"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
07/08/2015 at 18:18 • Filed to: None
9
16|
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
07/08/2015 at 18:18 • Filed to: None | 9
| 16 |
Over the fourth of July weekend, I rented a car from LAX to drive down to Orange County and head into San Diego for dinner and fireworks. Originally picked the cheapest thing Hertz had but they gave me an upgrade for only $25 a night! The upgrade was for a “Mercedes convertible”. Walked out to the car and it was the 2013 SLK250 (automatic, hardtop, gps installed no charge).
Pretty exciting to drive off and enjoy my Socal trip with my girlfriend, top down the entire way. Very nice rental and honestly a decent car for the price it retails at (~$42k). Car had 31k miles on it, paddle shifters, and is very comfortable inside. Surely worth what I paid! Now I will give a bit more in depth review.
Miles driven with the top up: 0 (not an exaggeration)
Miles driven with the top down: ~600
Performance
This car has a 1.8L turbo i4 in it that should be good for around 200hp at the crank. I originally thought it was a 6 in there but there was a bit of a turbo whoosh and I confirmed it just now looking it up. With a curb weight of around 3200 pounds, this 2 seat roadster is heavier than I’m used to in my miata but you definitely notice the extra power. Going in a straight line very fast is crazy easy. Around turns, it does pretty well too since it is RWD and it’s not too heavy. Crusing down the freeway was as simple as can be and canyon carving was great.
Gearbox
All rental cars are unfortunately automatics. However, this automatic is a 7 speed paddle shifted gearbox with three different modes (Economy, Sport, and Manual)
Those modes were selected with the small button below the D on the shifter. When the car restarted, it would change back to “E” everything. In any mode, you could use the paddles behind the steering wheel to shift the car. Both E and S modes would shift for you the majority of the times, taking your paddle inputs as suggestions instead of commands. S mode was considerably more fun than E but M was the mode to be in. During M, you could nearly hit redline without the car interfering. The car just functioned much better in this mode. Still would prefer a clutch operated manual but this was certainly a much more fun alternative than any other autobox that I have used.
Handling
To truly test out the handling of this car, I took it up Angles Crest Highway and then headed up the road to Mount Wilson. This is a tight and winding road that travels up to the 5k foot peak. The car handled this supremely and really took turns very flat and composed. Not as fun as a Miata but certainly better than an economy car.
Exterior
Pictures can detail this best. I liked the red color, it was obnoxiously good. Solid looks although a bit too blingy for my tastes. Solid construction though and of course I enjoyed the top down. Hard top does look nice in the car though.
I drove literally zero miles with the top up so the only picture I have of the top is the leading image lol.
Interior
Sorry the wheel is off center for you OCD people. Seats were incredibly comfortable and well bolstered, radio sounded pretty good with the premium system, steering wheel feels great, and soft touch materials are plentiful. That Hertz GPS is an eyesore and went unused but obviously that is only rental spec. Lighting was nice and calm in the car but a bit much for my tastes. Sure brightness was adjustable but it was just a lot of light sources I guess. Top down and windows up actually made it very calm inside with little wind. This was perfect for the freeway at night. But windows down made for a lovely breeze during the hot day. Much more leg room than in my miata. The seats also had plenty more room to move back.
Overall Impression
I enjoyed driving the car as a rental for sure. 2 seater convertible is the perfect format for a vacation for two on a weekend in Socal. However, the car is not something I personally would really want to buy. The power retractable hard top takes about 15-20 seconds to raise/lower and it takes up half the trunk space when down. This is not too terrible but it makes the car slightly less practical than my miata. The trunk was fine for a weekend but normally I would carry tools and like going on longer trips. More importantly though, the top made it pretty difficult to access what you actually could fit in there.
Gas mileage was much better than I expected though. We saw around 24-26 doing mostly highway and accelerating as fast as possible at most traffic lights. Exhaust note was pretty great, especially in the highest revs so I definitely enjoyed that. Overall, it feels kinda like a stereotypical “trophy wife” car and while I don’t generally support car stereotypes, I think this one would get to me. Sure I drive a Miata so I’m used to the chick car thing but this one really has a different vibe to me. Anyways, it’s an enjoyable car but for $42k there are a lot of less premium options I would rather go for. I do highly recommend renting one though for a PCH trip! Would be perfect for that.
TheHondaBro
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
07/08/2015 at 18:30 |
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I fucking love the Hertz GPS. It sounds so sensual.
JR1
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
07/08/2015 at 18:44 |
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The thing about the SLK is it is a perfectly lovely little car. But I can think of so much more I can buy at 42k than a 200hp sports car. I think you experienced the SLK the best way possible. A fun weekend trip on winding roads with beautiful scenery.
jkm7680
> TheHondaBro
07/08/2015 at 20:37 |
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Did you like sleep with one or something?
Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> JR1
07/08/2015 at 21:41 |
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CPO Mustang GT Convertible springs to mind. Plus you get the back seat for more storage
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> TheHondaBro
07/08/2015 at 22:18 |
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I did actually find the audio useful the one time I used it. But just using Google maps on my phone was way better since I already had it playing music over the speakers anyways. Plus the sun glare generally made the hertz thing unreadable. Just looked out of place in the car. Would have made more sense in a corolla lol.
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JR1
> Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
07/08/2015 at 22:20 |
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Why get a GT when you can get a Boss or Shelby at that price?
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> JR1
07/08/2015 at 22:20 |
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Indeed, it’s the perfect rental car haha. I don’t think I could ever pay the regular price though. Pretty sure the lady said it’s normally $200+ per day but she might have been exaggerating to make the up-sell.
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JR1
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
07/08/2015 at 22:22 |
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I’m not surprised it was 200 I kinda thought it would be higher
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
07/08/2015 at 22:22 |
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Ehh back seats are overrated. Packing light is totally better lol. My only problem with the Mustang (especially rental spec) feels incredibly cheap. Like a regular focus or camry will feel better put together but you are paying a premium because it’s a convertible. Convertibles with back seats are just weird.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> JR1
07/08/2015 at 22:36 |
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Like that’s double what I paid for 3 full days with taxes! I just don’t understand how I got it so cheap.
pip bip - choose Corrour
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
07/09/2015 at 05:04 |
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what did your GF think of it?
is she now thinking of having one on the driveway?
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> pip bip - choose Corrour
07/09/2015 at 06:05 |
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She loved that it was a hardtop convertible. That it can be a “normal” car when you want it to be. She finds my miata to be too noisy on the highway with the top up. She drove for a bit and really enjoyed the car too. I would totally not mind buying her one of these. I plan on having 5 or 6 cars someday so I gotta make sure she is well equipped too!
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Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> JR1
07/09/2015 at 11:01 |
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Not in convertible though
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JR1
> Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
07/09/2015 at 12:44 |
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Maybe the Shelby
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Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> JR1
07/09/2015 at 12:51 |
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Still going for mid 50s for a 2012-2014 Gt500 convertible
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JR1
> Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
07/09/2015 at 13:07 |
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Ouch