Turning Heads
Mercedes SLK350 commands attention

We drove one of the Mardi Gras parade routes before the floats began to roll to see all of the craziness and ended up being the parade. You should have seen the stares the Mercedes SLK350 received from all of the tailgaters. Of course, I did this on purpose. This vehicle needed to be exhibited. Even in February. AIRSCARF allows you to keep the roof down in cooler temperatures. A soothing stream of heated air to your neck, head and shoulders helps take the bite out of chilly top-down conditions. With individual three-stage temperature controls and airflow that automatically adjusts to your driving speed, you’ll never want to put your roof up. Also exhilarating is the retuned DOHC V-6 in the SLK350. A new red-accented engine cover announces its enhanced power. It commands 300 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of peak torque to keep your adrenaline flowing. Continually variable timing on both the intake and exhaust valves coupled with a dual-stage intake manifold, helps provide 100 percent of its peak torque at 4,900 rpm, ensuring immediate response to every throttle input. A wide range of closely spaced gears delivers the ideal gear ratio for virtually every driving condition, which means smoother cruising and immediate response for acceleration and passing, and even improved fuel efficiency on the highway. Gas mileage is estimated at 18 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on the highway. The direct-steer system provides quicker steering response, lighter effort while parking, fewer turns lock-to-lock and improved directional stability at higher speeds. At lower speeds, the vehicle-speed-sensitive power rack-and-pinion steering delivers more power assist for easy handling. At higher speeds, the amount of power is adjusted for improved road feel and control. To help you see better in the dark when making tight turns at low speeds, the corner-illuminating fog lamps shine toward the area on the inside of the turn. Turning the steering wheel or using the turn-signal indicators at low speeds will trigger this function, which is particularly useful in parking structures, residential areas or when turning into driveways. Beneath the SLK's sleek appearance is a robust yet lightweight structure engineered to help protect you when things get serious. Its front and rear crumple zones include full-width side members designed specifically for offset collisions. Reinforcements of the bulkhead and a floor crossmember near the pedals help strengthen the cabin. The body structure behind the seats includes a convex aluminum bulkhead with a steel crossmember running underneath and an innovative magnesium fuel tank partition.

Published March 2009