I have put about 2000 miles on mine in the month I have had it - compared to 2300 I did in my 360 in a year!
A genuine Jekyl and Hyde - GT and B Road Maniac.
The engive and gearbox is certainly feeling free-er (spelling!) - improves by the mile. Can't wait to get 5k under her belt. And not so worried about each mile being a depreciation point as suffered by Ferrari's for some unfathomable reason.
Only dissapointment so far is the manual driving buttons behind the wheels - far too slow to change. But with all the torque who gives a damn.
What about other SL55 owners - how many miles have you copvered and can you feel the difference with more miles?
A genuine Jekyl and Hyde - GT and B Road Maniac.
The engive and gearbox is certainly feeling free-er (spelling!) - improves by the mile. Can't wait to get 5k under her belt. And not so worried about each mile being a depreciation point as suffered by Ferrari's for some unfathomable reason.
Only dissapointment so far is the manual driving buttons behind the wheels - far too slow to change. But with all the torque who gives a damn.
What about other SL55 owners - how many miles have you copvered and can you feel the difference with more miles?
Senior Member
Only dissapointment so far is the manual driving buttons behind the wheels - far too slow to change
Can u give me more detail in what u mean? I thought that this was supose to be faster than a manual
Can u give me more detail in what u mean? I thought that this was supose to be faster than a manual
Member
Personally I drove 6.500 Km in 3 month (july, september and october cause in August I used ML400cdi).
Beautifull car but ... last week .... during a worktrip Milan - Rome (500 km) a cpu controll of engine breaks down and my car use 7 or 6 (it depends) cylinder instead the 8.
Could You immagine my humor feeling the engine and accelerations pedal vibrations cause not all the cylinder work well.
The problem disappears just after a check in a MBdealer in Rome.
"We've solve the problem" nothing to pay, stay good.
But during the backway .... just near Milan .... on a highway I was looking for someone to race .... just near a porsche 996 turbo .... the problem arrives again .... the porsche disappears ijust in front of me .... damn.
Actually the car is in assistance for a complete check.
Bye
Andrea
Only 6.500 km and a new electronic cpu engine control.
Beautifull car but ... last week .... during a worktrip Milan - Rome (500 km) a cpu controll of engine breaks down and my car use 7 or 6 (it depends) cylinder instead the 8.
Could You immagine my humor feeling the engine and accelerations pedal vibrations cause not all the cylinder work well.
The problem disappears just after a check in a MBdealer in Rome.
"We've solve the problem" nothing to pay, stay good.
But during the backway .... just near Milan .... on a highway I was looking for someone to race .... just near a porsche 996 turbo .... the problem arrives again .... the porsche disappears ijust in front of me .... damn.
Actually the car is in assistance for a complete check.
Bye
Andrea
Only 6.500 km and a new electronic cpu engine control.
MBWorld Fanatic!
I'm just over a 1000 miles. Only problem is a mis-aligned bonnet (hood) hinge which I fixed myself - loosen three bolts, get the alignment right and tighten.
I think the feature of the wheel gear-change is a little over-sold. At the end of the day, it's still selecting a gear through an automatic box and is not going to be lightning quick. Morebhp might have had the F1 option on his 360 which is quicker than a manual but subtle and kind to clutches it is not.
Compared to that, the SL55 change is slower but there's so much more torque than on a Ferrari that you don't have change gear very much. A Ferrari can be seriously embarassed if you're in the wrong gear. In the SL55, you just put your foot down and enjoy the white knuckles of your passenger as she holds on to whatever she can find.
I think the feature of the wheel gear-change is a little over-sold. At the end of the day, it's still selecting a gear through an automatic box and is not going to be lightning quick. Morebhp might have had the F1 option on his 360 which is quicker than a manual but subtle and kind to clutches it is not.
Compared to that, the SL55 change is slower but there's so much more torque than on a Ferrari that you don't have change gear very much. A Ferrari can be seriously embarassed if you're in the wrong gear. In the SL55, you just put your foot down and enjoy the white knuckles of your passenger as she holds on to whatever she can find.
BlueSL has covered it well - I did have F1 on the Ferrari which I thought was superb. A fast and violent change for a fast and violent car.
As stated the SL has so much torque and the auto box is pretty quick to change anyway so the buttons are pretty redundant. The +/- on the lever appears faster than the wheel buttons.
This is my only upset - I like to be very involved, never drove the 360 in auto mode 'ever'.
Evo magazine went someway to showing how excellent the driver aids are on the SL55 when they could not get close to the automated time through a slalom with them turned off.
As stated the SL has so much torque and the auto box is pretty quick to change anyway so the buttons are pretty redundant. The +/- on the lever appears faster than the wheel buttons.
This is my only upset - I like to be very involved, never drove the 360 in auto mode 'ever'.
Evo magazine went someway to showing how excellent the driver aids are on the SL55 when they could not get close to the automated time through a slalom with them turned off.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Quote from this week's Autocar:
"But if one car has redefined for us what convertible motoring really should be, it is the new Mercedes SL. In standard 5.0 litre form it proved good enough to dispatch its rivals from Porsche, BMW, Jaguar and Maserati. As for the £89k SL55 - it makes us wonder how the forthcoming McLaren-Mercedes SLR is going to justify costing nearly three times as much".
Amen to that. The car really is that good.
"But if one car has redefined for us what convertible motoring really should be, it is the new Mercedes SL. In standard 5.0 litre form it proved good enough to dispatch its rivals from Porsche, BMW, Jaguar and Maserati. As for the £89k SL55 - it makes us wonder how the forthcoming McLaren-Mercedes SLR is going to justify costing nearly three times as much".
Amen to that. The car really is that good.
Newbie
So far I managed to get 750 miles on mine - the perfect car for cruising on PCH. Everyhting is better than expected, no problems so far. As previously stated, manual shifters not quite as responsive, but torque makes up for it. Outperforms almost anyhting you'll ever encounter on the road; embarassed a 996 Turbo the other day on a long incline on Newport Coast Drive - he did not know what hit him.
One thing you'll learn very quickly is that it does not matter which lane you end up at a red light - as long as you are first, you will be wherever you want to be 2 seconds later...
One thing you'll learn very quickly is that it does not matter which lane you end up at a red light - as long as you are first, you will be wherever you want to be 2 seconds later...
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