Mercedes-Benz SLK200 Kompressor (A) Review
26 Mar 2010|24,527 views
I owned the first generation SLK back in the late 90s. I spent nearly every waking moment in motoring bliss when I first got it. I drove it literally everywhere. But my days of motoring nirvana came to a sudden and tragic halt when my beloved ‘Sunburst Yellow’ SLK plunged down a flight of stairs and cartwheeled to a fiery end. Ok…so I dramatized the latter a little. It was more an explosion of plastic shards and AA batteries (not to mention an earful from Mom) than a fiery end.
My asinine adolescent driving aside, the first SLK was quite innovative for its time. Cabriolets bearing the hardtop metal folding roof might be commonplace these days but back in 1996, Mercedes were the first to have a roadster with a folding hardtop in the SLK.
The advent of the folding hardtop gave owners a choice of maximum visibility in open-top roadster mode or the clean lines of a sleek coupe at the push of a button. This combined with the compact dimensions and effeminate styling made the SLK roadster an instant hit with the fairer sex. Out of the 500,000 sold since its launch in 1996, a whopping 62 per cent of its owners were female.
Having seen the sales figures themselves, Mercedes-Benz understandably were eager to extend the popularity to their male clientele as well. So with the second-generation SLK, they made a greater effort to achieve a gender neutral styling that would appeal to both sexes.
My asinine adolescent driving aside, the first SLK was quite innovative for its time. Cabriolets bearing the hardtop metal folding roof might be commonplace these days but back in 1996, Mercedes were the first to have a roadster with a folding hardtop in the SLK.
The advent of the folding hardtop gave owners a choice of maximum visibility in open-top roadster mode or the clean lines of a sleek coupe at the push of a button. This combined with the compact dimensions and effeminate styling made the SLK roadster an instant hit with the fairer sex. Out of the 500,000 sold since its launch in 1996, a whopping 62 per cent of its owners were female.
Having seen the sales figures themselves, Mercedes-Benz understandably were eager to extend the popularity to their male clientele as well. So with the second-generation SLK, they made a greater effort to achieve a gender neutral styling that would appeal to both sexes.
![]() |
Exterior
A quote from the SLK’s brochure goes…”First impressions count, and are furthermore seldom reconsidered. One glance is all it takes for the brain to make a split-second, instinctive decision”.
However, I disagree.
I believe it takes more than a glance to fully appreciate the emotion that the designer has infused into the SLK’s lines. The design blends strong masculine lines of a coupe with the soft elegant curves of an old roadster that is befitting of a modern day Mercedes roadster.
![]() |
The strong performance oriented lines of the SLK takes its styling cues from two inspirations. The pokey ‘nose’ that appears front and centre takes inspiration from the McLaren Mercedes F1 machines piloted by the young Hamilton. Even the front splitters resemble the front wings of an F1 car. The SLK also shares this design feature with the McLaren Mercedes SLR supercar as well as a similar stance. Clearly a step in the right direction towards a more masculine looking compact sportscar.
Coupled with that ‘nose’ are a pair of teardrop shaped headlamps that’ve been curved around the flanks to give the roadster a more menacing stance.
From a side profile, the SLK is designed in typical roadster fashion with a long bonnet and severely raked A-pillars combination. A slightly ‘poised’ stance gives the roadster a sense of motion even at standstill.
At the touch of a button, the SLK takes just 22 seconds to transform itself from a svelte roadster into a coupe. Even in this form, the car maintains its graceful elegant lines leading me to think that it was built as a coupe from the start. Unlike some cabriolets that make you wonder if its coupe form was an afterthought.
In the rear, the car’s followers can take time to appreciate the low and wide stance of this roadster. The rear takes in the lines formed from the front of the car to create a taut rear with its short drop-off. The boot lid gives no indication of a spacious boot hidden underneath. Lower down you find a bumper with discrete integrated diffusers hidden between the chrome rectangular tailpipes.
Interior
The interior of an SLK is a comfortable place to be. Settle into the driver’s seat and you find that it offers an excellent driving position. Both front seats support snugly. Keeping both driver and passenger in place while taking fast corners. Although I did find the backrest too thinly padded for prolonged driving.
Coupled with that ‘nose’ are a pair of teardrop shaped headlamps that’ve been curved around the flanks to give the roadster a more menacing stance.
From a side profile, the SLK is designed in typical roadster fashion with a long bonnet and severely raked A-pillars combination. A slightly ‘poised’ stance gives the roadster a sense of motion even at standstill.
