First drive: Mercedes-Benz SLK55

Mercedes-Benz SLK55

Powerful V8 is the key to a driving experience that's very un-hairdresser-like.
Convertibles are often pejoratively referred to as hairdresser's cars. If that's even partially true of the Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG, the hairdressers it is going to attract are more likely to own clippers and a cut-throat razor than straighteners and curling tongs.
Mercedes says the majority of customers for the AMG-tickled SLK are male professionals, and it shows in the execution with the sort of attributes that well-to-do car nuts crave - razor-sharp steering, take-no-prisoners handling and the fitment of an increasingly rare beast under the bonnet: a naturally-aspirated V8.
It's a welcome antidote for drivers suffering their own personal turbo lag - an aversion to driving performance cars whose grunt arrives late and in an almighty rush, in return for a theoretical few extra litres in the tank every hundred kilometres.

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Mercedes-Benz SLK55

Although in many significant respects a technological tour de force, the two-seater SLK55 AMG is in some ways about as simple as they come. Press the loud pedal, point it at a corner, turn the steering wheel and fan the brake, then get back on the gas again. And again, and again. It's addictively easy and devlishly fun.
It doesn't hurt that the slinky new SLK55 AMG cuts a silhouette that looks as classy on the streets of Toorak and Vaucluse as it does menacing a racetrack or the twisty roads on Melbourne's north-east fringe where we first experienced it.
Sure, it's got the looks that hairdressers will love; but so too will image-conscious bankers, stockbrokers and any other white-collar type with a performance bent.

Mercedes-Benz SLK55

It's no environmental bandit, either. Making a hefty 310kW and 540Nm - about the same as some Aussie-made V8 performance sedans - it drinks an official 8.5 litres per 100km, or 30 per cent less than the model it replaces. Mercedes claims it is the most economical naturally-aspirated V8 on the Australian market, bar none.
Depending on the driving mode you select, it can use both cylinder shutdown technology - switching from eight cylinders to four in light throttle situations - and an unintrusive stop-start system so seamless you barely register it working.
The 11.2L/100km we achieved cruising on country roads under a moderate throttle was still a decent number for a car that can sprint to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds, although that ballooned to 16.9L/100km later in the day on a long, twisty uphill ascent driven with enthusiasm.

Mercedes-Benz SLK55

The SLK55 AMG rides on firm springs that deliver plenty of what's happening on the road surface to the driver's seat, but without ever threatening to become brittle or jarring.
An inherently stable, low-riding chassis means you don't so much tackle corners as pounce on them. Even with the stability control system turned to "sport" mode - allowing the rear-driven Merc to indulge a little more latitiude - the SLK barely put a foot wrong, giving an entertaining little flick of its shapely hips but nary even a tyre chirp as we swept in and blasted out of corner after corner with increasing vigour.
A torque vectoring system that counters understeer by braking the inside rear wheel while re-routing torque to the slipping outer wheel was doubtless kept busy on a frenetic section of winding road, but did its job totally unobtrusively.

Mercedes-Benz SLK55

Another increasingly rare creature - hydraulic, and not electric, steering - was an undoubted highlight with confidence-inspiring response, a surprisingly quick ratio and enough weight to impart generous feedback. A tiller finished in both leather and soft, suede-like Alcantara added delightful tactility to the experience.
The seven-speed "7G Tronic" auto transmission was the only weak link in an otherwise brilliant drivetrain. Its default "comfort" mode intelligently seeks out the highest possible gear in more pedestrian driving, but the gearshift's "sport" mode was too often caught flat-footed on a corner exit, or was tardy with a downshift on entry.
Using the lovely steering-wheel-mounted alloy paddles in "manual" mode was the solution, with instantaneous reactions that also brought the best acoustical barks, crackles and harrumphs from the four tailpipes over your shoulder. Dare to let the engine rev beyond about 6000rpm and towards the 7000rpm cut-out and the dashboard-mounted trip computer glows an angry red in silent rebuke.
Inside the cabin there's no sign of scuttle-shake, the scourge of many lesser convertibles that causes the body to flex due to lack of structural reinforcement. With the top down, wind in the cabin is moderate at 100km/h but can be lessened by pulling into place two clear plastic shields that sit behind the two headrests.
With the metal-glass roof in place, engine noise is greatly reduced although there is still plenty to hear from the sports exhaust that employs flaps that open as engine revs rise to create a sportier note. Tyre roar is still noticeable inside the cabin, however.
The SLK55 AMG gets fully electric sports seats covered in sun-reflecting Nappa leather as standard. These are claimed to be about 13 degrees cooler than conventional leather after being left sitting in the sun with the roof stowed. They're well shaped and supportive, promoting a low racing-style driving position.
Instrumentation is classy and plentiful, and the Comand multimedia system uses a 40-gigabyte hard drive that includes 10GB set aside for music. The satellite navigation uses the Suna traffic channel to warn of traffic congestion on your intended route, and you can plan a detailed route on a home computer using Google Maps before sending it to the car via its inbuilt internet connection.
The latter came unstuck during our launch, though, with a last-minute change to our route to avoid traffic congestion associated with an accident (helpfully flagged by Suna) sending our sat-nav into apoplexy as it was unable to re-route us and continually tried to steer us back onto the original path.
Perhaps the best news of all for aspiring buyers is a massive price cut from the previous model, down about $25,000 to $155,000 plus on-road and dealer costs.
That could put it in the price range of many professionals, including hairdressers.