slsixtythree

First time poster here. I fell in love with this car when it first debuted at the Geneva Car show. And for that reason, I waited four months for my local dealer to deliver a smashing new Diamond White on Red SL63. I love the contrast the white has with the black grills, i love the diamond wedge shape in the front, and i love the rear too.

There are so many things about this car that puts a huge grin on my face; from the moment i hear the car roar when i start the keyless ignition, to when the top lowers so incredibly fast and the sky is suddenly open to me.

The power of this car boggles my mind. Upgrading from a CLK500CAB, i am amazed at how much hp and torque that is put in cars these days. So much power in fact that i often find the rear wheels fighting for traction when i dip the throttle to hard. This car eats pavement fast.

I love the new transmission. I dont have a technical term to explain it. My own feel is that it is really smooth and works lickity split.

I love the exhaust sound. Damn this car sounds mean. I get to listen to this sound all in the comfort of luxury that only MB has.

I love my panoramic hard top roof. Its just the best of both worlds.

My only unexpected gripe is the diabolical comand system. I just find it terribly difficult to use. I dont like how the tabs are highlighted and that it is not touchscreen. The harddrive it comes with seems bogus too. Being a relatively young tech savy person, i found tremendous difficulty simply downloading songs into the harddrive. In fact, my dealer didn't know either. And after some consultations with head office, finally was successful. Altogether, doesn't seem worth it.

And in addition, very disappointed that the seats dont automatically slide back when i open the door nor does the seat belt protract forward. All these creature comforts i was pampered with in the CLK500. And comforts i find would be even more beneficial in the SL which is so low slung, that if the car would slide my seats back when i enter i wouldn't have to be so paranoid about scuffing those gorgeous AMG door sills.

Anyhow, all is forgotten when that ignition button is pressed and my sirius radio comes on .

Here are some pics. Enjoy!

Germancar1

Nice writeup, more pics please. You don't want that seatbelt feature in the SL, seatbelt needs to be attached to seat, not the body of the car.

M

spnslc

Although I don't have any gripes about the seats or seatbelts, I agree with your other comments completely. I love my SL63 AMG; the super fast/smooth transmission, the sound at start up (puts a smile on my face), the growl of that exhaust note (the best, especially top down!), the hp, the pano roof, and the convertible top. And, like you, I don't like that "diabolical" COMAND screen (great description). I have to pull over to the side of the road just to navigate through the screens and highlight the correct tab. I gave up trying to download songs to the hard drive (I am also tech saavy, but couldn't figure it out, the manual was useless), so my iPod is connected to the COMAND and I am perfectly happy using it. This car has become an addiction for me.

Your white/red SL63 is a great choice. I almost changed my color choice to white when I saw those same Geneva pics, but I stuck with my favorite color combo, black/stone. Here is mine:

DCMETRO22Z

Am I the only one to hate that part on the front fenders that isn't painted the same color as the rest of the car??

BTW, Both 63's in this thread are great.

MSL01

second that - on a dark car it looks like they forgot to paint part of the car. nice car otherwise.

Fantasm

looks good in person

Imahobo

Originally Posted by DCMETRO22Z
Am I the only one to hate that part on the front fenders that isn't painted the same color as the rest of the car??

And a third...

I sort of resent having to paint parts of a new car to make it look right.

CY

White one is SICK.

kwaobus

awesome car, congrats!

MB Fanatic

Congrats. We have the near same cars. I BTW love the new COMAND system, its much easier to use than the previous generation and actually more useful since BT is integrated, and the iPod actually shows up on the COMAND screen.

Murtaza

+1 looks awesome

slsixtythree

Great Car splnsc! Can never go wrong with Blk on Stone, I love the contrast there too. Blk was my second (almost first choice!) but I figured my other car is Blk too, so I wanted something different.

What is the part on the front fender that is not painted the same as the rest of this car?

spnslc

Some people really don't like the new silver side vents on the SLs; especially the silver ones on the darker-colored SLs. Although I like the old-style vents better, I don't mind these new silver ones. I think they accentuate those long lines that run down the length of the car.

