Mercedes-Benz SL review

Even for a marque as venerable as Mercedes-Benz – it pretty much invented the motor car – the SL badge still packs a significant emotional wallop. Most histories suggest it stands for ‘sporty’ and ‘light’, two commodities cherished by car fans but that have been largely forgotten in the 21st century technological arms race. Touchscreens and powered amenities trump pretty much everything else, obviously.

It’s certainly been a while since the SL could truthfully claim to be sporty or light. The new car aims to redress the balance but given even the four-cylinder two-wheel-drive SL 43 is 1,909kg and the full fat SL63 S E Performance hybrid weighs 2,320kg, AMG has obviously suffered a bad case of mission creep.

The bloodline is mostly that of an automotive aristocrat. The original arrived in 1952, a post-war competition car whose signature gullwing doors and radical engineering presaged a thrilling road version, and then a slightly less thrilling one.

Lately, the SL has had the aura of fallen hero, pushed to the margins of the sprawling Mercedes range and left to brood. Now that we’re onto generation number seven, it’s centre-stage once again.

What’s new?

Pretty much everything. This is the first SL to be developed under the aegis of AMG, which is proof that the ‘sport’ part of the equation is being taken seriously.

The SL features an all-new monocoque and chassis that borrows nothing from any existing Mercedes... but actually donates those things to the new AMG GT. It throws all-wheel drive and an active rear-steer axle into the mix, at least for the V8 models. The latest MBUX interior user-interface comes over from the S-Class but with some SL-specific twists, including a distinct cockpit feel, a low-slung driving position and central display that tilts to reduce reflections when the roof's folded away.

The exterior is the work of Mercedes’ California design studio. It has short-ish overhangs, big wheelarches that eat hungrily into the front wings, slim ‘digital’ headlights, a long bonnet/short tail silhouette, and a body whose rear half has shades of Porsche 911. Strange given their engines are at opposite ends.

It’s good to see the return of the old-school soft-top: as well as a neat rear end, it imbues the SL with a more classically sports car character without being remotely retro. Opening and closing the roof takes 15 seconds and can be done on the move at speeds up to 40mph.

Any electrification?

The new SL arrives armed with the £108k SL 43 as an entry point, a car powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine churning out 415bhp and 369lb ft; good for a 4.7-second 0-62mph time. It has a road-car world's first, an electric turbo: for more details, click the Driving tab.

Above the 2.0 are two non-hybrid versions of Mercedes’ vigorously internally combusting 4.0-litre ‘hot V’ V8 twin turbo. The SL 55 makes 469bhp, delivers 516 lb ft of torque, gets to 62mph in 3.9 seconds and can manage 183mph. The SL 63 has 577bhp and 590lb ft, takes just 3.6 seconds to dispatch 62mph and tops out at 196mph.

Then, at the top of the tree you’ve got the £190k SL 63 S E Performance. That adds hybrid power to the familiar V8 and results in a frankly terrifying 805bhp and 1,047lb ft of torque being sent to all four wheels. As a result, 0-62mph takes just 2.9 seconds and top speed is 197mph.

The battery is just 6.1kWh so although you can plug it in, the E Performance only provides around eight miles of all-electric range.

And to drive?

As with too many AMG cars, you might be delighted by the engine but baffled by the suspension and steering. Bumpy British roads cause turbulent body movements and the steering feels remote and unintuitive. The complex chassis systems – active anti-roll, 4WD, 4WS – on the SL 63 and 63 E Perforamnce make those even harder to bond with. They’re actually hugely grippy and secure but the enjoyment isn’t there for us.

Fortunately, the SL 43 is lighter, simpler and more fathomable. And as fast cruisers, any SL does a great job.

The SL is a Mercedes of typically impressive bandwidth, full of complex engineering but not unemotional, as befits its hedonistic remit. It’s arguably the most genuinely sporting SL since its Fifties ancestor. Its problem remains the Porsche 911, which is sportier again, yet pretty much as refined.

Although much less aggressive than in its uncompromising AMG GT sibling, the V8 engine is still a huge presence. But the V8 chassis systems can be too clever for their own good. Same goes for Mercedes’ universe of connectivity and tech. Given those are the barriers to the simple pleasure of driving it, we prefer the least expensive one. It lowers some of those barriers, yet retains all the presence.