At the touch of a button, the SLK takes just 22 seconds to transform itself from a svelte roadster into a coupe. Even in this form, the car maintains its graceful elegant lines leading me to think that it was built as a coupe from the start. Unlike some cabriolets that make you wonder if its coupe form was an afterthought.
In the rear, the car’s followers can take time to appreciate the low and wide stance of this roadster. The rear takes in the lines formed from the front of the car to create a taut rear with its short drop-off. The boot lid gives no indication of a spacious boot hidden underneath. Lower down you find a bumper with discrete integrated diffusers hidden between the chrome rectangular tailpipes.
Interior
The interior of an SLK is a comfortable place to be. Settle into the driver’s seat and you find that it offers an excellent driving position. Both front seats support snugly. Keeping both driver and passenger in place while taking fast corners. Although I did find the backrest too thinly padded for prolonged driving.
That aside, I loved sitting low down in the car with the reach and rake adjustable steering wheel close for spirited driving. The steering wheel though could be smaller for better control. Beyond the steering wheel you find a pair of large clearly defined dials that give off an avantgarde feel with their sports chrono-look.
Moving on to the centre console, everything here is typical Mercedes. Buttons are clearly arranged and defined. The LCD panel though could’ve been made to look better as the graphics seem to represent those on an early 90s video game. Just below the audio controls you find the four knobs that control the interior comfort. Located just aft of the gearlever, are the knobs for both the mirror adjustment and roof operation.
Ergonomics for both passenger and driver are excellent as all the important controls on the centre console is well within reach of the driver and passenger.
The factory fitted audio system in the SLK will handle most listening duties reasonably but will not stand up to the demands of audiophiles. I would highly recommend more demanding listeners to opt for the $3,000 Harman Kardon system.
Steering mounted controls are available but the user interface seemed a little awkward. Requiring the driver to skip through several different menus just to change radio stations/tracks. Scrolling through the menus would require the driver to take his eyes off the road which in turn defeats the safety purpose of having steering mounted controls.
When it comes to bootspace, the car is impressive. Granted that it wouldn’t fit a set of golf clubs but for everything else, it takes plenty. With the roof up, the car swallows up to 300 litres of cargo without problems. What’s most impressive is that even with the roof down however, the 300 litres seem scarcely affected. I can tell you that it was tried and tested as I managed to stuff quite a lot in there while in cabriolet form.
Moving on to the centre console, everything here is typical Mercedes. Buttons are clearly arranged and defined. The LCD panel though could’ve been made to look better as the graphics seem to represent those on an early 90s video game. Just below the audio controls you find the four knobs that control the interior comfort. Located just aft of the gearlever, are the knobs for both the mirror adjustment and roof operation.
Ergonomics for both passenger and driver are excellent as all the important controls on the centre console is well within reach of the driver and passenger.
The factory fitted audio system in the SLK will handle most listening duties reasonably but will not stand up to the demands of audiophiles. I would highly recommend more demanding listeners to opt for the $3,000 Harman Kardon system.
Steering mounted controls are available but the user interface seemed a little awkward. Requiring the driver to skip through several different menus just to change radio stations/tracks. Scrolling through the menus would require the driver to take his eyes off the road which in turn defeats the safety purpose of having steering mounted controls.
When it comes to bootspace, the car is impressive. Granted that it wouldn’t fit a set of golf clubs but for everything else, it takes plenty. With the roof up, the car swallows up to 300 litres of cargo without problems. What’s most impressive is that even with the roof down however, the 300 litres seem scarcely affected. I can tell you that it was tried and tested as I managed to stuff quite a lot in there while in cabriolet form.
![]() |
The Drive
Numbers first then. The SLK’s swoopy long bonnet is home to a 1.8-litre four-cylinder supercharged unit that pumps out 163bhp everytime you floor it.
Turn the engine over and all you hear is a slight burble from the twin chrome exhaust. While driving along, the exhaust note continues to be mellow. Despite the docility, the song from the twin pipes do get a tad throatier when you floor it. Enough to identify the SLK as something more than just a posemobile.
Step on it and it takes about a second before the little four-cylinder beater under the hood adheres to your command. Power delivery felt uniform over the rev range though you do feel that the engine is producing just enough for the car. Unlike the larger siblings fitted with the V6 that gave one the confidence that it had plenty more ponies to spare.
