responsiveness. There's a reason AMG's most hardcore, best handling vehicles don't have ABC. The AMG GT 63 S is north of 4500lbs too and many reviewers have noted it's razor sharp handling. This will come out the expense of ride, sure, but the GT capabilities in early reviews of the SL have already been noted. Yes this newest SL is heading in a more sporting direction and I think that's appropriate given the cruiser crowd is dwindling in existence. Mercedes themselves admitted even when the R231 was in production that the average SL owner age was trending too high and they needed to appeal to a younger clientele.
The Portofino is of course great and I loved my time in one. I wonder if the SL's starting price was $215,000 if they could've found more room to lightweight the platform. Alas, it's going to start about $100k under that and Mercedes has margins to mind.
The Portofino is of course great and I loved my time in one. I wonder if the SL's starting price was $215,000 if they could've found more room to lightweight the platform. Alas, it's going to start about $100k under that and Mercedes has margins to mind.
M
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#108
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Anent the hard-top vs. soft-top convertible debate: I've had both, a 2013 SL63 (hard-top) and a 2017 S63 cabriolet (soft-top). I found the fabric top on the S63 to be every bit as quiet as the SL63, with respect to road noise, wind noise, and rain. The only disadvantage with the fabric roof is the lack of the "Magic Sky" sunroof, which is a trivial matter. The fabric roof saves a bit of weight (thus lowering the car's center of gravity, improving the handling a bit in theory), and takes less trunk space when it's down (though trunk space is down due to the addition of the midget back seats). I approve of the switch to fabric on the new SL, and I've placed an order for one.
Different subject: Some of the videos I've seen of the new SL show that the rear turn signals are amber, and sequential. I'm guessing that this is the Euro spec. Anyone know?
Different subject: Some of the videos I've seen of the new SL show that the rear turn signals are amber, and sequential. I'm guessing that this is the Euro spec. Anyone know?
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Anent the hard-top vs. soft-top convertible debate: I've had both, a 2013 SL63 (hard-top) and a 2017 S63 cabriolet (soft-top). I found the fabric top on the S63 to be every bit as quiet as the SL63, with respect to road noise, wind noise, and rain. The only disadvantage with the fabric roof is the lack of the "Magic Sky" sunroof, which is a trivial matter. The fabric roof saves a bit of weight (thus lowering the car's center of gravity, improving the handling a bit in theory), and takes less trunk space when it's down (though trunk space is down due to the addition of the midget back seats). I approve of the switch to fabric on the new SL, and I've placed an order for one.
Different subject: Some of the videos I've seen of the new SL show that the rear turn signals are amber, and sequential. I'm guessing that this is the Euro spec. Anyone know?
Different subject: Some of the videos I've seen of the new SL show that the rear turn signals are amber, and sequential. I'm guessing that this is the Euro spec. Anyone know?
#110
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Last edited by slk55er; 11-01-2021 at 06:38 PM.
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Sorry to disagree but ----For those of us who want, need, appreciate and love our retractable hardtop, the new SL will not be the better choice. Our current R231models ARE and WILL BE the better car....for us. Personally, I think my '19 SL550 is beautiful. And I don't understand why the SL53 would not have the same M256 mild hybrid 48-volt system that is in my CLS53 and GLE53 which is on it's way from the VPC in Baltimore. 450hp and 568lb-ft with a 0-60 under 4 seconds would be .... go ahead -- you fill in the word. (My word is "adequate").
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slk55er (11-01-2021)
#112
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I'll take you up on that bet. I'm 100% willing to bet the R232 with it's lower center of gravity and more aggressive suspension setup is going to outhandle the R231 SL63. With AMG leading the development and it's platform also meant for the AMG GT it's going to be more dedicated towards handling and agility than the previous model, which was already great (I've got plenty of seat time in a SL63). ABC isn't some magic cure-all suspension solution- the breadth it provides is notable but it's best capability isn't actually in aiding responsiveness. There's a reason AMG's most hardcore, best handling vehicles don't have ABC. The AMG GT 63 S is north of 4500lbs too and many reviewers have noted it's razor sharp handling. This will come out the expense of ride, sure, but the GT capabilities in early reviews of the SL have already been noted. Yes this newest SL is heading in a more sporting direction and I think that's appropriate given the cruiser crowd is dwindling in existence. Mercedes themselves admitted even when the R231 was in production that the average SL owner age was trending too high and they needed to appeal to a younger clientele.
The Portofino is of course great and I loved my time in one. I wonder if the SL's starting price was $215,000 if they could've found more room to lightweight the platform. Alas, it's going to start about $100k under that and Mercedes has margins to mind.
The Portofino is of course great and I loved my time in one. I wonder if the SL's starting price was $215,000 if they could've found more room to lightweight the platform. Alas, it's going to start about $100k under that and Mercedes has margins to mind.
Last edited by Wolfman; 11-02-2021 at 08:58 AM.
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AMG's approach to suspensions on their AWD cars had been Airmatic pumped up to the max, at least on our E63s. It performed well but ride quality suffered. ABC is/was definitely a better approach but MB decided years ago to keep it solely for RWD cars. So the new AMG Active Ride Control with Air suspension and hydraulic unit-roll stabilization sounds like an interesting approach to provide a smoother ride while offering better handling dynamics...
