Mercedes-Benz SL550 Convertible (2013): Full Review – Part 5

Around town and on the highway in its most comfortable transmission and ABC setting, the SL550 is probably best described as “effortless.” It’s got more power than it needs for sliding between stop lights, so it can keep its revs low and gearing tall without compromising responsiveness. With the minimal throttle inputs required to reach and maintain the city-average 35 mph speed limit, the Benz is quiet and smooth. While ABC can’t completely obliterate the bumps of San Francisco’s lunar downtown street surfaces, it does manage to take most of the harshness out of the bumps, which is good.

The autostop system would shut down the engine at stop signs and traffic lights once the engine had been sufficiently warmed up. I didn’t find the system to be tremendously intrusive during those moments when I was coming to a complete stop, such as at an intersection. However, when it started kicking in during stop-and-go traffic, I was glad that the button to defeat this function was readily available on the center console.

On the highway, the ride is equally smooth and quiet. However, the Econ shift program is hesitant to drop down a gear for passing maneuvers. I often had to wait a few beats for the gearbox to go, “Oh, I see!” and give the downshift that I was requesting. However, usually by then I’d have dialed in a bit more throttle than I needed, which resulted in the car lurching forward suddenly faster than I’d originally intended.

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Posted by Usman Khalid on Aug 15 2012. Filed under Automobiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.