Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K : SMALL WONDER

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Although The Price Tag May Seem Rather Steep For What Is Essentially A 1.8-Litre Roadster, The SLK200K Is Shot Through With Traditional Mercedes Quality. Andy Enright Reports

When attending a manufacturer press launch, there's often an informal order to things. If they have a couple of sporting models on offer, they prefer you to try the less powerful model first, as if the cars are sampled in the reverse order, the car with less under the bonnet invariably winds up as something of a disappointment. Therefore it came as something of a refreshing change when Mercedes insisted I drive the grunty SLK350 over the short route on day one of the launch and save the longer route for the SLK200K. Quite what they were up to certainly piqued my interest.

I hadn't looked forward to the SLK200K. I thought I knew what this car was all about. It was for those who couldn't really afford a `proper' current shape SLK and were instead more interested in posing than driving. That may well be the case, as thousands of buyers who have chosen to badge-delete their base-spec German cars have proved down the years. Thing is, these dilettantes will have lucked into getting their hands on one of the best driver's cars Mercedes have built for years. With a lightweight supercharged 1.8-litre engine developing 163bhp, the SLK200K feels a tad more nimble on its feet than the SLK350 and dances through corners with genuine relish. The shock realisation that here is a car that offers Porsche Boxster-like feedback is dulled to a certain extent by the even more astonishing revelation that this is a Mercedes with a decent manual gearbox. This deserves greater investigation. In the past, you either forked out for an automatic box with your Benz or you made do with a manual shift that was truculent, clunky and just downright unpleasant to use. The latest six-speeder as fitted to the SLK200K utilises a single-rod gearshift system, which allows drivers to make rapid gear changes, whilst at the same time offering an improved feel thanks to the use of damping elements. In contrast to the manual gearshift system in the outgoing SLK, in which the vertical and horizontal movements of the gearshift lever were transferred to the transmission separately, a single gearshift shift rod now communicates both movements at the same time. This means an end to the indirect routes of the previous system and the driver will certainly appreciate the benefits.

"The Mercedes SLK200K is a car that has a lot of expectation resting on it and exceeds it by a quite massive margin"

Although 163bhp doesn't sound a whole hill of beans when a decent hot hatch can stump up around 200bhp, the SLK200K feels acceptably rapid. It will notch off the sprint to 60mph in 7.7 seconds en route to a terminal velocity in excess of 140mph. Mercedes use a combination of a belt-driven supercharger and Lanchester dynamic balancer in this `TWINPULSE' engine and it offers a decent compromise between performance, economy and refinement. Two forged, multi-bearing shafts located underneath the crank assembly counter-rotate at double the speed of the crankshaft. This allows them to balance out the inertia forces inherent in this type of engine, which are brought about - among other things - by the movement of the pistons and can cause obtrusive vibrations. Aside from the gearbox issue, the SLK lays another Merc myth to rest. Received wisdom has it that Mercedes cabin quality has, to put it mildly, slipped in recent years. Many finger the M Class as the car that set this trend in motion but the SLK offers a supremely well screwed together cabin with top notch materials quality. Options such as AIRSCARF, a ventilation system that fires a welcome blast of warm air at the back of your neck, and a wide range of integrated electronic functions such as COMAND, satellite navigation and mobile phone kits make life a whole lot more convenient. The basic shape of the SLK has been left unchanged, the characteristic short boot and long bonnet creating a more aesthetically pleasing profile than most of the other hard top convertibles, many of which have rather odd proportions. It's a bigger car than before, the body being 72mm longer and 65mm wider, which means more space inside for beefier occupants. The roof mechanism has been widely copied and now no longer amazes bystanders but folds neatly into the boot in 22 seconds. The swivelling rear window means that with the roof folded there's now a good deal more space available in the boot - a notable issue with the old car. Safety provision has been well and truly revisited too, the latest SLK featuring a 40 per cent increase in the use of high tensile steel alloys. For the first time in an SLK, Mercedes is using adaptive airbags which deploy in two stages according to the severity of the accident. Twin stage seat belt load limiters also feature and recently developed head/thorax airbags respond to side impacts. A sensor triggers the side airbags and both belt tensioners during a vehicle rollover, with solid roll-over bars behind the seats also helping to prevent injury in the unlikely event of such an accident. The styling is a good deal more aggressive in its detailing than the cute first generation car. The distinctive arrow-like tapering of the front bonnet is reminiscent of both the McLaren Formula One racer and the Mercedes SLR McLaren supercar. Twin exhausts, a deep front spoiler and purposefully blistered wheel arches give the SLK a welcome dose of attitude. Mercedes have achieved a number of improbables with the latest SLK. Not only have they turned it from a bejewelled posemobile into a proper driver's car but they've also managed - for the time being at least - to make the least expensive car in the line up the most satisfying drive. The Mercedes SLK 200K is a car that has a lot of expectation resting on it and exceeds it by a quite massive margin.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Mercedes-Benz SLK 200K
PRICE: £29,045 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 16
CO2 EMISSIONS: 209g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 140mph / 0-60mph 7.7s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (average) 32.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags / ABS / ESP
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 160/70/52"