#114
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AMG's approach to suspensions on their AWD cars had been Airmatic pumped up to the max, at least on our E63s. It performed well but ride quality suffered. ABC is/was definitely a better approach but MB decided years ago to keep it solely for RWD cars. So the new AMG Active Ride Control with Air suspension and hydraulic unit-roll stabilization sounds like an interesting approach to provide a smoother ride while offering better handling dynamics...
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Neither GLE or GLS is using ABC. eABC is different tech…
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Germancar1 (11-02-2021)
#116
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I highly doubt the 185,” 4500lbs R232 without ABC (with a wheelbase 5” longer than the outgoing car) is going to out-handle my smaller, lighter SL63. My SL63 can do just about everything a 911 can do on canyon roads. Not quite, but it’s darn close. It’s a car that doesn’t receive enough credit.
I have no doubt this car will handle well, though I want to see how comfortable the suspension tune is in softer modes.
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WCampbellAZ (11-02-2021)
#117
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I posted something similar in the R231 forum, but I see the conversation is more lively here
Coming from an R230 SL65, in which it was one of my dream cars, here's my opinion in regards to some of the things posted here in this thread:
1) Yes, the weight is shockingly heavy. But we all need to realize that (at least in the US market) Mercedes is a luxury brand first, performance brand second. This car was meant to combine 6 vehicles as stated earlier. When you have something like a C63S Cab that can blow the doors off of a R231 in regards to performance, design, luxury, etc, this new SL needed to wear many hats. Those hats include the luxury buyer desire to want "stuff". Want the latest tech? That's stuff. Want the latest 5-star crash ratings from 48 different angles (or however many they're trying to infinitely predict)? That's stuff. And guess what, "stuff" is heavy. So I attribute the surprising weight increase to "stuff". All vehicles, will get heavier in the future. Always have and will continue. The days of a sub-3000 lb car are gone; and it was gone more than a decade ago.
2) The R231 appears to be a great a car, although I've never driven one. The problem with it was the exterior design. It was hideous. As for the interior, unfortunately the SL was caught in a weird time in Mercedes design. The hard-angled 08-14ish designs did not mesh well with the future softer luxurious designs of the 15+ models being released (W205, W222, etc). You can see how MB tried to mesh the designs together with the mid-cycle refreshes of the W212, CLS, etc - a rounded front bumper tacked onto a squared off body. They tried to make it work and hide it, but the obvious design differences were there. At least, they knew those vehicles were being replaced soon so they got by. The SL was one of those that they did a refresh (especially to the front end), but you can tell that the design is not cohesive at all between the front end, side profile, and rear end. Another flaw though was the R231 interior, as it needed a drastic refresh (such as what they did on the W204), but they weren't either willing to make the investment or there was some other issue that they decided to leave the interior with the past design language, making it significantly look out of place from anything in 2015-18 that matched the latest A, C, E, S, or GT offerings.
3) In regards to ABC, we don't know what it truly cost Mercedes, especially in the early cars. The amount of warranty work that was paid out was probably significant. At the same time, we all know it only takes one bad experience to turn off a customer for at least 1 generation of vehicle. ABC was great, but what did it truly cost, given how many issues and downed cars the systems caused?
So in the end, to consolidate a line of convertibles and sell a modern car, I think MB has put together a fantastic offering. I love it. Does it mean to me what my R230 V12 AMG meant? No, but that's on me. And we all need to accept that the future will bring different things, and there are consequences of wanting "more" (like the weight). I hope this new SL does well, because I personally think it appears to be a fantastic vehicle.
Coming from an R230 SL65, in which it was one of my dream cars, here's my opinion in regards to some of the things posted here in this thread:
1) Yes, the weight is shockingly heavy. But we all need to realize that (at least in the US market) Mercedes is a luxury brand first, performance brand second. This car was meant to combine 6 vehicles as stated earlier. When you have something like a C63S Cab that can blow the doors off of a R231 in regards to performance, design, luxury, etc, this new SL needed to wear many hats. Those hats include the luxury buyer desire to want "stuff". Want the latest tech? That's stuff. Want the latest 5-star crash ratings from 48 different angles (or however many they're trying to infinitely predict)? That's stuff. And guess what, "stuff" is heavy. So I attribute the surprising weight increase to "stuff". All vehicles, will get heavier in the future. Always have and will continue. The days of a sub-3000 lb car are gone; and it was gone more than a decade ago.
2) The R231 appears to be a great a car, although I've never driven one. The problem with it was the exterior design. It was hideous. As for the interior, unfortunately the SL was caught in a weird time in Mercedes design. The hard-angled 08-14ish designs did not mesh well with the future softer luxurious designs of the 15+ models being released (W205, W222, etc). You can see how MB tried to mesh the designs together with the mid-cycle refreshes of the W212, CLS, etc - a rounded front bumper tacked onto a squared off body. They tried to make it work and hide it, but the obvious design differences were there. At least, they knew those vehicles were being replaced soon so they got by. The SL was one of those that they did a refresh (especially to the front end), but you can tell that the design is not cohesive at all between the front end, side profile, and rear end. Another flaw though was the R231 interior, as it needed a drastic refresh (such as what they did on the W204), but they weren't either willing to make the investment or there was some other issue that they decided to leave the interior with the past design language, making it significantly look out of place from anything in 2015-18 that matched the latest A, C, E, S, or GT offerings.
