Teamspeed First Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL 500
The best luxury roadster gets better still.
Text by Peter Burgess- Teamspeed European Editor

What is it? The latest Sport Lightweight Mercedes two-seater is lighter, gutsier and faster, and a technological powerhouse.

Why do I care? If you already drive an SL, your current car immediately looks passé. If you don’t, well Mercedes has moved its game along, though not necessarily in a way that automatically appeals.

How fast is it? 4,663 V8 twin turbo, 435hp@5,250rpm, 516lb ft@1,800rpm, 0-62mph 4.6sec, 155mph vmax

How much is it? $106,375

I’ll lay my cards on the table immediately. Europeans have different driving expectations to Americans, and they don’t get much further part when it comes to the new Mercedes SL. I am not say either group has better claim to getting it right. But with your wide-open spaces and our narrow roads and closely packed cities, the automotive requirements are simply different. Can you think of a good reason to drive a Smart ForTwo? Thought not, but plenty of Europeans can.

So when the guys at Mercedes, to a man, call the new SL their ‘sports car’ we kinda grimace. Sports cars encompass low weight and agility to the European mindset. Cars like a Lotus or Mazda MX-5 hit the nail on the head. The Boxster squeezes in, the 911 is on the extreme margins and Mercedes SL is simply something else altogether.

Yet this new SL has many of the right credentials. It looks simply awesome for starters. Mercedes hasn’t tried to develop the previous design or build a poor man’s version of the SLS. Complex curves, scoops and sharp lines intersect in so many different areas it’s hard to take it all in.

The structure is now all-aluminum, rather than aluminum over a steel frame. Dr Thomas Rudlaff confided to Teamspeed that without the change the SL would get uncomfortably close to 2000 kg (4400 pounds), which would stretch the credibility of that Sport Lightweight nomenclature. Now the SL is around 100kg lighter than before and, with a smaller capacity 4.7-litre V8 fitted with twin turbochargers, power is up 22% to 435hp.

Performance
Stick your foot hard down and the SL settles down at the back end, squirms a bit and lunges forward, to a delightful soundtrack from the engine. It never fails to impress and this will, I suspect, be enough to make the SL 500 the sports car many were dreaming of.

Stick to cruising and the SL is truly in its element. Wafting around with the seven-speed transmission silkily shifting gears, there’s rarely a need to take manual control by using the paddles behind the steering wheel.

There are, naturally, buttons that engage a more sporting gearchange mode, altering the shift pattern and making the pedal more sensitive to movement. Yet this is an issue that is never fully resolved, whatever setting you select. In the manner of Mercedes past, the pedal will move what seems like a couple of inches before there’s a tangible pick up in acceleration, and then the SL will take off all too rapidly.

It’s this behavior that counts against the SL when it comes to making the grade as a proper sports car. Increase the pressure on the accelerator as you leave a corner and you are never quite sure when the power is going to kick in.

The turbo-chargers probably don’t help here. Turbo lag shouldn’t be an issue these days, but there is certainly a step input as the revs rise and the torque really kicks in as the turbos spool up. If you doubt my analysis, well, the first thing the Mercedes engineer asked me was whether the engine was below or above the turbo power band as I left the corner.

The steering is nicely light but provides little in the way of feedback. And then there’s that multiplexing darned computer, controlling so much of the SL’s attitude that driving the Mercedes 500SL is, you can’t help concluding, something that doesn’t need much input from you.

The acronym count – ATTENTION ASSIST, ADAPTIVE BRAKE, yadda, yadda, yadda, all in essential CAPIATL LETTERS, has reached such a level that even Mercedes PR folk have given up and just state there are now sixteen separate systems to keep your SL in line.

Where the SL really works well is on wider, open roads with sweeping curves. The Mercedes takes these in regal elegance and it makes you feel rather good. It’s a valid reason for buyers to choose an SL over a Porsche 911 convertible.

Interior
While the exterior of the SL is a riot of complex shapes, inside it’s all calm sophistication. The fascia is especially pleasing, with beautiful dials and switchgear of the highest quality.

It’s a comfortable place to travel too, especially with the fully optioned-up seat package that combines lushness with a vibro-massage – should you choose. Strictly a two-seater (unlike the BMW 6 Series) there’s space behind the seats for coats and small bags.

Luggage space is simply gigantic with the roof up, but the loss of space when the roof is open will always be an issue on cars like the SL. Still, it’s easy to open with the clever foot-waving-under-the-bumper trick; the boot will shut in the same way too.

The SL’s DNA in more recent years has been its folding hard top. This one is lighter and faster than ever, going through the whole routine in 20 seconds. A new option, Magic Sky Control, tints the glass roof at the touch of a button. Magic Vision Control is simply dozens of washer jets built into the wiper blades.

The bass speakers for the stereo are built into the aluminum chassis structure in the footwells to provide more resonance. Mercedes actually brought along the man responsible for the speaker installation to the media launch in Spain. It’s that important.

Great aerodynamics, lower weight and the new engine make the SL greener and more economical than before. It’s also the safest car in its class, Mercedes claims, not only after you’ve crashed but also in preventing an accident in the first place. Thank the computer for that bit.

Conclusion
So I have mixed feelings about this new SL. I greatly admire the new design and the aluminum chassis around which it is built. The interior is a work of art and a simply delightful place to travel.

But although I might enjoy the 4.6-second 0-60mph acceleration for some time to come, and it will always impress the hell out of the front seat passenger, I don’t for one minute lust after the new Mercedes SL. It’s simply not enough fun. One ting I am sure of though. Mercedes knows its market very well indeed. And they’ll love the 2012 SL.

 

Few more images:

 

Very nice review guys, I too prefer the older style SL55's like a few others have chatted about here of late.

 

ugly car, thought it is the R172 slk from the front.

 

I agree,.."they" sure will
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+1

A lot of us prefer that design, me included

But I actually prefer the new Interior design...really like the SLS design cues!!

 

So have they gone away from "550" and plan to badge all the standard V8s with "500" for 2012?

 

this is a Euro model showed in the review

 

US Spec is the 550, Euro Spec is the 500.

 

Makes sense. Thanks.

 

I love the new dash and gauges! So much better!