Orlando Sentinel's view

With the 1998 Mercedes-Benz SLK, looks were everything. Attractive styling, nice tires and wheels and a wonderfully designed retractable hardtop made the roadster an immediate success, and a starting price of just under $40,000 didn’t hurt.

The 1998 SLK was essentially a sports car for people who didn’t drive sports cars. The 2.3-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine, with 185 horsepower, felt and sounded agricultural. The five-speed automatic transmission – no manual was available – often seemed confused. The chassis was more flexible than it should have been, and steering did not quite seem connected to the front tires.

Around town, the SLK was a nice little cruiser, but compare it to legitimate sports cars in that price range, such as the Porsche Boxster, and the SLK seemed anemic.

The SLK was improved through the 2004 model year, and its platform was used as the basis for the Chrysler Crossfire. For 2005, though, the SLK is all-new, and this time, it feels like a sports car. Or at least more like a sports car.

The regular SLK has a 3.5-liter, 268-horsepower V-6, which is certainly adequate. To those for whom adequate is inadequate, there’s the SLK55 AMG, which has a wonderful 5.5-liter, 355-horsepower V-8 somehow crammed under the hood. Coupled with a best-in-class seven-speed automatic transmission, this 2005 SLK55, like its 1998 predecessor, is more than happy cruising around town. But punch the throttle, and the V-8 comes alive, snorting through the dual exhausts, sounding very American, like a Chevrolet Corvette or something Chrysler Hemi-powered.

Not many cars feel like more than their advertised horsepower, but the SLK55 does. Certainly part of that is due to the seven-speed transmission, which pretty much guarantees the right gear at the right time. There are buttons on the back of the steering wheel that, at a touch, shift up or down manually. I seldom used them: That’s how good this automatic transmission is.

While the SLK55’s handling is still not in the Porsche league, it’s still exceptional. The huge Brembo brakes are potent, and the Z-rated 18-inch tires, on AMG alloy wheels, stick to the pavement. The sport suspension is stiff, but the ride is much better than you would expect.

Styling has been changed quite a bit, with the SLK resembling a smaller version of the SL500. The SLK55 has six odd plastic fins rising from the vents between the windshield and hood, which look like an uncomfortable afterthought. Otherwise, the bits and pieces added on by AMG, the Mercedes hot rod shop, give the car some visual credibility.

The SLK’s cockpit is tight, with not a lot of storage space and a dopey flip-out cup holder perched above all sorts of expensive buttons that operate the navigation system, stereo and climate control. Before you jam your cup of Coke in the holder, make sure it won’t leak. Trunk space is minimal with the top down – after all, that’s where it goes – but with the top up, it’s passable.

As for that SLK trademark top, it still works wonderfully, raising and lowering with a single button. Ragtop convertibles are nice, but aside from its weight, there’s no downside to this retractable hardtop.

The regular 2005 SLK starts at $46,970, and the SLK55 starts at $60,500. With a few options, including an upgraded Harmon/Kardon sound system, the bottom line on the test car was $66,420. That includes a $1,300 “gas guzzler” tax. The SLK55 is EPA-rated at 16 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway, but my combined mileage was always close to 21 mpg.

The regular SLK remains a pretty good bargain. If you want looks and personality, the SLK55 is a potent package for the money.

Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith’s auto reports air Wednesdays on Central Florida News 13.