SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: Yipee. I can drive my SL55 now.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Berkshire, UK
2004 SL55, 2015 A250d, 2016 GLC250d
Yipee. I can drive my SL55 now.
Yipee, its 1st September 00:00 here in the UK, which means my car is now driveable.
(We get new numberplates on 1st sept and 1st March (or was it april), and as I wanted new numberplates its been sat in my garage for a couple of weeks staring at me saying "go on, drive me")
Sadly, Ive had a very long day and I think I better wait until the morning ... especially as I promised my nearly 4 year old that she would be in the car on the first trip. She beleives it is her car :-)
R
(We get new numberplates on 1st sept and 1st March (or was it april), and as I wanted new numberplates its been sat in my garage for a couple of weeks staring at me saying "go on, drive me")
Sadly, Ive had a very long day and I think I better wait until the morning ... especially as I promised my nearly 4 year old that she would be in the car on the first trip. She beleives it is her car :-)
R
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,447
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From: UK
SL55 AMG
Enjoy it....
Do you have the Mercedes child seat with the transponder to disable the airbags? I guess your daughter cannot sit in the front seat without one.
What do you drive for "family transport" - don't tell me, a V class, two cars at the opposite ends of the desirability spectrum - I don't see much activity on the V class forum
Do you have the Mercedes child seat with the transponder to disable the airbags? I guess your daughter cannot sit in the front seat without one.
What do you drive for "family transport" - don't tell me, a V class, two cars at the opposite ends of the desirability spectrum - I don't see much activity on the V class forum
Super Member
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: UG
2013 ML63 AMG PP
Enjoy!
At last, your day has come!
After all you went through with the faults, then the wait, I hope you really enjoy it!
Of course after that we all expect pics and detailed findings!
GMW
After all you went through with the faults, then the wait, I hope you really enjoy it!
Of course after that we all expect pics and detailed findings!
GMW
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Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,148
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From: Berkshire, UK
2004 SL55, 2015 A250d, 2016 GLC250d
Originally posted by blueSL
Enjoy it....
Enjoy it....
Anyway, needless to say its Excellent !!!! It drives like a *****cat until you press the throttle more than about an inch, then its a Lion. The exhaust note is stunning. As you start it you get a nice "roar" to let people know :-) then its pretty quiet until you give it a bit of right foot and it basically throbs loudly. But by the time people look round you've gone !!
Its definetly a "driving licence loser". 70mph is about 1/3 way round the speedo, if you normally cruise with the needle straight up then you'll be doing 100mph, and it gets there so quick and is so firm footed that you just find yourself doing that speed - might have to use the permanent speed limiter for a while .... Our speed limit on motorways is 70mph
With the multi-contour seats [etc] its stunningly comfortable (much more so than my old CLK55) and you could certainly drive hundreds of miles in a day and get out without noticing it !
Ive been accelerating and braking, and a bit of stop start. So far, 9.6 MPG. And thats UK Gallons, which are 4.55 litres, unlike your US 4 liter gallons. I guess if you do hundreds of miles in a day you'll be stopping for fuel a lot.
Anyway, Im about to go back out again ....
R
Last edited by Richard; Sep 1, 2002 at 07:10 AM.
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Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 308
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From: UK
its great to hear your first impressions Richard but 9.6 miles per UK gallon!!! ouch...after a few hundred miles the engine should free up and you should be well into double figues. I see MB official figures are city driving 13.5 and combined city and urban is 19.6.
Look forward to hearing more
Cheers Paul
Look forward to hearing more
Cheers Paul
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,148
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From: Berkshire, UK
2004 SL55, 2015 A250d, 2016 GLC250d
I guess Im only getting low economy because I keep on enjoying the acceleration, and ive done no long steady-speed journeys at all.
Ive just driven it for the first time with the roof up in the dark. The roof insulates the passengers from almost all the exhaust noise - unsuprisingly theres a reasonable amount of tyre noise given the size of the things :-)
The center console in aluminum looks excellent, its a very very light coloured aluminium, and theres an orange light in the bottom of the mirror that illuminates the centre console trim really nicely. Also, the interior door opening pull things are also lit from inside the handle area which illuminates the top edge of the metal pulls - really nice !!
Theres a couple of nice other features (im using keyless go, maybee this is pat of that) - when you turn the engine off, the COMAND gets quieter, but stays on (perhaps part of the digital bose stuff). COMAND only turns off when you open the drivers door .
The only annoying thing ive found so far is that the heating controls are hard to see what temperature you have set on it, and as the knobs are have lots of small clicks as you rotate (rather than one every half a degree like in my wife's ML), it means you probably take your eyes of the road for longer than you should !
R
Ive just driven it for the first time with the roof up in the dark. The roof insulates the passengers from almost all the exhaust noise - unsuprisingly theres a reasonable amount of tyre noise given the size of the things :-)
The center console in aluminum looks excellent, its a very very light coloured aluminium, and theres an orange light in the bottom of the mirror that illuminates the centre console trim really nicely. Also, the interior door opening pull things are also lit from inside the handle area which illuminates the top edge of the metal pulls - really nice !!
