Test drive Mercedes Benz SLK R170 2000 - 2004 convertible

SLK320- two-faced Mercedes

Actually, December is not the most successful time to conduct cars of cars with a body rubber. A very minus temperature on a thermometer, coupled with almost stormy, penetrating the wind, somehow does not have a sunbathing, rather forces you to recall the advice of doctors when frostbiteing the skin. But there is such a profession - to test cars, which means that one way or another we will have to check this unusual relatives -coup in both of its mortgages ...

A slightly strange designation of the Roadster-Cope body for a knowledgeable person sounds about the same as a universal sedan. But for people informed people alone, the name Mercedes-Benz Slk says much more than such a confusing designation of the body type, because At one time, this model has become a real sensation. Previously, a convertible or a class, that is, models with an opening top, could only have a soft tissue or leather roof, which manually folded or using an electric drive. The Upper Verkhi was also proposed for them, but only very peculiar - it was a whole design, dismantled only. It was intended for the operation of a convertible or relative in the cold season, and in the spring the owner was a clock procedure for dismantling a hard top. The removable hard top, that is, literally dismantled for several tens of seconds, had only cars with a body of the targ body - these are two -door sports models in which the central part of the roof was made of light composite materials and was removed if necessary. True, Targa was still not a full -fledged convertible - the rear window, as well as the roof element with an almost necessarily a central longitudinal beam that increases the hardness of the body, greatly limited the feeling of freedom.

There was no need to talk about equipping an open car with a folding top made of metal in those days - the soil folding technology would not allow it to make it quite compact and at the same time durable. Once upon a time there were such attempts, but a car with such a hard top was not entirely ready for mass production: the roof folding mechanism occupied the entire trunk and another half a car, and the process itself took a lot of time. Perhaps no one would do it, because It is profitable for the manufacturer to sell cars with cheaper soft, folding roofs, and consumers who are accustomed to this state of things did not even know that in this case something could be different. But Mercedes-Benz, who was engaged in the mid-nineties developing a compact Rodster, decided to offer something truly unique, which competitors do not have. The concept car, which first shown the really real mechanism of the hard folding top, did not go in prototypes for long-literally a couple of years later the model named SLK appeared in the price list of dealers. Naturally, neither BMW Z3 Bondovsky nor other luxurious open cars had such a chip ... It is now a hard folding top is offered for many models of relatives even much cheaper than Mercedes-Benz Slk. But then, at the time of the debut, he was the discoverer of this sector of the market - the sector of sports relatives, equally suitable for operation in any climatic zone. After all, whatever one may say, and even a multi-layer fabric-oozing roof at Rodster is a weak protection from noise and air flows. With a soft top, the car makes noise more, especially at high speeds, and there is a very high probability that at night the Roger with such a top seems to be easy prey for hijackers. True, it still will not succeed in taking thieves from this car, because under the beautiful leather skin of the roof a strong multilayer structure is hidden, which cannot even be cut with a knife, but the car will be spoiled. And the repair or replacement of such a roof ...

In any case, the hard top is many times more convenient and more profitable: the car looks better, and this type of roof has no special disadvantages. It folds completely automatically, without any participation of the driver - press the button on the button. True, in order for the process of laying out the roof to begin, several rules must be observed. Firstly, in the trunk where the top is folded, there is a special net that distinguishes the trunk into the cargo and backup zones. When you ride with a raised top, you can remove the net and boldly use the entire volume of the trunk, which, by the way, was not so small. And in order to prevent any extraneous object, the process of folding the roof does not fall under the folding top, only if the net is stretched across the trunk. Also, the mechanism will not work if the car is moving. Before starting the procedure, the car must be put on a parking or on a handbrake if your SLK is equipped with a mechanical gearbox. The whole process takes 25 seconds, that is, you can turn your closed car into an open rubber directly at a traffic light. Just look, do not create an emergency: the top processing process is so interesting that others, including drivers, will simply forget about everything else.

First, the locks of the fixer curtain in the trunk are triggered if they determined that the curtain in place, with a quiet buzz, the trunk lid begins to rise. Only not in the direction in which we open it for loading baggage, but in the opposite. Its front part rises, opening its pharynx to receive the roof. Then, slowly and smoothly, the side windows are lowered, and with them, the roof begins to break - the electric shocks on the windshield rack are triggered, and, slowly folding, the roof disappears in the bowels of the trunk. Then, the finished stroke, the trunk lid takes its rightful place, and everything, the class is ready for the trip. At this moment, you can look around - you are unlikely to be able to see so many open mouths anywhere else. And while your stream neighbors like zombies, without taking their eyes, look at your SLK, you have another opportunity to surprise them - turn on the position D and properly, to the very polish, press the accelerator pedal ...

Roadster, even if it is Mercedes -Benz, by definition of the class should be sports - powerful, yurk, with excellent handling. Comfort, smoothness, space in the cabin - all this is considered the tenth business, because, buying a classroom, the client wants sensations. And as one notorious hero of the elusive said: I have them. The power of a 3.2 -liter motor, divided into a equipped mass of a light compact relatives, makes this car not just dynamic - it makes it explosive. By the way, the same motor is installed on a huge S-class! Even with an automatic machine, which is mandatory for such powerful Mercedes -Benz, SLK just tears and swords - work more actively with your right foot and you will be rewarded.

If you turn off the stabilization and traction control system, then in the bend you can thoroughly scare others - a herd of more than 200 horses will easily tear the rear wheels into slipping. Well, let it be even more gas, and if road conditions allow, you can even try to portray a kind of controlled skid. But even more interesting to enter the turn at high speed. SLK stability is simply amazing, and low planting only enhances the feeling of permissiveness. While large cars roll and frantically screech with tires, trying to get into a turn, a light SLK with a short base is already accelerating at the exit of the turn. At the same time, the motor howls somehow not at all in Mercedes: at large speeds, its sound resembles the cry of a sports motorcycle, only the noise level remains within reasonable limits. The most interesting thing is that even with a lowered top in the car you can drive in winter. In city modes, the cold wind does not fall into the cockpit formed by the edge of the windshield, side glasses and high headrests with a net stretched between them. The heater power is enough to provide the desired climate even in this case!

If you turn the class into a closed double compartment, then life becomes not so interesting. The scream of the engine is no longer heard from behind, and the sensations of driving a closed car are not so bright. Although the language does not rotate to call them fresh - the motor is the same under the hood! I just don’t want to go for all the money. Mercedes in the hollow has its own special driving style. We turn on the music, and go smoothly, but quickly. Enjoying a powerful acceleration, but not trying to force the whole herd to work, overtaking, but not competing: with a 3.2-liter SLK engine allows you to go quickly, but calmly. And in this mode, Roadster-Cope no longer seems desperately hot, it is already just a quick and comfortable car, with a very powerful motor and verified handling. At first it seemed that the steering wheel is slightly empty and with active driving does not provide the driver with the necessary information, but now you understand that there is no more acute steering here. You do not need a more closed suspension here - the one that is available provides an excellent balance between sports control and comfort. In general, the Mercedes-Benz SLK320 has not only a universal body type ...

Text: Pavel Kozlovsky
 

Source: Autogazet / N 44 (390) dated 11.12.02