cntlaw

Our SLK55 base price is $125K, Z4M Coupe is $101K.
I am always keen on SLK but the price performance of Z4M Coupe seems to have an advantage. Which one will you get ?
And, shall I wait for the SLK63 ?
When is the SLK facelift due to launch ?

HLG600

Oh man, that's a tough one. I recently saw the new M Coupe and it looked great. To my tastes, I would take the SLK for the torquier feel of the 5.4 Litre AMG V8. Although the M engine is a work of mechanical art, the torque rating a little more than 100 short of the AMG. Right now, I would probably go with the SLK55 after some thought. If and when there is an SLK63, I would take that hands down...even over the new M V8, if it ever makes it into the M Coupe.

PC Valkyrie

Between the SLK55, M Roadster, and M Coupe, I would get the M Roadster.

Like many people here, I already have experienced the C55 AMG and its engine. For me to get a 2 seat sports car, it definitely will be a "fun" car. And a big part of the "fun" is the open top experience, and a manual stick shift transmission. With the amazing E46 M3 engine in its engine bay, rowing through gears will be a pleasure in either the M Roadster or M Coupe. Sure, the M Coupe will probably handle a bit better than the M Roadster, but I'm not skilled enough to take these cars to their limits on everyday twisty roads to take advantage of coupe's extra rigidity. So the M Roadster for me so I can enjoy some top down driving!!

AMG_55

more than likely my next car will be z4 m coupe.
the roadster is a piece of **** from what i read.
the coupe is 2.5 times stiffer

MercedesFTW

Roadster isn't that bad at all. I test drove it the other day. Simple and clean manual tranny. Nothing about sport modes and stuff like that (I mean I heard the M5 is bad...but I found the M3 to be already too complicated! with the smg of course). Havn't even seen a coupe around here yet. So can't say much about that.

Have you considered the Boxter S or Cayman? I've only driven the Boxter S, but from what I hear the Cayman is MUCH better than the Boxter...which right now paints a picture of this supercar priced for mere mortals, because the Boxter S is already amazing.

Havn't had the chance to test drive the SLK55...because it is kinda out of my price range (boxter belongs to a friend), and the only used one is in a far away dealership. But even used the M Roadster is still cheaper.

AMG4life

slk55 will destroy the z4m in straightline acceleration for sure. alone with the z4m, it will pretty much kill everything else in the bmw lineup except for m5 and m6 but it will be just as fast.
facelift is due in 2008 if you wanna wait.
z4m will probably have better handling but its not like the slk 55 has bad handling. you use acceleration all the time as for handling, forget about it unless its a track car.

Evil Duffman

I was at flemmington BMW on friday and checked out the new Z4 M coupe, I have to admit I love its design, its just mean looking. The roadster is nice but if I wanted the convert, id go with the SLK for sure. Its really a toss up between the two, although I felt that the seats in the amg are more comfortable for driving than the m coupe.

vraa

Lack of hardtop?
SLK55 all the way if you must.

Mmmm, hardtop convert... so sexy.

SLK55AMG

I had a Cayman S on loan for a few days to compare to my Boxster S..... I was expecting the differences to be fairly easy to spot but the Cayman is only a small step up. The feeling of speed is virtually the same in both cars although the Cayman was a couple of tenths quicker to 60mph (I have a datalogger), handling wise the Cayman did feel a little stiffer and cornered just that little bit faster and flatter but its marginal....... if you are driving at 8 tenths there will be hardly any difference between a Boxster S (the new one) and the Cayman S but if you have the ability to take the Cayman to 10 tenths it would prove to be a better drivers car than the Boxster.

One area that the Cayman feels different is its traction when exiting a corner..... in the dry its is virtually impossible to break traction at the rear wheels whereas the Boxster S allows a small amount of slip...... obviously better traction is good most of the time but I find the Boxster to be a little more fun knowing that I can provoke a small slide when I want to.

