Mercedes-Benz SL350 2004 Review

We have tested the posers, pretenders and potential stars of open-air motoring. But it's time to reset the gold standard for convertibles and cabrios.

We've enjoyed the Mazda MX5-SE and Peugeot 307 CC, puzzled over the Daihatsu Copen and had an unfulfilling fling with an Alfa Spider, but have no doubts about the Mercedes-Benz SL.

It remains the best metal-roof convertible.

The latest SL is the six-cylinder 350. And it brings everything that has made the heavyweight Benz a benchmark of the droptops.

That means good looks, quality design, fantastic finishing and a roof action that still drops jaws after more than 10 years and plenty of copies.

But the best comes at a high price.

The cheapest of the SL droptops will detonate a $200,000 explosion in your bank account, and the top-line SL 65 – which arrives later this year with a twin-turbo V12 engine – will cause a seismic shift closer to $500,000.

So, how can we describe the SL 350 as a bargain?

The six-pack SL is $90,000 less expensive than an SL 500 V8, yet its missing equipment adds up to nothing like $90,000.

The only things absent from the SL 350 are Parktronic parking radar, high-beam xenon headlamps, Benz's hi-tech Active Body Control suspension, and heated and ventilated seats.

It even has the same 17-inch alloy wheels as the SL 500.

That means a lot of cars are going to be ordered without a 500 badge on the boot, because only real enthusiasts – or people with a keen ear for a V8 burble – will pick the difference.

The arrival of the 350 this year comes after the big impact of Mercedes' SL 500 and SL 55 AMG, and ahead of the twin-turbo V12 SL 65 AMG, which will cost about $470,000 when it arrives later this year.

The 350 has taken 60 per cent of SL sales this year, which is good considering 102 cars were delivered by the end of April.

Benz expects it to take 50 per cent of all SL business for 10 years.

Changes to SL models are far apart for two reasons: high development costs and the car is a fairly timeless machine.

The SL has a surprising number of rivals at $200,000, including the Porsche 911 Targa, Maserati Spyder, Jaguar XK8 and the cheaper Lexus SC430, while BMW will rock the boat with a 6-Series convertible.

On the road

The SL has been around for a while, but it still feels new and tight. It looks good, too.

It comes fully loaded with everything from electric leather seats to satellite navigation and classy CD sound, just as you'd expect for the price.

The downgrading work in the engine room hasn't really hurt the car, which still has enough go from its 3.7-litre V6 to easily keep pace with traffic and breeze past when overtaking.

It doesn't have the wham-bam punch of the 500, or the gutsy engine grumble, but the performance is fine and it did well to run

13.2 litres/100km consumption during our test.

The sweet five-speed automatic with easy touch-change action allows you to keep the engine in the performance band from 3000 revs if you want some fun. It provides plenty, and not just with the top folded into the boot.

The SL is a great coupe with the strength of its rivals and plenty of lounging space for two. OK, it's a big car to have only two seats, but that's the deal with the SL. There's a small bench behind the buckets for knick-knacks.

Fold down the roof and the SL becomes a great convertible, particularly with the wind blocker fitted inside the fold-up rollover bar. The roof itself still sets the standard for all convertibles, working smoothly and quickly. It would be nice, though, if Benz could get it to work at up to 30km/h – as do some cheaper rivals – so you don't get caught in a downpour at the lights.

The SL 350 corners nicely if you glide it around curves and don't try to force all 1700kg into abrupt moves, but it's not immune to droptop wobbles. A couple of undulations and a hidden drain caught it, reminding us that even Benz can't remove all traces of top-down weakness.

At the end of our time with the SL 350 we were reminded of all the good reasons for putting one on the Tattslotto dream list.

But if the SL 350 is so good, why doesn't it get a perfect 20-point rating? The price, because $209,900 is silly money for a car – particularly one with only two seats.

The SL 350 is a mighty fine device and a relative bargain among luxury cars, but we still have to leave a little space in the ratings for the SL 55 AMG – still best in show for the SL – and which rates a 19.

The bottom line

If you win Tattslotto, put this car on your shortlist. It's actually a bargain.