MOTORS Mercedes SL43AMG

Open for Business... even in winter! Mercedes SL43 AMG

If the idea of ordering a soft-top car in December seems absurd, bear with us... Mercedes’ new SL is open for business and will provide a cosy drive, even in winter!

IF SANTA NEEDSA NEW SLEIGH, we reckon he could do a lot worse than Mercedes Benz’s beautiful new SL. Granted, it’s a bit short on luggage space for all those presents, and despite aspirations towards being a 2+2, there’s really only room for in the front for Santa and Rudolph or Mrs Claus... the other reindeer, I’m afraid, will have to remain back in Lapland. Mercedes first launched the SL (Sport-Leicht) as a two-seater sports car based on the W198 racing car. That was in 1954, and it has since morphed into the firm’s flagship GT with new versions in 1963, 1971, 1989, 2001 and 2013. The new seventh iteration was previewed in May, but has only now gone on sale... just in time for winter. Not ideal for a soft top – especially as Mercedes has ditched the heavy folding hard top of the outgoing model for a lighter conventional soft top roof – right? Well, thanks to a 450g/m2 fabric roof, with three layers, Mercedes reckons its new SL can insulate the cockpit better than the outgoing folding hardtop, and with heated seats, heated steering wheel and Airscarf –warm air blowers in the headrests –the entry-level SL43 should provide cosy open-top motoring even in winter. Elsewhere in the range are SL55 & SL63 models, plus Touring, Premium Plus, Touring Plus and Performance versions. Don’t bother, as the base model is well-enough equipped, and your money is better spent on Mercedes’ excellent Driver Assistance package with its adaptive cruise control and automatic observance of speed limits.

Speaking of which, the basic SL43 has a 2.0 four-cylinder engine which reaches 60mph in under five seconds, 171mph on a closed racetrack. It’ll achieve just over 30mpg, too, so any extra performance from the 4.0V8 SL55 or SL63 is superfluous performance and excess running costs.

The SL is a great looking car, well-equipped with bags of performance. Of course, at £108,000 it wants to be, but as a flagship sports car that also represents Mercedes Benz’s last huzzah in the field of combustion engines before electrification finally achieves ubiquity, it’s an absolute triumph! n

THE DETAILS Mercedes Benz

SL43 AMG Premium

Price: £108,030 (On sale now). Powertrain (SL45): 2.0V4 16v, nine-speed automatic transmission, rear wheel drive. Performance: Top speed 171mph, 0-60mph 4.9secs. WLTP 30.1mpg. Equipment: 20” alloy wheels, parking package (sensors, automatic parking) with 360° camera, heated seats, steering wheel, Airscarf, navigation, ambient lighting, power roof and windows, Nappa leather, Burmeister stereo. n