Enjoy it in good health

 

I just picked this up and it’s been a glorious two days.

No it’s not a 911
No it’s not a GTR
No it’s not a Ferrari
No it’s not a Lambo
No it’s not a Conti GT

And I love it for that. Mercedes took the GT/SL/S and rolled them all together and brought the best of all of them, with almost none of their bad habits. (Other than the iPad display, but im used to it since I have an S)

It drives nearly as smooth at my new gen S Class Brabus, but it can haul *** and tear through the canyons in ease.

Yesterday and I took it to highway and the canyons and it just devoured it. Blowing through the curves with ease and looking for any chance to downshift and blast the AMG V8.

I own or have owned many of the “competitors”. They should not be cross shopped or in the same category.

I previously had a GTR, though it sounded amazing it drove like garbage outside of the real world. Cramped, stiff as all hell, and drove like garbage in town.

Currently I have a 992 GTS and had 991.2 Turbo S before this. The 911 is rough, wants to be constantly over 60 mph during any circumstance, and the steering wants to be gunning for the next curve. Probably the best sports car in the market, and I stress the sports part. In my opinion it makes a very uncomfortable daily, and does a bad job at being a cruiser with top down or up. I didn’t realize how impractical it was till getting the SL.

The Conti GT is a looker, and very classy ride. Yet, try hitting it through the canyon at even half of the capabilities of these other cars and you’ll think twice about doing it again.

Lamborghini is claustrophobic and fragile and also wants to be pushed. Ferrari V8 is amazingly easy to drive, and fairly comfortable… but try and drive it 100 miles in one day without worrying if and when something will happen. Even worst drive it in traffic all day, and the Ferrari will get upset.

Are these better track cars, yes.

Am I going to track my cars more than once or twice in its lifetime, no.

Are any of these cars smooth as silk, offer massage, put kids in the back with ice cream, having amazing sound system, and an AMG V8. No!

I can easily drive this on a 8 hour trip, and if I feel like it destroy nearly any car that lines up with it.

These car reviewers I think are very critical of this car for the wrong reasons. They compare it to 100% sport cars, when in the real world nobody is driving in that category 24/7.

Are the cars I mentioned bad cars, absolutely not. They are some the best in the world at what they do, but they are not good at doing everything well…. And that’s why I love this SL63.

 

On a final note, if you want one practical roadster and are privileged enough to get one. This is the r car.


If you have a fleet of weapons, for some reason you might still end up driving this one and the others for certain occasions.

Dear Mercedes, thank you for giving us one last chance at a brilliant vehicle with the legendary V8

 

Congrats on the new SL, and great write up and comparison. Now post some more pics of your new beast!

 

Congrats! Pics!

 

 

Gorgeous, enjoy your new beast!

 

Congrats and welcome to the club! Love the red.

 

Same color as mine but my wheels are silver; great write up BTW

 

beautiful

 

This Car is NOT to be compared with a Conti GT, a Ferrrari or a Lambo... not in the same league and will never be.. great car but just different levels and rides and joy. I have a ferrari 296gtb and that car blows my mind everytime I drive it so does my 600lt and my wifes X6m comp the point is that you are comparing apples with oranges..

Lastly Congrats on the car Enjoy it on Good Health !!!

 

I am really quite surprised that the SL 63 is never compared to an Aston Martin DB 11/12. So, both cars share the same 4.0 liter AMG V 8. Aston calls its new DB a “ super tourer” which would be a pretty good descriptor for the SL. Both companies shared for a while the same leader - Tobias Moers, who I am sure had a strong influence on both new cars.

There are no performance test yet on the DB12 to compare that aspect.

Of course the Aston has a very different price point, a truly luxurious interior and unlike theSL an infinite number of color and design choices.

However, all in all I think those two are more kindred spirits than a Porsche Turbo S convertible.

 

I have owned 3 Aston Martins, including a V-12 twin turbo DB11. The V-8 Vantages are a better comparison to the SL (both in cost and sportiness). The DB11/12 is a grand tourer (and you can fit more in the back seats). The interiors of the DB11/12 are in a different league. The SL feels like wearing a Hugo Boss suit. It fits me well, and can be worn without feeling under dressed. My DB11 was like wearing a Saville Row suit - impeccably tailored, bespoke, and it made you look/feel like a million bucks.