On the highways the SLK manages to smooth out most of the bumps though feedback from the girlfriend says it still felt pretty firm at times. That might be due to the sports suspension it’s riding on. Even so, the front of the car still damps better than the SLK350 thanks to a lighter engine with two less cylinders.
Things aren’t that bad either on the smaller roads. It still feels pretty smooth for a sports oriented car. Though discomfort might derive from the thinly padded sports seats.
Taking the bends in a spirited fashion, the SLK200 leads me to conclude that its suspension is setup more for cruising around town than attacking the bends. Which doesn’t surprise me considering its clientele.
Turn into a medium corner at 60kmh, and the roadster understeers almost immediately. To be honest, it came as a huge surprise to me as I expected the car to do a lot better. Considering its sportscar underpinnings.
Numbers first then. The SLK’s swoopy long bonnet is home to a 1.8-litre four-cylinder supercharged unit that pumps out 163bhp everytime you floor it.
Turn the engine over and all you hear is a slight burble from the twin chrome exhaust. While driving along, the exhaust note continues to be mellow. Despite the docility, the song from the twin pipes do get a tad throatier when you floor it. Enough to identify the SLK as something more than just a posemobile.
Step on it and it takes about a second before the little four-cylinder beater under the hood adheres to your command. Power delivery felt uniform over the rev range though you do feel that the engine is producing just enough for the car. Unlike the larger siblings fitted with the V6 that gave one the confidence that it had plenty more ponies to spare.
On the highways the SLK manages to smooth out most of the bumps though feedback from the girlfriend says it still felt pretty firm at times. That might be due to the sports suspension it’s riding on. Even so, the front of the car still damps better than the SLK350 thanks to a lighter engine with two less cylinders.
Things aren’t that bad either on the smaller roads. It still feels pretty smooth for a sports oriented car. Though discomfort might derive from the thinly padded sports seats.
Taking the bends in a spirited fashion, the SLK200 leads me to conclude that its suspension is setup more for cruising around town than attacking the bends. Which doesn’t surprise me considering its clientele.
Turn into a medium corner at 60kmh, and the roadster understeers almost immediately. To be honest, it came as a huge surprise to me as I expected the car to do a lot better. Considering its sportscar underpinnings.
On another note, the SLK might be compact in size and thus should be easy to park. Visibility is not a problem with the roof down. But in coupe mode, the monumentally thick C-pillars will impair parking to a great degree. Of course the problem is easily solved with a tilt of the side mirror. This is more of an annoyance than a deal breaker really.
Conclusion
Just to underline the SLK’s attractiveness to the female gender, I asked a friend of mine (who’s totally smitten with it) what is it about the SLK that girls love? Well according to her, the compact size of the car not only makes it ‘adorable’, it is also a godsend when it comes to parking.
Furthermore, with the gorgeous lines that this car is blessed with, it wouldn’t look out of place when parked at the Raffles Town Club along with the other taitai-mobiles.
That’s not to say the boys won’t want one too. The fact that it looks like the offspring of the SLR is enough to get most of us hot under the collar begging for one. Though I would imagine the boys will be lusting after the ultra-masculine V8 5.5-litre variant more than anything else.
So yes, the second-generation SLK has carried the torch well and for a smidge under $200k, it looks a lot better than most of its contemporaries while retaining some semblance of practicality.
Honestly, I’m hardpressed to tell what the next SLK is going to be like. But if the latest spyshots are anything to go by, I think there’s very little for us to worry about. Well, at least in the looks department.
Conclusion
Just to underline the SLK’s attractiveness to the female gender, I asked a friend of mine (who’s totally smitten with it) what is it about the SLK that girls love? Well according to her, the compact size of the car not only makes it ‘adorable’, it is also a godsend when it comes to parking.
Furthermore, with the gorgeous lines that this car is blessed with, it wouldn’t look out of place when parked at the Raffles Town Club along with the other taitai-mobiles.
That’s not to say the boys won’t want one too. The fact that it looks like the offspring of the SLR is enough to get most of us hot under the collar begging for one. Though I would imagine the boys will be lusting after the ultra-masculine V8 5.5-litre variant more than anything else.
So yes, the second-generation SLK has carried the torch well and for a smidge under $200k, it looks a lot better than most of its contemporaries while retaining some semblance of practicality.
Honestly, I’m hardpressed to tell what the next SLK is going to be like. But if the latest spyshots are anything to go by, I think there’s very little for us to worry about. Well, at least in the looks department.
