Mercedes SL's ... my story so far.
I then started looking at some newer ones, 15 to 20 year old R230 series cars, but everything I saw was disappointing. Then I happened upon a 2016 R231 series SL400 for sale at my local MB dealership, much more expensive than I had planned, but out of curiosity I arranged to borrow it for a few hours to see what it was like. Quite literally within the first few hundred yards I was smitten, this was more like what I had expected an SL to feel like, and by the time I handed it back I was determined to buy it ... and I did!
It is a very fast car, with over 360 bhp from the 3.0 litre V6 twin turbo engine, but unlike almost every other fast car I have owned or tested, it does not goad me into always driving it fast. Indeed under normal circumstances it feels entirely comfortable to cruise effortlessly at legal speeds, safe in the knowledge that if you do need a tad more grunt, all it takes is a gentle poke on the throttle. I was lucky enough to test drive an AMG GT some years ago when it was launched, and I vividly remember it had the same Jeckyl & Hyde feeling, you can read my thoughts here. The SL400 feels like it's little brother to me. All words and photos copyright to John R Hunter
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