SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get at home.
Unlike most car reports, what you read in these pages will not be a faithful reproduction, albeit slightly reworded, of what appeared in the manufacturer's press release. We look for background material, user experience and whatever else we can find that's beyond the obvious. Our guiding rule is that you will be able to tell that the car was actually driven.
*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.
*Pre-owned: Our tests go back quite a few years, so if you are looking for something pre-owned, you might well find a report on it in here.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling at the time the reports were written.
Posted: 9 November 2014
Modified: 15 November 2014
First released at the North American International Auto Show in January 2012 and built almost entirely of aluminium with magnesium fuel tank shield and roof mechanicals, it weighs about 110 kilograms less than its predecessor. That’s after allowing for extra mass added by more sophisticated safety kit. The original saving was 125 kg.
Benefitting you is that it’s faster, quicker, more nimble, has a lower centre of gravity and uses less fuel. For those bothered with plebeian detail, it now sells for less than it did at launch, while name droppers might like to know that famous SL-owners have included Steve Jobs, Demi Lovato, Jeremy Clarkson and Ice-T.
The previous naturally aspirated 5.5-litre, eight-cylinder motor made way for a 4663 cc directly injected, twin-turbocharged V8. They share the same bore pitch, aluminium block and low-friction cylinder liners. New piezo-electrically actuated injectors deliver fuel more precisely while multi-spark ignition enables plugs to fire up to four times per combustion sequence - for cleaner, more efficient burning.
Other changes include a wider adjustment range for the variable valve timing system, a new timing chain arrangement and new engine ancillaries (oil pump, water pump, fuel pump and alternator) to reduce power losses. The engine uses twin Honeywell, previously known as Garrett, turbochargers. That’s one per cylinder bank, producing 0.9 bar of boost pressure. Its gearbox is the Mercedes-Benz 7 G-Tronic Plus automatic.
Mercedes-Benz says these changes, in conjunction with vehicle modifications such as the stop-start system, allow the new car to use significantly less fuel, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and make more power (320 kW vs. 285) and torque (700 Nm vs. 530). Car Magazine fuel indices for the two are 14,3 l/100 km (old) and 10,9 (new). My unscientific real-life test regime yielded 12,3 l/100 km, but I drove about one-third of the way with its top down and provoked it occasionally.
Standard features include Attention Assist that suggests you stop for coffee when your driving style becomes erratic, the active multi-contour seat package, and Active Parking Assist to aid entering and exiting parking spaces. The roof, that opens or closes in 20 seconds, has an electrically operated draught stop. This helps keep flyaway hair in place, and breezes under control, when driving topless at fairly hectic speeds. Interpret that any old way you choose.
Then there’s the Driving Assistant package with all its safety aids including Pre-Safe brake loading, Active Lane Keeping Assist and Active Blind Spot Assist. Inside there’s the COMAND online connectivity system with its DVD changer and 17.8-centimetre screen, a shift-by-wire module with neat little shifter in the centre console, ECO start-stop function, electric parking brake, electromechanical steering, suspension with adjustable damping and the Frontbass system that uses existing body hollows to boost tonal (duh) bass.
Moving on, there’s the Intelligent Light System that dips for traffic automatically, keyless starting with hands-free access, shift paddles, windscreen wipers with Magic Vision Control (that means the washer water is fed directly to the windscreen wiper and on the side it’s sweeping toward). On the outside, LED taillights and daytime running lamps save energy. We surely don’t need to get into the stuff you already know; like power-assisted everything and more braking and handling kit than you could shake a stick at?
Big, lazy V8 power loafs along at 1800 rpm in top at 120 km/h when you’re feeling laid-back, awesome overtaking ability wafts you up into heavy-fine numbers before you realise what’s happening and its ass gives a wicked little twitch when you get cheeky with the right foot. The familiar E-S-M selector is still there; E for easy driving, S for getting your sport on and M works together with the selector paddles when serious manual-shift driving is called for. A separate Eco button on the dash tower deselects automatic stop-start from the mix but, rather annoyingly, switches back on at every restart.
Because this is a slightly ‘legacy’ model rather than one of the brand-new Mercedes’, its computer can still be worked by owners over 22 years old. Thank heavens for that. Much as juveniles might lust after an SL or anything else bigger than CLA or GLA, very few would be able to afford one. So why require a B Compt. degree to engage the air on other new models for goodness’ sake?
My previous SL reports (SL 63 AMG and 400 SL AMG-Line) studiously avoided such banalities as cargo space and practicality. That’s because, apart from the occasional golf bag or minimal luggage for lost weekends, such topics had no place in the context of a sporty lad or lady’s Million-and-a-half motoring toy.
But because you asked: The boot is pretty fair with the separator, that allows one to store the roof, in place but even better when it’s lifted out of the way. A lidded box behind the passenger chair (the ‘other one’ is a dummy) looks big enough for Mam'selle's pupil to stash a change of clothes and his vitamins. For other bits and pieces, there’s a bi-level glove box and narrow door bins. Her Bentley Platinum sunspecs go in a dedicated compartment.
Finally, despite what the literature says, there are no pleb-friendly cup holders in this car. Yay! SLs are meant for long haul cruising to exciting destinations, not multi-hour traffic jams. I’m glad someone was paying attention.
Test car from MBSA press fleet
The Numbers:
Price: R1 550 244 including CO2 tax
Engine: 4663 cc, DOHC, 32-valve, dual turbo V8
Power: 320 kW at 5250 rpm
Torque: 700 Nm between 1800 and 3500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 4.6 seconds
Maximum speed (governed): 250 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 12.3 l/100 km
Tank: 65 litres
Boot: 235-356 litres
Warranty and maintenance: 6 years/100 000 km
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8