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So you’d like to tool around in a Mercedes-Benz roadster but you don’t have $80,000 in the coin jar to purchase the lowest-priced SL 320.

Your worries are over, Muffy and Buffy. Mercedes has come up with the 1998 230 SLK two-seat roadster with metal retractable hardtop that will slip into your garage for a mere $40,000.

However, Mercedes won’t have one in the showroom until late January or early February, and with production of 6,000 units annually, the first 24 months of output have been spoken for by consumers who sent in check, money order or a bushel of stamps.

The 230 SLK we tested is the latest entry in the roadster market, limited now to the BMW Z3 but soon to be joined by the Porsche Boxster and Plymouth Prowler and later by the Audi TTS.

The 230 SLK is the only roadster to have a metal retractable hardtop like the one offered on the more expensive Mercedes SL 320, SL 500 and SL 600.

That top makes the car special. Push the button in the console, sit back and watch the deck lid open, the top lift, fold and slip into its hidden compartment, then the deck lid close so you’re ready to motor.

A word of warning: Read the owner’s manual closely before attempting to retract the top, especially the part about the warning light when the top won’t move. Or do as we did and have daughter-in-law Lori read the directions and point out that if the luggage cover in the trunk isn’t fully fastened, the top won’t retract.

Once the top is concealed, you’re free to enjoy open-air motoring at roughly $28,000 less than in the least expensive SL 320. Funny how saving $28,000 makes even 40-degree November days feel like July.

Mercedes used care to wrap a lot of safety into a small package that fits only two people. There are dual front air bags as well as dual side-impact bags in the doors.

Because you can’t put a child in the back of a two-seater, Mercedes came up with a system that senses the presence of a child seat in the passenger seat to turn off the passenger-side air bag. You must, however, buy the seat developed by Britax of Europe compatible with the sensor. No price on the child seat to be sold at Mercedes dealers.

The 230 SLK also comes standard with four-wheel anti-lock brakes and automatic slip reduction, a form of traction control that uses brake and throttle intervention (limiting fuel supply) to restore traction to a slipping wheel.

Despite ABS and ASR, one complaint we have with the 230 SLK is handling. The car comes with 16-inch tires, but we feel that 17-inchers with a wider paw print would provide even better road-hugging ability. Though a small two seater, the 230 SLK is no lightweight. You feel the poundage in the wheel and that weight is magnified in a sharp corner or turn. With larger tires, the car probably would sit flatter and grip tighter.

Mercedes says it’s likely a 230 SLK performance version with larger tires will follow. We wish the future was now.

The car is powered by the same 2.3-liter, 4-cylinder engine in the 1997 Mercedes C230 sedan, only supercharged to deliver 185 horsepower rather than 148 h.p.

The supercharger rests until you kick the pedal to start from the light or pull out to pass. Until the supercharger goes to work, you may feel the car is a bit underpowered. Mercedes hasn’t released the car’s mileage rating.

In the cabin, the SLK is typical Mercedes, with wide, comfortable, supportive seats and easy-to-see-and-reach controls. It’s atypical in its choice of amenities, with power seats and wood trim absent to keep the price at $40,000. Wood we can do without, power seats would be nice, even if the car costs only $40,000.

The 230 SLK is a charmer, but don’t rule out the BMW Z3. The Bimmer has only a manually operated cloth top (removable hardtop and power soft-top in the works for 1 998) and traction control is a hefty $1,100 option, but we felt more in control with the Bimmer than the 230 SLK.

The Z3 provides more lithe and agile ride and handling even if it needs a peppier engine than the base 1.9-liter, 138-h.p. 4. It gets a 2.8-liter, 190-h.p. in-line 6, same as in the 328i and 528i, in January.

The Z3 with 4-cylinder engine starts at $29,400, with the 6 it will be $35,900.

>> 1998 Mercedes-Benz 230 SLK Wheelbase: 94.5 inches Length: 157.3 inches Engine: 2.3-liter, 185-h.p., supercharged 4-cylinder Transmission: 5-speed automatic EPA mileage: Not available Base price: $40,000 (estimated) Price as tested: Not available. Only three options available–metallic paint, heated seats and compact disc player–and none has been priced. Add freight, which also has not been priced. Pluses: Retractable hardtop roadster for SL500/SL600 wannabes who don’t have $80,000 plus to spend. Dual front and side air bags, traction control and ABS standard. Sensor can tell when special child seat is being used to turn off the passenger-side air bag. Minuses: Larger 17-inch tires would give it better handling in corners. That’s a 4-cylinder engine the supercharger is resuscitating. For child-seat sensor to work, you must buy special child seat. If the top doesn’t retract, you have to call Lori. >>