Category: Convertibles 
Price Range: £59,975 to £153,050
Excellent ride; smooth, quiet V8; effortless acceleration.
Jerky brakes; over-light steering; fiddly Comand control system; sheer size and weight.
The consummate cruising convertible.
'SL' originally stood for Sports Light, and while the Mercedes-Benz SL is still sporting - to a degree - it's certainly not light: 1910kg.
This near two-tonner is a long way from the elegant, slim-pillared SLs of the 1970s and '80s, and long full stop - 4562mm end to end, more than many a family-sized hatch or even estate car, plus a broad 1820mm across. The SL 500's sheer size and bulk, never-ending bonnet, sometimes floaty ride and over-assisted variable-ratio steering does make it feel rather boat-like at times to manoeuvre; it is not a neat, agile little thing, nor is it super-sharp. Picture it wafting down the Pacific Coast Highway (from Malibu villa to bijou restaurant in Santa Monica, perhaps - the Californians love it), not tearing round a track or hurtling about tiny, twisty country lanes.
Proceed gently and gracefully to behave in keeping with this car's character - or at least, as gracefully as you can given the disconcerting, jerky electronic brakes and slightly non-linear throttle response. Both pedals are somewhat dead-feeling, with little initial reaction and then a sudden reply when stronger pressure is applied.
Happily, there's plenty of power to propel this land-yacht: the 5461cc V8 delivers 388bhp and 391lb ft of torque, giving a top speed of 155mph (electronically limited) and 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds.
Given the refinement of the engine, the insulation from the outside world (even roof-down) and the cocoon-like cabin, the sprinting ability of the SL 500 is deceptive: it's all too easy to achieve highly illegal speeds without noticing.
Jet-thrust acceleration just feels like an unhurried meander away from the traffic lights and intercontinental progress down the autobahn a Sunday stroll - until you reach a corner and suddenly realise quite how fast you're travelling. Treat with respect.
Thankfully, all-round proximity sensors help out around town, and when parking, as neither the end of the nose nor tip of the tail are properly visible from the driver's seat. The seven-speed automatic gearbox has easy-to-use selectable sequential-shift modes, though it's so adept at deciding its own shifts, you may as well leave it in fully automatic mode.
