SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


We relive mid-life crises in the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 7-Gmatic Plus

Impractical, wasteful, selfish and sexy as hell

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday May 30, 2012

You were told, while growing up, that there is a time for every purpose: A time to sow and a time to reap; a time for joy and a time to weep; a time for big, thirsty SUVs to cram your spouse, your kids, the family pets and the children’s worldly goods into and a time for a slick and sexy little sports car that makes the world go away.

OK, Mama probably never told you about the two-seater because such things are impractical, wasteful, selfish, seductive - and this is about where she ran out of words, knowing all that was true, but if only…

There aren’t many choices as these things go, just Mercedes SLK, Porsche Boxster and the Zee cars from BMW and Nissan. There are good reasons for that; they are impractical, wasteful, selfish and, just to make your mind up for you, they’re pretty pricey as well. But what if you have the means, the opportunity and the motive? They’re all priced within a hundred kay or so of each other, with a couple of makes offering more powerful and more expensive options, so it becomes a choice of power trains and features.

Mercedes-Benz’s low-cost offering is the SLK 200, an 1800 cc turbocharged device developing 135 kW of power and 270 Nm of torque, with a choice of six-speed manual, or seven-speed automatic transmissions driving the back wheels. You will note that they are all rear-drivers because that’s just the way sports cars work. There is absolutely no pretence at a back seat and the boot is pretty small – 284 litres with the roof up or 174 with it stowed. Its makers assure us that the essentials will fit; a couple of sports bags, for example. Overseas buyers content with a puncture kit in place of the space saver spare we get, have 51 litres more loading space, so they could fit four crates of liquid refreshments, a large suitcase or a golf bag.

It’s pretty well equipped with the usual electronic safety kit, six airbags, crash-responsive head restraints, M-B’s standard A20 music centre with USB, auxiliary and Bluetooth, dual channel automatic air conditioning, warmed, leather-upholstered seats with electrical adjustment and memory settings, attention assist, cruise control with speed limiter, powered windows and an onboard computer. An all-metal folding roof is standard, but our test unit had the optional tinted sunroof panel priced at R6 500. Those who really want to show off can spring for something even smarter called Magic Sky Control. The panel goes lighter or darker as sunlight intensity changes; just like photogrey specs. For you, Fräulein, only R21 500.

What’s it like to live with? We have a bit of an anomaly here; it’s too expensive for most youngsters, who would be going through the SUV stage of their lives anyway, so it’s basically a toy for those who can afford such things – mostly older people. Now here’s the rub. You get down into the seats of an SLK and wear it – butt down, swing the feet in toward the pedals, that’s it. If you’re older than a certain age or have a history of sports injuries, best try it out first.

With that little detail out of the way, how does it drive? It’s a Mercedes and it’s built with all the clever engineering that makes smooth effortless progress a pleasure. The little turbocharged engine delivers all the power you need, the steering is responsive and quick and the brakes just grab you in a big comforting fist and retard forward motion instantly. There are bigger engines and AMG kits, but in our opinion, they move away from the fun and freedom that this car is actually about.

There’s just one tiny fact to consider, though. You had better be a big fan of wind in your face and tousled hair, because with the top down, this is possibly the closest to a motorcycle you are going to get. A cap is an option of course, but make sure it fits snugly, because at cruising speed, Mother Nature is going to do her best to rip it off.

Summing up, nobody will ever accuse an SLK of being practical, but if you really want one, can wear it and can afford it, use it and the world truly will go away.

The numbers
Price with 7-Gmatic Plus transmission: R584 200
Engine: 1796 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 135 kW at 5250 rpm
Torque: 270 Nm between 1800 and 4600 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 7,0 seconds
Maximum speed: 237 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8,6 l/100 km
Tank: 60 litres
Warranty and Maintenance: Mobilodrive 120 plan 6 years/120 000 km


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
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