 

One other thing Aston Martin and AMG SL have in common - --- eye watering depreciation lol!

 

I took the plunge and purchased a 2022 SL63 as a replacement for my daily driver which was an e400 cabriolet. I was somewhat hesitant but now that I've had it for a couple weeks I have to say I am deeply in love with it.

I also own a 2016 AMG GTS. While from a significant distance they look somewhat the same and have somewhat similar specs, the driving experiences are vastly different. I will keep my GTS forever, I believe. It reminds me of the 240Z I desperately wanted as a kid. Compared to the SL it's a simple car, and a beast to drive.

The AMG SL63 is completely different. While the acceleration and cornering on paper are not that different than the GTS, the driving experience is far more like a grand tourer. This is a car that I believe I will be very happy driving every day. If I had to drive the GTS every day I suspect I would give it away (though on the right roads I fall in love with the GTS every time I drive it). So for me having both of those cars actually makes perfect sense.

I also find that Mercedes paid a lot of attention to the experience of being inside the SL63. And while I'm sure different people have different opinions on that, mine is that they hit it out of the park. Additionally, I find the technology quite useful. From reminding you if you've left your phone in the car to warning you if you are about to open the door with a bicycle approaching from behind.

So, it's early but please place me in the column of extremely pro when it comes to the new SL63. I realized that people who purchase cars are prone to saying how wonderful they are. But this is roughly my 20th Mercedes and 40th car, so the novelty aspect is not all that strong.

I hope the rest of you who take the plunge enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine. Looking forward to hearing your own reactions.

 

Congrats! What a lovely combo to have, enjoy it.

 

MurrayG are you planning to keep your E400 cabriolet?

 

It is already gone - I traded it in. It was a great car, never had any issues with it and was great to have a convertible with a (semi) usable back seat. Also, I bought it used, so never had to worry about parking it away from other cars, etc.

I also had the ECU tuned and, while certainly not a beast, it still had enough pep to make it fun.

 

Thank you. We are a Mercedes family. The many times I've strayed, I came back pretty quickly. For example, had a Range Rover for a bit and a Jag XK convertible for a bit - both in the last few years. They both suffered from lots of "personality", despite being beautiful and fun to drive. It always perplexes me when people find Mercedes unreliable. We've never had a Mercedes that is, but have experienced many unreliable non-Merc cars in addition to the two mentioned above.

Currently my wife has a GLE and I have a GLS 63 that's 6 years old but really does the job for long trips or when we have a lot of people to move around. I bought both of my daughters used 2010 to 2012 MLs. Very inexpensive, very reliable, and (most importantly) very safe. Just what I want for my girls especially when they were new drivers.

 

Great to hear.
I owned many MBs (including many CPO) and they never give me a huge headache. I will probably get a SL soon too.

 

Perhaps this should go in anther thread (and I can put it in its own thread if people think it is useful), but if you are soon to get a 232, I'll relate an interesting experience I had in case it is useful to you when I bought this 63.

The dealership had (what they said were) two identical cars with the specs I wanted, so I picked one of them at random. They were the same price down to the penny, and the MB option sheets they gave me listed the identical set of options - though the MB sheets were quite high level mostly listing the packages.

Before taking delivery, I checked out the VINs of both vehicles on one of the decoder sites out of curiosity. They did indeed look identical - even being made just a week or so apart, except for two codes that showed up on one car, but not on the other. They were

• option code 466 (active enginemounts), and
• option code 8A0 (reinforced transmission case).

I called the sales guy and he said the factory build sheets were identical. I pressed it, asking him to have a mechanic look at the car to verify, because the one I had chosen at random was the one that did NOT list the two option codes.

He called back later and said that actually I was correct - the other car had those options but mine did not. So - I switched my choice to the other car. I DO want the active engine mounts and hey - better a reinforced transmission case than not, right? I am still slightly confused because I thought active engine mounts were standard on the SL63. Maybe they made a few without???

Here is the VIN of the one I originally chose but then switched away from: W1KVK8BB4NF003474. Check it out for yourself and compare it to your VIN to make sure yours has them (if you care).

He did not say how they verified what I told them nor explained how they did not know in the first place.

Anyhow - I am not sure how useful this is to anyone other than to say make sure to do your homework.

Happy shopping!