I would rather have silver vents than black vents on my black car, no doubt for me.

slsixtythree

OH okay, gottcha. My take on the side vents is this. REgarding the color, I like the contrast the vent has with the rest of the car. Of all things about this car that looks a lot better in person is the side vents.

In terms of the styling of the vent, tts one of those things where, I dont think its necessarily better than the old grill-fin vent on the SL55, however im understanding that AMG wanted to go a different way.

My Range Rover has those grills on the side. And come to think of it, so many manufacturers slap on a side grill vent to make it look sporty. We see those grills on the sides of domestic cars now too.

Congrats on MB for changing it up, and replacing what is quickly becoming the most copied styling feature in cars the side grill vent, with a new side badge.

Watch the other car makers follow heed in no time flat.

spnslc

I agree and Fantasm also commented on the same. I think it adds sportiness to the look of the car and I like the contrast between the silver and black (or whatever the body color is).

The COMAND is another aspect of the car that creates some debate. Some like the new COMAND and some don't. I do like the iPod integration in the new COMAND a lot, but it is a time-consuming system to use. On the first day that I had my car, as I was activating Sirius, I saw traffic and weather on the COMAND screen. But I have twice looked for traffic and weather in the system and I can't find it. The manual also mentions HD radio, and a MB tech told me the new COMANDS have HD radio, but I haven't found that either. The new COMAND has a lot more features in it than the older COMANDS. It takes more time to find everything. So, I guess it is just a trade-off. Since I mainly use iPod and Sirius all the time, it works for me.

Something new I learned today, is that you can go onto Google maps or Yahoo maps, create a map with turn-by-turn directions, then click on a link that sends the map to your email address. You can then log into Tele-aid using your email address and Tele-aid will send the map to your car. Now, I haven't tried this in real life, so I might have the instructions wrong, but it goes something like that. The Tele-aid customer service person explained it to me today. Between all our MBs, it was the first time I had ever heard of that service.

slsixtythree

Cool, ill check it out! Good to share tidbits on these cars, regarding the Comand, the manual is not very helpful with it either.

And sure it may have a lot of features, but i think logistically it is lacking. One actually has to learn to use it, whereas in my other car, i sort of figured everything out myself because the system was more instinctive.

landeyvic

I just got my 09 sl63 blk/blk and I love the new engine and all the extras, but i wish it had the night vision and back up camera like my 08 cl550, I am just confused about the AMG sport engine, this vehicle was delivered to me I never test my MB cars, so I guess I need some help on how to use the power on this engine. I am also not very impress with the distronic..

MikeRPA

why is your front defuser slver and not black ???

spnslc

The front diffuser on my car is black.

spnslc

I checked out the service that allows you to send a Google or Yahoo map to your car. It is very easy to do and very cool.

You create a map in Google or Yahoo maps, click on the link "send to car," fill in your email address (same one that is on your Tele-aid acct), and click on Mercedes Benz (it only works for MBs or BMWs). Go out to your car, turn on the navigation system, and push the Tele-aid i-button in the center console of your car. The map will be downloaded to your car's navigation system immediately and you are set to go.

It doesn't work for all MBs, but many of the new ones from 2007 forward. This service allows you to pull up a map quickly on your PC, rather than taking the time to page through your car's navigation system and typing in an address that way. I know I can find a map much quicker on my PC than in my car's navigation system. This map service is free for the first year of Tele-aid service in your new car. I don't know if it is free beyond the first year.

Here is more info:

http://www.searchandsend.com/SS_overview.html

MikeRPA

i wasnt talking about you , i was talking to the OP

Fantasm

spnslc

i cant find traffic info on my COMAND either -- it looks like the SL doesn't have it?? My friends wife's 2009 GL450 has what looks like to be the exact same COMAND, and hers has it!

Do you think its a software update?

MB Fanatic

Do you have tele-aid activated? Tele-Aid is a required feature. So when you want the car to download the directions, you push the "i" information button.

Fantasm

yes, tele-aid is activated, but i dont mean the send maps to my comand thing.

i mean live traffic stats for free ways ... showing me congestion, etc. Do you have this?

CalabasasMBZ

Slsixtythree: What interior trim do you have, the black ash or the carbon fiber?

No, the SL doesn't have Nav Traffic....

Have any of you gents used the race start? Quite fun!!