I owned the first generation SLK back in the late 90s. I spent nearly every waking moment in motoring bliss when I first got it. I drove it literally everywhere. But my days of motoring nirvana came to a sudden and tragic halt when my beloved ‘Sunburst Yellow’ SLK plunged down a flight of stairs and cartwheeled to a fiery end. Ok…so I dramatized the latter a little. It was more an explosion of plastic shards and AA batteries (not to mention an earful from Mom) than a fiery end.
My asinine adolescent driving aside, the first SLK was quite innovative for its time. Cabriolets bearing the hardtop metal folding roof might be commonplace these days but back in 1996, Mercedes were the first to have a roadster with a folding hardtop in the SLK.
The advent of the folding hardtop gave owners a choice of maximum visibility in open-top roadster mode or the clean lines of a sleek coupe at the push of a button. This combined with the compact dimensions and effeminate styling made the SLK roadster an instant hit with the fairer sex. Out of the 500,000 sold since its launch in 1996, a whopping 62 per cent of its owners were female.
Having seen the sales figures themselves, Mercedes-Benz understandably were eager to extend the popularity to their male clientele as well. So with the second-generation SLK, they made a greater effort to achieve a gender neutral styling that would appeal to both sexes.
My asinine adolescent driving aside, the first SLK was quite innovative for its time. Cabriolets bearing the hardtop metal folding roof might be commonplace these days but back in 1996, Mercedes were the first to have a roadster with a folding hardtop in the SLK.
The advent of the folding hardtop gave owners a choice of maximum visibility in open-top roadster mode or the clean lines of a sleek coupe at the push of a button. This combined with the compact dimensions and effeminate styling made the SLK roadster an instant hit with the fairer sex. Out of the 500,000 sold since its launch in 1996, a whopping 62 per cent of its owners were female.
Having seen the sales figures themselves, Mercedes-Benz understandably were eager to extend the popularity to their male clientele as well. So with the second-generation SLK, they made a greater effort to achieve a gender neutral styling that would appeal to both sexes.
![]() |
Exterior
A quote from the SLK’s brochure goes…”First impressions count, and are furthermore seldom reconsidered. One glance is all it takes for the brain to make a split-second, instinctive decision”.
However, I disagree.
I believe it takes more than a glance to fully appreciate the emotion that the designer has infused into the SLK’s lines. The design blends strong masculine lines of a coupe with the soft elegant curves of an old roadster that is befitting of a modern day Mercedes roadster.
![]() |
The strong performance oriented lines of the SLK takes its styling cues from two inspirations. The pokey ‘nose’ that appears front and centre takes inspiration from the McLaren Mercedes F1 machines piloted by the young Hamilton. Even the front splitters resemble the front wings of an F1 car. The SLK also shares this design feature with the McLaren Mercedes SLR supercar as well as a similar stance. Clearly a step in the right direction towards a more masculine looking compact sportscar.
Coupled with that ‘nose’ are a pair of teardrop shaped headlamps that’ve been curved around the flanks to give the roadster a more menacing stance.
From a side profile, the SLK is designed in typical roadster fashion with a long bonnet and severely raked A-pillars combination. A slightly ‘poised’ stance gives the roadster a sense of motion even at standstill.
At the touch of a button, the SLK takes just 22 seconds to transform itself from a svelte roadster into a coupe. Even in this form, the car maintains its graceful elegant lines leading me to think that it was built as a coupe from the start. Unlike some cabriolets that make you wonder if its coupe form was an afterthought.
In the rear, the car’s followers can take time to appreciate the low and wide stance of this roadster. The rear takes in the lines formed from the front of the car to create a taut rear with its short drop-off. The boot lid gives no indication of a spacious boot hidden underneath. Lower down you find a bumper with discrete integrated diffusers hidden between the chrome rectangular tailpipes.
Interior
The interior of an SLK is a comfortable place to be. Settle into the driver’s seat and you find that it offers an excellent driving position. Both front seats support snugly. Keeping both driver and passenger in place while taking fast corners. Although I did find the backrest too thinly padded for prolonged driving.
Coupled with that ‘nose’ are a pair of teardrop shaped headlamps that’ve been curved around the flanks to give the roadster a more menacing stance.
From a side profile, the SLK is designed in typical roadster fashion with a long bonnet and severely raked A-pillars combination. A slightly ‘poised’ stance gives the roadster a sense of motion even at standstill.
At the touch of a button, the SLK takes just 22 seconds to transform itself from a svelte roadster into a coupe. Even in this form, the car maintains its graceful elegant lines leading me to think that it was built as a coupe from the start. Unlike some cabriolets that make you wonder if its coupe form was an afterthought.