Theres a couple of nice other features (im using keyless go, maybee this is pat of that) - when you turn the engine off, the COMAND gets quieter, but stays on (perhaps part of the digital bose stuff). COMAND only turns off when you open the drivers door .
The only annoying thing ive found so far is that the heating controls are hard to see what temperature you have set on it, and as the knobs are have lots of small clicks as you rotate (rather than one every half a degree like in my wife's ML), it means you probably take your eyes of the road for longer than you should !
R
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 308
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From: UK
Richard
I drove an SL 500 for about 30 miles last weekend, mix of town and country, and was surprised I only managed 16.5 mpg. Ok I was having some fun but was told fuel consumption would improve and was probably due to the adaptive gearbox and accelerator being unused to my driving style. This was my second 500 SL drive and the accelerator responses from the two cars seemed totally different. The first car's accelerator pedal seemed normal, whereas I only had to just touch the pedal on the second car to get the same response.
I agree with you about the tyre noise. Was surprised it was so high on both models of SL 500 I drove - one with standard 17" rims (Michelin), one with 18" AMGs (Pirelli). There is an interesting article about tyre choice in this months Mercedes-Benz Club magazine - author Ian Kuah reckons Dunlops are best for comfort and low noise but their ultimate grip and sharpness is slightly shaded by the Michelins and Pirellis.
I changed the factory fit Dunlops on my SLK for Michelins for better wear and wet grip and wished I hadnt due to increased noise.
Agree with you too about the fiddly heater controls - their rubbery/vague feel is surpising in a car of this quality too - and half of the controls are hidden behind the gearshift when in Park. Mercedes argue that the idea is to leave the control permanently on 18 or 20 C and let the auto climate control do the work. I think climate control in 129 model SL and just superseded E class with big buttons is much more robust and easier to use.
Cheers Paul
I drove an SL 500 for about 30 miles last weekend, mix of town and country, and was surprised I only managed 16.5 mpg. Ok I was having some fun but was told fuel consumption would improve and was probably due to the adaptive gearbox and accelerator being unused to my driving style. This was my second 500 SL drive and the accelerator responses from the two cars seemed totally different. The first car's accelerator pedal seemed normal, whereas I only had to just touch the pedal on the second car to get the same response.
I agree with you about the tyre noise. Was surprised it was so high on both models of SL 500 I drove - one with standard 17" rims (Michelin), one with 18" AMGs (Pirelli). There is an interesting article about tyre choice in this months Mercedes-Benz Club magazine - author Ian Kuah reckons Dunlops are best for comfort and low noise but their ultimate grip and sharpness is slightly shaded by the Michelins and Pirellis.
I changed the factory fit Dunlops on my SLK for Michelins for better wear and wet grip and wished I hadnt due to increased noise.
Agree with you too about the fiddly heater controls - their rubbery/vague feel is surpising in a car of this quality too - and half of the controls are hidden behind the gearshift when in Park. Mercedes argue that the idea is to leave the control permanently on 18 or 20 C and let the auto climate control do the work. I think climate control in 129 model SL and just superseded E class with big buttons is much more robust and easier to use.
Cheers Paul
Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 78
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From: Italy
ML400cdi and SL55amg
Welcome on board Richard.
I hope to see you in a Europe meeting just before the winter time cause I think it will be incredible drive SL55 with snow
For raining time I can grant You that on a Suisse Highway I've not any problem till 160 km/h and this is incredible for me if we consider that SL is a rear trasmission and for a car and my previous car were 4WD.
Tell me if you feel (driving open) like 4 Ducati engines or 4 Triumph/Buell engines on your back when You throttle ??????
Have a nice week
Bye
I hope to see you in a Europe meeting just before the winter time cause I think it will be incredible drive SL55 with snow
For raining time I can grant You that on a Suisse Highway I've not any problem till 160 km/h and this is incredible for me if we consider that SL is a rear trasmission and for a car and my previous car were 4WD.
Tell me if you feel (driving open) like 4 Ducati engines or 4 Triumph/Buell engines on your back when You throttle ??????
Have a nice week
Bye
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 20,081
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From: Chicago
Volvo V90 CC
Welcom Richard, I'm sure your daugther will enjoy her car just as much as you will. post some pics when you get a chance and for god sake, let her drive, just like I let mine, here is a proof.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,148
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From: Berkshire, UK
2004 SL55, 2015 A250d, 2016 GLC250d
The really strange thing about driving the SL55 is that every time you approach a set of traffic lights you will them to become RED, so that you can listen to the engine as you accelerate again !!!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,447
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From: UK
SL55 AMG
Richard, was it you I was bidding against for a licence plate "55 OO"? I dropped out at about £15k, I've gone instead for V8 xxx, where xxx are my initials. Boring but much less expensive (£399)
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 20,081
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From: Chicago
Volvo V90 CC
Originally posted by Richard
The really strange thing about driving the SL55 is that every time you approach a set of traffic lights you will them to become RED, so that you can listen to the engine as you accelerate again !!!
The really strange thing about driving the SL55 is that every time you approach a set of traffic lights you will them to become RED, so that you can listen to the engine as you accelerate again !!!
