SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: 3 Way Review - SL55, SL600, SL65
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From: Bethesda,Md.
Bentley Arnage Red Label
Originally Posted by terrence
Leather is all over the dash, entire doors. Basically everything is nappa leather instead of the grainy vinyl-looking stuff that's on the dash of Sl500's and SL55's.
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From: UK
SL55 AMG
I've never understood why the leather upgrade option - Exclusive Nappa Leather - is not available in the US, other than wrapped up in a designo option. The SL65 obviously has it as standard, and I think the SL600 does too, and it certainly lifts the interior. Standard Mercedes leather is not good. Perhaps there are not enough cows of the right quality to meet the demand...
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From: UK
SL55 AMG
I think the SL55 ride is fine, anything softer (like my old R129 SL600) and it becomes a bit wallowy. The ABC in this car is a masterpiece of maintaining a balanced handling/ride compromise whatever the driving conditions.
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G
i just test drove a SL55 with 20in rims and low profile tires ...i have to say the ride was ROUGH (vibrations through my seat back) and everyone is saying the sl55 sounds great but i have to say the v12 SL600 in park just revving it a bit has an AWESOME rev note to it
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From: South Florida
05 E500
Car & Driver January 2005
"What you don't get with the SL65, oddly enough, is a time that is faster to 60 mph than the SL600's, a car that costs a mere $130,820. The SL600 does the deed in 3.6 seconds, the $182,720 SL65's best time was 3.8 seconds. All that oomph makes it nearly impossible to launch the SL65 hard without excessive wheelspin. Hang on for 11.9 seconds (the same elapsed time it takes the SL600 to run a quarter-mile), and you'll be going 123 mph, 3 mph faster than the SL600. So are those 3 mph worth the difference in price between the SL600 and SL65—$51,900, which is, while we're counting, the value of a well-equipped SLK350? Probably not..."
http://www.caranddriver.com/article...article_id=8893
As the prestigious Robb Report puts it (The Magazine for Luxury and Lifestyle):
"This car is a brute in a Brioni suit. It is not a well-dressed gentleman, as one might imagine the other SL roadsters to be. Like a bodybuilder with cartoon character musculature, the SL65 is impressive but perhaps off-putting to those seeking a truly balanced performance car. Certainly, the tremendous horsepower and the even more astonishing torque of the twin-turbocharged V12 guarantee bragging rights, but then, gentlemen who brag cease to be gentlemen, and the SL65 begs the question: For whom is this car made?
"This top-of-the-line SL possesses a temper that flares like that of a muscle man on steroids. But such antics eventually become tedious to all but the simplest simpleton, and one is left with a car whose attributes teeter on the precipice of overkill for the real-world.
"And perhaps our example was atypical, but fit and finish were not quite what we expect from the Germans. Some gaps were capacious, and the beautiful blue metallic finish was not consistent from panel to panel. Not a deal-breaker, but worth noting."
(SL55 is still on the top of their overall list.)
"What you don't get with the SL65, oddly enough, is a time that is faster to 60 mph than the SL600's, a car that costs a mere $130,820. The SL600 does the deed in 3.6 seconds, the $182,720 SL65's best time was 3.8 seconds. All that oomph makes it nearly impossible to launch the SL65 hard without excessive wheelspin. Hang on for 11.9 seconds (the same elapsed time it takes the SL600 to run a quarter-mile), and you'll be going 123 mph, 3 mph faster than the SL600. So are those 3 mph worth the difference in price between the SL600 and SL65—$51,900, which is, while we're counting, the value of a well-equipped SLK350? Probably not..."
http://www.caranddriver.com/article...article_id=8893
As the prestigious Robb Report puts it (The Magazine for Luxury and Lifestyle):
"This car is a brute in a Brioni suit. It is not a well-dressed gentleman, as one might imagine the other SL roadsters to be. Like a bodybuilder with cartoon character musculature, the SL65 is impressive but perhaps off-putting to those seeking a truly balanced performance car. Certainly, the tremendous horsepower and the even more astonishing torque of the twin-turbocharged V12 guarantee bragging rights, but then, gentlemen who brag cease to be gentlemen, and the SL65 begs the question: For whom is this car made?
"This top-of-the-line SL possesses a temper that flares like that of a muscle man on steroids. But such antics eventually become tedious to all but the simplest simpleton, and one is left with a car whose attributes teeter on the precipice of overkill for the real-world.
"And perhaps our example was atypical, but fit and finish were not quite what we expect from the Germans. Some gaps were capacious, and the beautiful blue metallic finish was not consistent from panel to panel. Not a deal-breaker, but worth noting."
(SL55 is still on the top of their overall list.)
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From: UK
SL55 AMG
The key here is real-world.
I am hardly objective with an SL55 but I have always thought the SL65 to be a step beyond what I need on the roads I drive, the distance I can see to stop, not to mention the posted speed limits and the penalties of seriously transgressing them.
The issue of traction is especially interesting. All the SL65's competitors address the issue with one or more of: 4 wheel drive, engine over driven wheels, transaxle gearbox, engine set back in the engine bay. None of these is available to the SL65 which will always limit the power which can be put down on the road. Sure the traction control will prevent you shredding the tyres, but what's then the point, in the real world, of having all this extra power in the first place if you can't put it down on the road?
I am hardly objective with an SL55 but I have always thought the SL65 to be a step beyond what I need on the roads I drive, the distance I can see to stop, not to mention the posted speed limits and the penalties of seriously transgressing them.
The issue of traction is especially interesting. All the SL65's competitors address the issue with one or more of: 4 wheel drive, engine over driven wheels, transaxle gearbox, engine set back in the engine bay. None of these is available to the SL65 which will always limit the power which can be put down on the road. Sure the traction control will prevent you shredding the tyres, but what's then the point, in the real world, of having all this extra power in the first place if you can't put it down on the road?
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SL65, 911
The 0-40 of the SL65 is traction limited, but the acceleration from "normal" speeds of 40-70 MPH is (usually) not. If you want to understand the SL65, drive it on a fast winding road... or just spoon on drag radials and run low 3s 0-60 
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: England
SL500 '05
IMO.. having driven the SL500, 55 and 65
As already stated the 55 is extremely quick yet the acceleration doesn't seem as good as it should.
The 65 has incredible power and you will never want for more.
My 500 is sedate in comparison.........you get spoilt.
All these cars are great cars but after driving the 65 if you own a 55 it will never seem the same.
As already stated the 55 is extremely quick yet the acceleration doesn't seem as good as it should.
The 65 has incredible power and you will never want for more.
My 500 is sedate in comparison.........you get spoilt.
All these cars are great cars but after driving the 65 if you own a 55 it will never seem the same.
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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 67
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From: San Diego
SL65, 05' & Ford GT, 06'
I have probably said this before, somewhere on this forum, having previously owned an 03' CL55: the SL65 is a different trip. It would be hard to go back. The SL 65 is ethereal.
