As everyone who reads this site knows, I drove an Aston Martin in Las Vegas back in early July.  However, the first car I drove that day was this Mercedes SLS.  I didn’t plan on driving it.  I was slated to take the wheel of a Ferrari F430 Scuderia, but its transmission decided it hated the obscenely hot temperatures even more than I did.  It was 115 degrees in the shade, but I felt ice-cold driving this Iridium Silver SLS.  Having driven one already on the street and needing a car that could handle the Vegas summer scorch, I agreed to replace the temporarily broken F430 with this intriguing set of wheels.  The experience was rather eye-opening.

The Looks:

The SLS has been with us in the market for two years now in America, and it doesn’t stop traffic any less now than it did at its launch.  I love the way it looks.  I’m a sucker for gull-wing doors and sleek lines–nothing else quite looks like the SLS coupe.  The rear end looks retro, the doors are a throwback, but the rest of the car looks right up to date.  Mercedes hit a grand slam here, no one can doubt that.  The silver finish on my tester may have been a bit dirty from the track use, but that didn’t do anything to dampen this car’s style.

The interior is a symphony of style, too.  The silver example here was fitted up with the red leather interior and silver finish on the center stack.  It’s strange to be sitting in a $200,000 car without carbon fiber all over the place, but the aluminum finish befits this car’s classy outside looks.  The car fits like a tailored suit both inside and out.  I also love the way the instrument panel looks–it’s elegant and restrained.  Negatives?  Well, there’s no negatives, except for the fact that I can’t close the door without taking human growth hormone.

Score: 4.0/4.0

By the Numbers:

The build quality on the SLS is great. At this level,  I expect nothing less than perfection, and Mercedes delivers.  The car feels like a bank vault, with thin shut lines are everywhere. The finish of the panels is too precise for words, and the “ka-Thunk” of the doors as they shut make for a nice feeling of solidity.  What does shock me is that despite this car’s bulky and masculine looks, it weighs less than two tons, which is nice for a big V8/RWD supercar.  Comfort is good–the seats in the SLS are firmly supportive and are covered in only the best dead cows.

The SLS packs an engine worthy of the Hall of Fame.  It’s a monster 6.2L V8 punching out 563 bhp and 479 pounds-feet of torque.  The engine employs plenty of modern weight-saving measures to keep the car balanced, and even gets dry-sump oiling to lower the center of gravity.  The only transmission is a seven speed dual-wet-clutch transmission, known as the “AMG SPEEDSHIFT Gearbox.”  Normal cast-iron brakes come standard, while a set of ceramic brakes are optional.  On paper, the SLS really does stack up well.

Score: 4.0/4.0

At the Helm:

With the first few turns of the track, I quickly realized what I was in for.  The original SLS AMG was not designed for track duty–it’s a street car and it’s not ashamed of being such.  I hadn’t driven the track until getting behind the wheel of this thing so I was a bit worried that it would take advantage of me, beat me up, take my $95 worth of Las Vegas lunch money, and leave me at the side of the track with a bloody nose.  OK, I’m exaggerating.  It didn’t do that.  But I still had that inkling that it would.  In a straight line, 563hp is a scary thing when you aren’t ready for it.  This thing hurls itself at the horizon without any consideration of the phrase “common decency.”  It’s unapolagetically fast on the straights.  The transmission holds its own nicely too with quick shifts–a lot quicker than the V8 Vantage I drove right after.  But the biggest thing that kept me interested was what this engine did to my eardrums–it force-fed my aural nerves the sound of pure evil.  This V8 sounds devilishly good, and kept telling me to do naughty things.

However, it’s not as fun in corners.  The brakes are strong and there’s not much nosedive when pushing this thing into a corner, but turn the steering wheel and prepare to hold on.  While I wasn’t going nearly fast enough to be hitting this car’s limits, I could still get that inkling that getting a corner wrong in this car would certainly mean oversteer.  Thankfully this car, like the Aston, doesn’t have stock tires (with stock widths) fitted, so rear grip was nice and strong.  However, the SLS feels heavy around corners and, while not reluctant, is a bit difficult to place on the track smoothly for a novice like me.  I had fun with it, but never really felt comfortable flinging it around the circuit.  The ride on the track was firm and controlled, but still comfy.  On the road a few years ago, I felt almost invincible in this car around the 17-Mile Drive, but here on the track, I definitely felt mortal.  It’s a great car, but on the track, it’s not at home.

Score: 3.0/4.0

The Bottom Line:

The SLS starts at a reasonable price for 563hp and superstar looks, but that’s it.  Prices open for 2014 at over $200,000.  That’s a lot of money, but Mercedes offers plenty of nice options to keep anyone interested, including a Bang and Olufsen BeoSound audio system packing 1,000 watts, the AMG Performance Media suite (neither of which were on my car), ceramic brakes, or various carbon fiber equipment pieces (engine cover, mirror caps, etc).  While mine wasn’t equipped with these options, most of them on the market will have a combination of them and it’s quite easy to push the SLS past $220,000.  That said, even with possible dealer markup, I’d still expect to pay less than 250K for one of these brand new.  That’s not so bad, all things considered.

Things that bother me overall?  Well, it’s not that great on the track in tight corners, but it’s hilariously good fun in a straight line.  It’s not really built for me either (I’m 5′ 4″ tall, which means I cannot reach the door when sitting down).  Luckily, Mercedes has short people covered well with no-cost optional straps for the door panels so that people of my height may close them without either looking stupid or asking for help from passerby (both of which have happened to me in this car).

Score: 3.0/4.0

In the end, this car has stiff competition.  It’s fun to drive, but it does its best work on the street, not the track.  Luckily, the new Black Series is available, and from what I hear, handles better than the standard car.  There is the roadster too, for those of us who still can’t reach the door when it’s opened up all the way or must drive without a roof.  Do I like this car?  Of course I do.  Would I buy one with my own money?  That’s another story.  If I had $230K to spend on a supercar, this is a nice option, but I’d want to burn some extra cash and go after the Ferrari 458, which I drove that day too, and found to be a much better car despite its higher price of entry.

Final Score: 4+4+3+3 = 14/16 = 3.5/4.0,

Grade: B+

-Albert S. Davis