SL 55 opinions
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SL 55 opinions
I test drove an SL 55 yesterday and came away impressed. The only thing that wasn't so good was the brake pedal feel. the steering was crisp, the ride firm but able to soak bumps and it had some nice power delivery. While it certainly isn't a sports car, it is quite sporty. I'd be curious from owners what they think. To me, this is the front-runner when I sell my Turbo.
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as far as kick-*** convertibles go, the SL55 is hard to beat.
as you sussed, it is absolutely not a sports car. it's a droptop muscle car.
i have an S55. same engine in a (believe it or not) slightly lighter car.
you almost certainly did not get the max out of the engine on a test drive for two reasons. first, you might have not pushed it wildly like you would a car you were comfortable with, but, and more importantly, the tranny is a *****, and learing how to play it takes a while.
the tranny is absolutely the weak link in these AMG cars. if i'm just driving the kids to day care, it's fine. if i'm not paying attention it's fine. but the minute you want the car to perform IRL, it becomes painfully apparent that the shift programming leaves a lot to be desired. and the manual mode, while cool, isn't an asset for performance. as best i can tell, in the sport program the computer considers teh time it takes to shift and shifts early. in the manual mode obviously this doesn't happen, so the shift time, and sometimes it's interminable (relatively speaking), becomes a real liability. for true performance behavior, you have to put the car in sport mode and learn how to manipulate the throttle to get the most out of it.
but man oh man, when you nail it that engine is nothing short of monstrous!
my two farthings.
doody.
as you sussed, it is absolutely not a sports car. it's a droptop muscle car.
i have an S55. same engine in a (believe it or not) slightly lighter car.
you almost certainly did not get the max out of the engine on a test drive for two reasons. first, you might have not pushed it wildly like you would a car you were comfortable with, but, and more importantly, the tranny is a *****, and learing how to play it takes a while.
the tranny is absolutely the weak link in these AMG cars. if i'm just driving the kids to day care, it's fine. if i'm not paying attention it's fine. but the minute you want the car to perform IRL, it becomes painfully apparent that the shift programming leaves a lot to be desired. and the manual mode, while cool, isn't an asset for performance. as best i can tell, in the sport program the computer considers teh time it takes to shift and shifts early. in the manual mode obviously this doesn't happen, so the shift time, and sometimes it's interminable (relatively speaking), becomes a real liability. for true performance behavior, you have to put the car in sport mode and learn how to manipulate the throttle to get the most out of it.
but man oh man, when you nail it that engine is nothing short of monstrous!
my two farthings.
doody.
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Jim this is the second best car I have ever owned. The power is instant. Doody is right you have to learn how to play with the tranny. The best is if you roll at about 5000 rpms in first and then punch it, the car chirps second and pins you back. I am in love with this car.
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I would imagine M-B is going to continue to refine the shift programming so it responds better in both automatic and manual modes. i wonder how the transmission of the CL/SL 65's will behave and how much different that will be. It must be crazy with soooo much more power.
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