The SLK55.

 

SLK55 without second thought

 

SLK55 of course...

 

Hmm, I'll be the odd one out and suggest the 350. I like the new electronics, and drove one of the facelifted 350's a month or so ago.

I love my current 350 - good combo of power with the options, etc that I wanted. The new engine does make a difference, and IMHO has a much more enjoyable power band. Combine this with "better" fuel economy and the upgraded electronics, and I think it's a winner.

Guess it's what you want at the end of the day - the difference between the pre-facelift and the post in the 350's is noticeable, but the power of the pre was more than enough for me.

 

Finally, someone who pointed out what i've been trying to say. I actually do love the 55 and i'm really considering it at this point. But the 350 combined with the facelift, new technology / electronics, better kW and km/l effeciancy, it does have its merits. Only downside with the demo 350 is because its newer it is more expensive and a bigger depreciation but that would have to be weighed up with the higher insurance costs of the 55 amg.

I love the 55 AMG but i love the facelifted 350 as well. If only i could get both! (Then i may as well get the facelifted 55 and be a winner all around lol!)

 

I'd prefer the SLK55!

 

I prefer the styling of the 55 more than the facelift 350, now if it's the AMG styling 350 with manual, it might be a tougher choice, with what's given, I would definitely pick the 55.

The 350 does have it's advantage, it's more fuel efficiently, possibly cheaper to insure. Less expensive to maintain in the long run, rotors/pads, etc cost more on the 55. available in manual transmission (if you care).

 

One question to ask yourself is, how often will you use the extra power of the SLK 55? Only you can answer that question. For me, living in a suburb of Chicago the 350 is fine.

 

I went with a new 09 SLK 350. The improved electronics on the 09s, better gas mileage and improved handling tipped the balance for me. Plus, unlike many here, I really like the new look of the 09s.

 

The 55 is a bada$$ sports car for the money!R)

 

For the sake of a new COMAND i wouldn't buy a 08 350 over an 07 55, but then it also depends on your use.

I think buying a 55 or any high-performance sports car with no intent to ever stretch her leg's is cruel so if your only use would be for daily driving in a city for example i would then buy the 350.

 

Would i ever give up the sound of that beautiful burbling v8 for the ability to connect my iPod?

HELL NO. Get the 55.

 

Thanks guys for your opinions.

Without going off and starting another topic. I've got to ask what is this in the image. Can anyone clarify because i haven't seen this in real life before on a 55.

Is it gear change buttons and if it is, why would there be gear change buttons behind the steering wheel as well. If it's not what is it?

 

I am also curious to know how many bottles of NOS you have in the trunk and what nozzle shot are you spraying 75, 100, 150???

 

Or you can buy my 2006 Kleemann 530hp SLK55 for around the same money. This car makes stock SLK55 feel like a Toyota Camry

 

Where do you open it up around Miami? Ten years ago it was easy, but now it is HELL - even at 3amR)

 

If only to be used on the roads then the 350. The facelift is a lot better than the pre models inc the 55. There is only a handful of HP difference with the new v6 plus you have the throttle blipping. together with all the new goodies that now come standard I wouldn't think twice.

I had to make a similar choice when I got my second car. I was going to go for a 55 (both facelift) but after aback to back test drive I decided the extra £10k wasn't worth it.

 

I decided the extra £10k wasn't worth it.

That comment is gonna break a lot of hearts on this site. This thread should be called the SLK55 thread....UNTIL NOW!

 

Twisted with your comment on getting a facelift 55 you do realize the 'guts' of the 55 are identical don't you? No new technology in it at all bar the COMAND headunit.

Nothing is stopping you installing the facelift parts onto a pre-facelift model fairly cheaply and getting what you want.

We are doing a facelift conversion at work at the moment and the salesmen and techs have driven both facelift and pre-facelift 55's and they cannot tell the difference between them so i would caution you not to fall for the placebo effect, the mind is a powerful thing and its very easy to fall for the 'this is newer so it must be better' trap, of course the 350 is a slightly different story because it does have additional horsepower and increased MPG that are real-world proven and not possible to retrofit but again you need to be careful what your feeling is 100% real and not enhanced by expectations and excitment squished together and playing tricks on you.

You need to judge the car's on the car's not the facelift/pre-facelift status -

If you want the best MPG possible buy the 350
If you want the most horsepower possible buy the 55
If you want an understanding ride around town buy the 350
If you want an uncompromising ride out of town buy the 55

Just make sure your happy with your choice because your looking at the better car be it the 55 or the 350 and not because the one has a cleft lip and the other doesn't, its like passing up a 32" TV and getting a 12" because it has a multi-colored standby light, of course the model year will play into it but be sure that you only take it for what its worth since a pre-facelift on Monday can be post-facelift by Wednesday whereas a 350 cannot grow 2 extra cylinders and a 55 cannot tick-over using nothing more than fumes while sitting in a traffic jam.

