SLK200 Kompressor

New or old shape?

Sri, the new shape ;o) tim

Previews seem fairly common, but not reviews by someone who has driven one. try

Many thanks. This guy states "The interior is much less fussy than before: classy, cohesive and of high quality." - I'm reading posts in this group about the apparent inferior quality of Mercedes cars these days, so this seems to contradict? Or is the inferior quality referring to other 'bits' of the cars? tim

There is also a lot of whingeing here...:-)

I am very happy (so far) with my 2001 CLK 320 Cab, incl its interior, even tho' I sometimes glance 'enviously' at the current generation of interiors, which look nicer (but I prefer my W208 shape over the replacement model).

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

We bought a new SLK-200 a fortnight ago, but it is our first Mercedes. I tried an older SLK last year, but did not like it. I do not really remember what it was like inside.

I think the interior layout and dash of our new SLK are very good. My wife says she would have liked a veneer surface (my reaction being to privately thank God that there wasn't one available). I like the restraint of the colouring and, if "cohesive" means well laid out and everything falls easily to hand, then I would agree. If it means there are no loose, flapping pieces, then it is correct. But of course, there shouldn't be at the price.

As regards "inferior quality", we have not had our SLK long enough for anything to have gone wrong. I have made a few criticisms elsewhere (see "New SLK350 Opinions/Experiences Please" in this ng). As I say there, I do find the interior rear view mirror very unpleasant to use after dark, and potentially a driving hazard.

As regards your "inferior quality ... these days", I did notice (after we had bought our SLK) a newspaper article claiming recalls by Mercedes over the last year or so, and lower sales. No details given, and I have forgotten the paper (a Sunday paper?).

Michael

Congrats on your new car! The current SLK looks much better to me than its predecessor, which I already liked. I also prefer the current generation of interiors which, of course, resemble each other across many/all? models.

In what way is the rear-view mirror unpleasant to use?

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

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...snip...

Copied from my post elsewhere:

"But my main complaint is about the inside rear view mirror. Because of the car's wedge shape, the rear view is not good even in daylight: vehicles behind can creep up so you do not see their lower part at all well, and I find I cannot judge distances at a glance but need to think.

At night time it is a lot worse. If street lights are on, then you get a very marked light from them in the mirror, which can swamp and hide the fainter image of the headlights of a car behind you. I think Mercedes have made a real mess of this. To me it is on balance bad enough to be an accident hazard at night. I hope I can get used to working around it, but I do not think that Mercedes should be asking me to."

Michael