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.
Day-to-day costs are unlikely to be too much of a concern for someone able to afford a Mercedes-Benz SL 500, but it's worth noting that in real-life driving, the 23.7mpg combined fuel consumption figure may be optimistic. 20mpg is probably nearer the mark around town, though that's actually quite good for a car of this power, size and weight.
Carbon dioxide output is a hefty 284g/km - firmly in antisocial SUV territory, though cars like the SL attract far less opprobrium - and thus it incurs Band G-rate annual road tax (currently £400 a year and unlikely to get any cheaper).
New London mayor Boris did promise to stop the upcoming £25-a-day congestion charge for Band G vehicles, but this hasn't been confirmed yet; and even if Johnson does reverse Ken Livingstone's charging reforms for central London, other local authorities are planning to introduce punitive measures to discourage people from owning and running high-emissions vehicles. A year's residential parking permit in some zones of Richmond, for example, is £570 for a Band G car.