In the rear, the car’s followers can take time to appreciate the low and wide stance of this roadster. The rear takes in the lines formed from the front of the car to create a taut rear with its short drop-off. The boot lid gives no indication of a spacious boot hidden underneath. Lower down you find a bumper with discrete integrated diffusers hidden between the chrome rectangular tailpipes.
Interior
The interior of an SLK is a comfortable place to be. Settle into the driver’s seat and you find that it offers an excellent driving position. Both front seats support snugly. Keeping both driver and passenger in place while taking fast corners. Although I did find the backrest too thinly padded for prolonged driving.
That aside, I loved sitting low down in the car with the reach and rake adjustable steering wheel close for spirited driving. The steering wheel though could be smaller for better control. Beyond the steering wheel you find a pair of large clearly defined dials that give off an avantgarde feel with their sports chrono-look.
Moving on to the centre console, everything here is typical Mercedes. Buttons are clearly arranged and defined. The LCD panel though could’ve been made to look better as the graphics seem to represent those on an early 90s video game. Just below the audio controls you find the four knobs that control the interior comfort. Located just aft of the gearlever, are the knobs for both the mirror adjustment and roof operation.
Ergonomics for both passenger and driver are excellent as all the important controls on the centre console is well within reach of the driver and passenger.
The factory fitted audio system in the SLK will handle most listening duties reasonably but will not stand up to the demands of audiophiles. I would highly recommend more demanding listeners to opt for the $3,000 Harman Kardon system.
Steering mounted controls are available but the user interface seemed a little awkward. Requiring the driver to skip through several different menus just to change radio stations/tracks. Scrolling through the menus would require the driver to take his eyes off the road which in turn defeats the safety purpose of having steering mounted controls.
When it comes to bootspace, the car is impressive. Granted that it wouldn’t fit a set of golf clubs but for everything else, it takes plenty. With the roof up, the car swallows up to 300 litres of cargo without problems. What’s most impressive is that even with the roof down however, the 300 litres seem scarcely affected. I can tell you that it was tried and tested as I managed to stuff quite a lot in there while in cabriolet form.
Moving on to the centre console, everything here is typical Mercedes. Buttons are clearly arranged and defined. The LCD panel though could’ve been made to look better as the graphics seem to represent those on an early 90s video game. Just below the audio controls you find the four knobs that control the interior comfort. Located just aft of the gearlever, are the knobs for both the mirror adjustment and roof operation.
Ergonomics for both passenger and driver are excellent as all the important controls on the centre console is well within reach of the driver and passenger.
The factory fitted audio system in the SLK will handle most listening duties reasonably but will not stand up to the demands of audiophiles. I would highly recommend more demanding listeners to opt for the $3,000 Harman Kardon system.
Steering mounted controls are available but the user interface seemed a little awkward. Requiring the driver to skip through several different menus just to change radio stations/tracks. Scrolling through the menus would require the driver to take his eyes off the road which in turn defeats the safety purpose of having steering mounted controls.
When it comes to bootspace, the car is impressive. Granted that it wouldn’t fit a set of golf clubs but for everything else, it takes plenty. With the roof up, the car swallows up to 300 litres of cargo without problems. What’s most impressive is that even with the roof down however, the 300 litres seem scarcely affected. I can tell you that it was tried and tested as I managed to stuff quite a lot in there while in cabriolet form.
![]() |
The Drive
Numbers first then. The SLK’s swoopy long bonnet is home to a 1.8-litre four-cylinder supercharged unit that pumps out 163bhp everytime you floor it.
Turn the engine over and all you hear is a slight burble from the twin chrome exhaust. While driving along, the exhaust note continues to be mellow. Despite the docility, the song from the twin pipes do get a tad throatier when you floor it. Enough to identify the SLK as something more than just a posemobile.
Step on it and it takes about a second before the little four-cylinder beater under the hood adheres to your command. Power delivery felt uniform over the rev range though you do feel that the engine is producing just enough for the car. Unlike the larger siblings fitted with the V6 that gave one the confidence that it had plenty more ponies to spare.
On the highways the SLK manages to smooth out most of the bumps though feedback from the girlfriend says it still felt pretty firm at times. That might be due to the sports suspension it’s riding on. Even so, the front of the car still damps better than the SLK350 thanks to a lighter engine with two less cylinders.