3) In regards to ABC, we don't know what it truly cost Mercedes, especially in the early cars. The amount of warranty work that was paid out was probably significant. At the same time, we all know it only takes one bad experience to turn off a customer for at least 1 generation of vehicle. ABC was great, but what did it truly cost, given how many issues and downed cars the systems caused?
So in the end, to consolidate a line of convertibles and sell a modern car, I think MB has put together a fantastic offering. I love it. Does it mean to me what my R230 V12 AMG meant? No, but that's on me. And we all need to accept that the future will bring different things, and there are consequences of wanting "more" (like the weight). I hope this new SL does well, because I personally think it appears to be a fantastic vehicle.
Last edited by Viper98912; 11-02-2021 at 11:35 AM.
#119
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eABC still uses hydraulic pumps, they're just now driven by 48v motors. A continued modernization of the suspension setup. Upon further review I must agree with you, the Maybach S680 4-matic doesn't seem to have eABC but the Maybach S580 4-Matic does. https://media.mbusa.com/releases/202...ishedAscending
#120
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It looks an AMG GT and a CLA had a baby..
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places (11-02-2021)
#121
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E-ACTIVE BODY CONTROL in the GLE supplements the air suspension with semi-supporting hydropneumatics. The air springs bear the base load of the vehicle body and gradually regulate the level. The hydropneumatics generate dynamic forces that overlay the air suspension forces, and actively support and dampen the vehicle body.
The motor/pump units at all four wheels are coordinated by a central control unit which also actuates the valves and the compressor for the air spring, and therefore always controls the entire suspension system. It was developed according to the safety standard ISO 26262.
In other words, ABC got modernized.
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slk55er (11-02-2021)
#123
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Yes, exactly. Previously the hydraulic servos were mounted on a spring strut. In effect, the ABC system overlaid a conventional suspension that consisted of a spring and shock absorber but added a hydraulically adjusted cylinder. Now with eABC hydraulic lines are connected to the dampers to overlay Airmatic and require much less energy. You could've just posted the rest of the press release:At each wheel, a damper is installed within the axle whose two working chambers have an adjustable damping valve and a hydraulic pressure reservoir. The damper is connected to an intelligent motor/pump unit in the 48 V network by hydraulic lines. Actuation of the motor/pump unit enables the hydraulic fluid to be displaced to create a difference in pressure within the damper, allowing an active force to be generated.
The motor/pump units at all four wheels are coordinated by a central control unit which also actuates the valves and the compressor for the air spring, and therefore always controls the entire suspension system. It was developed according to the safety standard ISO 26262.
In other words, ABC got modernized.
The motor/pump units at all four wheels are coordinated by a central control unit which also actuates the valves and the compressor for the air spring, and therefore always controls the entire suspension system. It was developed according to the safety standard ISO 26262.
In other words, ABC got modernized.
Last edited by Wolfman; 11-02-2021 at 03:09 PM.
#124
Member
My understanding is that ABC hydraulics were in series with the spring, while eABC hydraulics are in parallel with the (air) spring. The R232 Active Ride Control suspension has hydraulic struts in parallel to springs similar to eABC, but paired with steel springs instead of air springs, and it passively resists roll up to an adjustable pressure difference, rather than actively counteracting roll.
#125
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Price point
I'll take you up on that bet. I'm 100% willing to bet the R232 with it's lower center of gravity and more aggressive suspension setup is going to outhandle the R231 SL63. With AMG leading the development and it's platform also meant for the AMG GT it's going to be more dedicated towards handling and agility than the previous model, which was already great (I've got plenty of seat time in a SL63). ABC isn't some magic cure-all suspension solution- the breadth it provides is notable but it's best capability isn't actually in aiding responsiveness. There's a reason AMG's most hardcore, best handling vehicles don't have ABC. The AMG GT 63 S is north of 4500lbs too and many reviewers have noted it's razor sharp handling. This will come out the expense of ride, sure, but the GT capabilities in early reviews of the SL have already been noted. Yes this newest SL is heading in a more sporting direction and I think that's appropriate given the cruiser crowd is dwindling in existence. Mercedes themselves admitted even when the R231 was in production that the average SL owner age was trending too high and they needed to appeal to a younger clientele.
The Portofino is of course great and I loved my time in one. I wonder if the SL's starting price was $215,000 if they could've found more room to lightweight the platform. Alas, it's going to start about $100k under that and Mercedes has margins to mind.
The Portofino is of course great and I loved my time in one. I wonder if the SL's starting price was $215,000 if they could've found more room to lightweight the platform. Alas, it's going to start about $100k under that and Mercedes has margins to mind.