The new updated MY07 Boxster S gets the same engine as the Cayman S so the straight line speed advantage of the Cayman will vanish...... so the Boxster S will have the speed AND be a lot cheaper than the hardtop

ash-c32

Cayman S or SLK55

The Z4M is ugly beyond belief - sad trout face and a rear end that has no styling- just my opinion

The cayman is a superb car in every way except it feels so slow for 295hp
the slk is fantastic but needs a manual box and less-intrusive esp.

mick1

I, too, prefer the Cayman S over the Z4M based upon its design.

cntlaw

I did not ask opinion about the Cayman S but it is nice to see the subject brought up again. Thank you. Our local CaymanS price is obviously already in the top luxury catagory ~135K for just base price - and that only gets me a poor man's Porsche, while SLK55 and Z4M are tops of the lines!
Basically, Porsches are designed to have superb aerodynamics, otherwise, they are fundemental pretty ugly cars except shadowed by its sports reputation. I am still keen to wait for the handsome SLK63 facelift.

ndabunka

The 260z was a great car in it's time (small 2-seater with a 6 cylinder eengine and sporty handling) and it's about time someone brought it back. I just never thought it would coem under the BMW label....

drakon

Wow! porsche has a much higher markup than the bmw and benz in HK?

Anyhow, i LOVE the proportions of the Z4 roadster, but the front end looks aweful, and the coupe looks really cheap (i keep thinking civic hatchback when i look at the Z4coupe). the rear slope looks unfinished. if i was looking for a coupe, i'd DEFINITELY go for the porsche, meanwhile, for the convertible, the SLK55 wins handsdown in EVERY category for me except for fuel economy and at-the-limit handling.

SLK55AMG

Shinigami

The SLK 63, if it comes out, will surely be a lot more expensive then the 55...

The first and most obvious difference between the two cars is the convertible experience versus the coupé experience. The second most obvious difference is the transmission.

mick1

They are all poor man's cars ! (by this definition)

You acknowledged the existence of a Porsche 911 without acknowledging the existence of a Mercedes-Benz SL55 and a BMW M6.

Cayman S vs 911 => Cayman S = Poor man's Porsche
SLK55 vs SL55 => SLK55 = Poor man's Mercedes-Benz
Z4M vs M6 => Z4M = Poor man's BMW

SLK55AMG

Well said that man!

To add another example to ram home the point......

Ferrari 430 Vs Ferrari Enzo = 430 is the poor mans Ferrari!

MercedesFTW

Pfft...everyone knows the Boxter is the poorman's porche!

cntlaw

There is no such thing called poor man's Benz, because if you drive a Benz you are always recognized to be rich. The only I can think of, BMW cars are poor man's Benz.

SLK55R

I don't know if this applies to the BMW's or Mercedes. To be honest I could have easily afforded an SL. I chose the SLK because its much more sporty. In my opinion ... other than things like the DTM this is the sportiest Mercedes yet.

vivianlove

so, basically what you saying are to buy a car to please everyone else and how you care he or she looked upon you??? pity...

vivianlove

lol... well said

cntlaw

I shall avoid to take anything personal in this discussion, After all, use a bit of our sense of humor and let's just have a laugh.
Have a nice day.

Ynot

I don't blame the way you think, society molds you into what you are. I live in a small city, Littleton, CO and notice big cities like NY, LA, HK, Shanghai, London and such all think the same way. It's what ppl think, not what you think. I buy a benz to impress, I buy a benz so ppl think I'm rich. I know so many guys in LA that barely could afford a nice car, lives in an apt with many others but that doesn't matter, I drive a nice car. I'm not saying everyone from the big city is like this, this is just from my observation. I used to drive a M3(back when it was rare) and all my friends from LA used to think I'm crazy for not driving it downtown to showoff. I prefer to take it to the mountains and enjoy the road and scenery. I buy the car for myself and that is all. *flame suit on*