2017 Mercedes-Benz SLC: A Sweeter Taste

NICE, France – When the first Mercedes-Benz SLK was launched back in 1996, it wasn’t the sharpest tool in the German roadster shed. The BMW Z3, and especially the Porsche Boxster, offered a more exhilarating driving experience and more powerful engines. However, the SLK stood out with its four-season, power-folding hard top.

Twenty years and more than 670 000 units sold later, the SLK has now become the SLC. It’s not a clean-sheet design, but it does benefit from a few styling tweaks and mechanical enhancements. So why did its name change? Simply because the manufacturer wanted to point out its family ties with the C-Class range, hence the letter swap. Makes sense, I guess.

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We got our first lick of the new 2017 Mercedes-Benz SLC on the French Riviera. With a glorious sun shining down upon the busy coast in the south of France, we couldn’t help but to lower the trick power top and catch a few rays.

The wrapping

Compared to the outgoing SLK, the new car gets a completed revised front end, although the overall look is quite similar. A new and more aggressive bumper sits below the grille, which features what Mercedes-Benz calls a diamond pattern and a silver-winged logo. The headlamp clusters are also new, while LED adaptive projectors are available.

The rear end of the SLC boasts redesigned bumper and taillights, and the trunk still completely conceals the power-folding top. The latter can now be raised or lowered while the car is in motion at speeds of up to 40 km/h, although the operation must be started while the SLC at a standstill; the Porsche Boxster’s top can be operated even when the car is already in motion. The MAGIC SKY CONTROL feature is still available, which can vary the opacity of the glass roof panel at the touch of a button, eliminating the need for a retractable sunscreen.

Inside, the dashboard has been tailored for a more refined look, with available finishes such as high-gloss wood, carbon fibre, light or dark aluminum or, if we’re the extremely conservative type, piano black lacquer. The COMAND infotainment system screen has been enlarged from 5.8 to 7 inches and can optionally integrate Apple CarPlay. Across the SLC lineup, there are about a dozen paint colour choices and no less than 20 interior upholstery and accent combinations—10 of which be available on the Canadian market.

It might be tough to see the difference between the old SLK and the new SLC, but you can feel it in the way it drives. In Canada, the 2017 Mercedes-Benz SLC will be available in two of five flavours.

Chocolate: the SLC 300

The SLC 300 gets a turbocharged, 2.0L four-cylinder engine that produces 241 horsepower and 273 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s connected to a new nine-speed automatic transmission that’s quickly being sprinkled into many of the brand’s other products. According to Benz, the SLC 300 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds.

The turbo four is smooth and provides plenty of low-rpm grunt. When the Eco, Comfort and Sport drive modes are selected, it stays polite, but when we switch over to Sport Plus, flaps open in the exhaust system and the engine comes alive with a racier soundtrack. However, the SLC 300 does include engine sound enhancement in the cockpit through the audio system’s speakers.

An optional Dynamic Handling package lowers the suspension by 10 mm and adds adaptive dampers, the brand’s Direct-Steer system which varies its ratio according to steering wheel angle, and ESP Curve Dynamic Assist that brakes the inside rear wheel while cornering, which helps prevent understeer. Seventeen-inch alloy wheels are fitted as standard, and 18-inchers are optional. With this additional hardware, the SLC obviously offers a sportier drive.

Cherry blast: the SLC 43

New for 2017 is the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43, which replaces last year’s SLK 55 AMG. Instead of the latter’s 415-hp, naturally aspirated, 5.5L V8, the SLC 43 gets a twin-turbo, 3.0L V6 that develops 362 hp and 384 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s connected to the same nine-speed automatic as the one in the SLC 300.

The first few kilometres aboard the SLC 43 were somewhat underwhelming. Although powerful, the engine was too docile and didn’t seem to have the character we expect from AMG products. And the V6 isn’t hand-built like the AMG V8s, not that it really matters.

But then we pressed the DYNAMIC SELECT button and activated the Sport Plus mode. The force-fed V6’s growl turned to a howl, and there’s no artificial sound generation nonsense here. The SLC 43 burps as the gearbox bangs away upshifts, pops and burbles upon lifting the throttle and sounds downright nasty, especially in the numerous tunnels on our route, where the sound reverberation gave us goosebumps. It might have the ferocious roar of an AMG V8, but the throaty V6 triggers our taste buds nonetheless.

Despite the drop in power and two less pistons, the SLC 43 is only marginally slower. It can blast from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds, one-tenth more than what the old SLK 55 AMG could achieve. No one will feel that difference without a stopwatch, but we’ll definitely see a gain in fuel economy, although official numbers for the Canadian-spec versions are not yet available.

An AMG Driver’s Package will be optional, adding a limited-slip rear differential, a performance steering wheel, red-painted brake callipers as well as an AMG RIDE CONTROL sport suspension. The perfect setup for tackling the zigzag climb up to a little town called Sospel in the mountains north of Nice.

So the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 is a more dynamic little roadster, but it’s still not a visceral machine like the 2017 Porsche 718 Boxster. However, we like the ride comfort trade-off, and overall, the SLC 43, like the SLC 300, offers a good balance of performance, handling and everyday driveability.

On sale this summer

As you may have noticed, the old six-cylinder SLK 350 will not be replaced. Meanwhile, the other flavours offered in other markets are vanilla (SLC 180, turbo 1.6L engine, 154 hp), vanilla chocolate swirl (SLC 200, turbo 2.0L engine, 181 hp) and butterscotch (SLC 250 d, turbo-diesel 2.1L engine, 201 hp). We won’t miss them.

Pricing has not yet been sorted out for the Canadian market. However, the SLC 300 should start at about $60,000. The good news is that the SLC 43 will cost substantially less than the outgoing SLK 55 AMG, currently listed at $82K. We’ll estimate the SLC 43’s MSRP at about $72,000. These sweet-tasting new roadsters will be on sale in the June.

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