[TonyS3]

Hi All
Those of you that follow the U.K. Region will know we’ve bought a new (to us) SL.
We owned our lovely 2003 R230 350SL in Tellur Silver with grey interior for eleven years and 50K miles with us. It’s taken us all around the U.K., Ireland and Europe but after eleven years and with 92K miles on the clock we thought we were ready for a change.
I started looking about four months ago. Unfortunately we didnt want black or silver and it had to have a light interior. I’d also prefer a Main Dealer car with MB Warranty. This cut things down drastically. Spec wasn’t critical but we wanted airscarf, electric wind deflector and Pano roof.
But, patience paid off and two weeks ago we found a 2014 SL400, 28K miles, Designo Hyacinth Red with porcelain interior at MB Watford. I’d previously bought my 2010 SLK350 there so I knew they were reputable. Now I’ve never, ever bought a car blind but in the current situation we had no choice, so it was a leap of faith.
The video and pics were lovely. Speaking to my sales rep I asked “is it beautiful?” He said yes, one of the best I’ve ever seen......so paid the deposit and started on the online paperwork. What a faff. I must have filled in seven online forms. But we got there.
The car was delivered last Tuesday, a week ago today and we‘ve driven it twice!
First impressions.
i can’t believe how light the aluminium doors are. I was slamming them to start with.
With only 28K on the clock it’s very tight, though I guess compared to a 92K car that’s no surprise......
I‘m disappointed that
It doesn’t have those lovely one touch door bins which really impressed me, just open pockets.
It doesn’t have the really useful rear seat belts to hold luggage safely behind the front seats.
I think that’s about it!
I love
The technology, engine, gearbox, Comand, satnav, phone, aluminium construction.
Performance and fuel economy. It’s a LOT faster and 2000 miles across Europe should cost a lot less.
Electric wind deflector, so much better.
Since we have hardly driven it to date please stick around for our ongoing reviews.
I’ll try to post some pics.
V Best
Tony and Libby

 

[Windinmyhair]

Nice colour Tony

 

[TonyS3]

I thought you’d approve David!
TonyS

 

[Fransinge]

Stunning !!! congratulations

 

[Danny1980]

Nice one, I like the color too! SL400 is a nice engine too! Congrats!

 

[Jules555]

Superb! I do love that colour too, it would be my first choice if i changed again.

 

[Jules555]

Nice colour Tony

Not that you are biased at all 😃.......... It is a great colour!!

 

[b82012]

Congrats @TonyS3

Will be nice to get a direct comparison of the SL to your SLK... take your time tho’.

 

[Mark999]

Nice looking SL. Ive been delighted with mine. Its a fantastic grand tourer. On my tour of Scotland we averaged over 35mpg and I wasnt hanging around.
Enjoy😀

 

[savcom]

Lovely car, Tony. I'd like to hear how you find the SL versus your SLK particularly around lanes and smaller roads.

 

[Icepilot]

Cracking car, and colour contrast exterior and interior is beautiful

 

[Mark999]

Lovely car, Tony. I'd like to hear how you find the SL versus your SLK particularly around lanes and smaller roads.

I was looking to replace my SLK350 with a new SLC43, but had wanted to convince myself I wouldn’t prefer the SL 😀
Despite the SL being much bigger than the SLK in terms of length and width it doesn’t feel it on the road. Apart from the long bonnet it’s very easy to judge it’s size. Obviously it is slightly less nimble, but for longer journeys the ride comfort makes a big difference.
Mark

 

[savcom]

Thanks Mark.

I looked at the differences in size and it's not that much! Only 2" wider and maybe 1'6" longer. The boot, however... 😁👍

Here's the SLK R172, SLC and the SL compared.

 

[npb748r]

Will be nice to get a direct comparison of the SL to your SLK... take your time tho’.

agree, would be good to know how you feel they compare

 

[npb748r]

I looked at the differences in size and it's not that much! Only 2" wider and maybe 1'6" longer. The boot, however... 😁👍

To my eyes they always look much bigger than the SLK but I'm now guessing it's because there's hardly anything in it width and height-wise when compared to the SLK that it's an optical illusion, it's just a longer car.

 

[Mark999]

At the dealer I parked my 350 next to an SL for a direct comparison. My initial thoughts were wow it’s far too big and I’ll never get it in to my parking spot. Driving it was a revelation and I could squeeze it in to my spot. A few bushes had to be hacked down to make it a bit easier 😀
Mark

 

[savcom]

While the SL is obviously a great GT car - and fully at home on the motorway/highway, I'm also interested in knowing how it feels around more narrower country lanes and so on. Where I live there are a lot of narrow lanes - often single track - and these made me swap my 5-series for a smaller car, simply because the 5-series (almost 5m long) just seemed out of place in the lanes. I've no worries about being cautious round the lanes, but wanted to know how the SL feels navigating our more tricky roads in the UK.

 

[Mark999]

There were quite a few narrow roads, and a few close shaves, on my Scotland trip and the SL felt very much at home.
Before buying I managed to get an extended road test so I could try it out on my local roads
Mark

 

[TonyS3]

My thoughts on dimensions.
Before I bought my first SLK I had a succession of Jaguar XJS’s. I loved them, beautiful, quiet, fast, luxurious and very refined for their day. L 4.86 W1.88 H1.24 metres.
Apart from having done the XJS thing several times and got several t-shirts I started to get worried about parking them in car parks. They’re not a small car, but also have very long doors, (don’t know how long, sorry, but Google is your friend), it became increasingly difficult to get in or out with cars parked either side (old age maybe?) so I looked for a smaller option and eventually settled on the SLK R171. Also became paranoid about dings in the sides from doors opening. (interestingly our first R230 SL350 drove in a very similar way to the XJS but that’s for a later post).
The SLK was a revelation, tho that was an R171, the narrower body made things a lot easier tho the doors were still pretty long. Definitely a plus for the SLK.
TBH I never really noticed the size of the XJS on any road until after I bought the SLK it really was smaller and easier to position, much easier on narrow roads and lanes.
If you have an SLK you will notice the slightly increased width of an SL especially if you have an R171.
BUT. It’s not a Bentley or a Range Rover etc. etc. You just need to get used to it which doesn’t take long and then you won’t even think about it. SL400 has adjustable suspension which makes navigating windy roads easier too.
Contradictory I know.
I think you have to weigh up the extra luxury of the SL against the slightly smaller size and frankly pretty much poor comparable luxury by comparison to the SLK. It’s a personal thing.
Would I let the size of the SL400 stop me from buying one if I had an SLK? No I wouldn’t.
Its a personal thing, after a week or two of driving you wouldn’t notice the width.
But I wouldn’t take it to Tesco’s.....we’re very lucky, we have a Smart Car for that.
TonyS