 

Dan thanks for your response. I always value your input and thanks for clearing up the +/- thing. I noticed some 55's don't have them on though.

Just on the topic... I was actually looking at a prefacelift 55 vs the facelifted 350. The 350 as you did mention has a lot of merits and i really get what you're saying in terms of making sure what i'm feeling is a 100% real. The facelifted 55 is a bit out of my league price wise so i'm not even considering it.

I'm definitely getting a SLK next no doubt but deciding is a huge problem for me, hence i'm taking so long and as the car market stands at the moment the 2 in question are very similarly priced here. The problem here is if you exclude the 200 from the equation for a second, is that the 350 basically comes with everything (except COMAND, parktronic and harmon kardon) while the 55 has it all except for the parktronic so its basically down to newer vs engine power. I'm personally not phased by the looks of either but the new electronics is weighing down on me slightly. Also both come with the 6 year 120000km mobilo plan like my BMW's motorplan so i'm not phased about cost of parts etc...

ICE is a big thing for me and i've already expressed my views in the various ipod threads but i mean with COMAND (in the 55) i should have no problems with mp3 so that would be a solution.

I really do see what you're saying but once i'm back home i'm going to drive these cars some more and really decide what i'm wanting. Either way it will be quality i'm sure. Just wanted to get a grasp of what the rest of the community thought though even although in the end it's down to me.

 

ICE is a big thing for me and I've already expressed my views in the various iPod threads but i mean with COMAND (in the 55) i should have no problems with mp3 so that would be a solution.

I really do see what you're saying but once I'm back home I'm going to drive these cars some more and really decide what I'm wanting. Either way it will be quality I'm sure. Just wanted to get a grasp of what the rest of the community thought though even although in the end it's down to me.

Like the other Dan says and as you rightly point out, driving them is the best way to sort this and if you need to take 2/3 test drives then take 2/3 test drives, be sure that you know exactly what you are getting and your 100% happy before you sign.

The only real new tech in the 55 is the newer COMAND and what i was going to suggest is you purchase a 55 without COMAND and then fit the new unit it but from your post I'm thinking perhaps COMAND is standard? so thats out of the question, that being said the pre-facelift system will have no drama's at all playing MP3's and you could also use say a Dension Gateway 500 to get USB connectivity.

 

Few quick comments...

Having owned both a 350 and 55, I can tell you there is more of a difference then what's on paper. Granted, it was the SLK350 268hp version, but it still remains a difference.

Some notable differences in favor of the 55.
-Sound of that incredible V8 without having the need to rev it up.
-Intoxicating torque (again, regardless of 'if you have the roads to drive it hard')
-Two tone interior - racey and elegant
-less depreciation - in this case used vs new
-unique (not a lot of 55's on the road)
-much more aggressive styling (if compared to non-amg package 350)

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more. Oh, and since I'm biased, I won't bother mentioning the benefits of the 350. You already know them.

I will end with this. Drive both. Experience the difference yourself. Without doing so, you will not be able to make a wise decision as you will not truly understand the difference in powerplants.

 

Dan, doesn't the face lifted car also have the new steering assist system?

 

It sure does but its the same system that was optional (perhaps even standard for you guys) before just adjusted and made standard, not really new tech as such since it was available before and it's not enough to give a noticeable difference when driving.

 

From everything I read about the 09 models from Mercedes, etc. they said that the 'direct steering' on the 09s is quite different from the old 'parameter steering'. It certainly feels better to me. My 09 SLK has the direct version and my 06 SLK had the parameter version.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/112_0802_2009_mercedes_benz_slk/direct_steer_system.html

 

Thanks for everyones help especially Dan. I do have bad news though, after a solid drive, i decided that i want to get a 55 but the one i wanted is now sold! It was a silver 55 fully loaded basically)

I spoke to the mercedes dealership to look out for one for me, because it seems there's hardly any used ones at the mercedes dealerships. There is a black one but i'm not a fan of black and the other dealerships around the country only have obsidian black ones. There are ones are non MB dealers but especially with a vehicle like the 55 AMG, i'd rather get it from Merc.

So i guess its down to the waiting game now.

 

Wait for what you want. You'll be glad that you did when you finally get your car.

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 09 black slk 55 amg! The Beast!

 

mmmm Black is Beautiful and it looks mean and is mean and i especially the facelifted 55 in all forms. All the better. It's just not my colour though. I'm more of a silver or blue and i even seen a bright red one that's amazing.

Thanks for making me drool though It's going to be a tough game but i am going to have to wait.

 

What country do you live in?

 

South Africa if the flag is right

 

Wasn't sure it was his/her location or country of origin.

 

Don't believe the marketing hype, its the same system just modified - a Merc tradition.

Not wanting to sound like an ass but feel and reality are 2 different things, a small change in how it responds can feel like a world of difference AND my comment was in relation to the precise tuning of the 55 and not the system fitted to the 350.