Things aren’t that bad either on the smaller roads. It still feels pretty smooth for a sports oriented car. Though discomfort might derive from the thinly padded sports seats.
Taking the bends in a spirited fashion, the SLK200 leads me to conclude that its suspension is setup more for cruising around town than attacking the bends. Which doesn’t surprise me considering its clientele.
Turn into a medium corner at 60kmh, and the roadster understeers almost immediately. To be honest, it came as a huge surprise to me as I expected the car to do a lot better. Considering its sportscar underpinnings.
Numbers first then. The SLK’s swoopy long bonnet is home to a 1.8-litre four-cylinder supercharged unit that pumps out 163bhp everytime you floor it.
Turn the engine over and all you hear is a slight burble from the twin chrome exhaust. While driving along, the exhaust note continues to be mellow. Despite the docility, the song from the twin pipes do get a tad throatier when you floor it. Enough to identify the SLK as something more than just a posemobile.
Step on it and it takes about a second before the little four-cylinder beater under the hood adheres to your command. Power delivery felt uniform over the rev range though you do feel that the engine is producing just enough for the car. Unlike the larger siblings fitted with the V6 that gave one the confidence that it had plenty more ponies to spare.
On the highways the SLK manages to smooth out most of the bumps though feedback from the girlfriend says it still felt pretty firm at times. That might be due to the sports suspension it’s riding on. Even so, the front of the car still damps better than the SLK350 thanks to a lighter engine with two less cylinders.
Things aren’t that bad either on the smaller roads. It still feels pretty smooth for a sports oriented car. Though discomfort might derive from the thinly padded sports seats.
Taking the bends in a spirited fashion, the SLK200 leads me to conclude that its suspension is setup more for cruising around town than attacking the bends. Which doesn’t surprise me considering its clientele.
Turn into a medium corner at 60kmh, and the roadster understeers almost immediately. To be honest, it came as a huge surprise to me as I expected the car to do a lot better. Considering its sportscar underpinnings.
On another note, the SLK might be compact in size and thus should be easy to park. Visibility is not a problem with the roof down. But in coupe mode, the monumentally thick C-pillars will impair parking to a great degree. Of course the problem is easily solved with a tilt of the side mirror. This is more of an annoyance than a deal breaker really.
Conclusion
Just to underline the SLK’s attractiveness to the female gender, I asked a friend of mine (who’s totally smitten with it) what is it about the SLK that girls love? Well according to her, the compact size of the car not only makes it ‘adorable’, it is also a godsend when it comes to parking.
Furthermore, with the gorgeous lines that this car is blessed with, it wouldn’t look out of place when parked at the Raffles Town Club along with the other taitai-mobiles.
That’s not to say the boys won’t want one too. The fact that it looks like the offspring of the SLR is enough to get most of us hot under the collar begging for one. Though I would imagine the boys will be lusting after the ultra-masculine V8 5.5-litre variant more than anything else.
So yes, the second-generation SLK has carried the torch well and for a smidge under $200k, it looks a lot better than most of its contemporaries while retaining some semblance of practicality.
Honestly, I’m hardpressed to tell what the next SLK is going to be like. But if the latest spyshots are anything to go by, I think there’s very little for us to worry about. Well, at least in the looks department.
Conclusion
Just to underline the SLK’s attractiveness to the female gender, I asked a friend of mine (who’s totally smitten with it) what is it about the SLK that girls love? Well according to her, the compact size of the car not only makes it ‘adorable’, it is also a godsend when it comes to parking.
Furthermore, with the gorgeous lines that this car is blessed with, it wouldn’t look out of place when parked at the Raffles Town Club along with the other taitai-mobiles.
That’s not to say the boys won’t want one too. The fact that it looks like the offspring of the SLR is enough to get most of us hot under the collar begging for one. Though I would imagine the boys will be lusting after the ultra-masculine V8 5.5-litre variant more than anything else.
So yes, the second-generation SLK has carried the torch well and for a smidge under $200k, it looks a lot better than most of its contemporaries while retaining some semblance of practicality.
Honestly, I’m hardpressed to tell what the next SLK is going to be like. But if the latest spyshots are anything to go by, I think there’s very little for us to worry about. Well, at least in the looks department.
Car Information
Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class SLK200 Kompressor (A)
CAT B|Petrol|12.1km/L
Horsepower
137kW (184 bhp)
Torque
240 Nm
Acceleration
7.9sec (0-100km /hr)
This model is no longer being sold by local distributor
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