Some may be familiar with this already and they might want to go on to a new thread...



Maybe I have got a hard head or something? Strangely or coincidentally I have been told this on several occassions by a couple of exes... anyway, I've only been on this forum for a short time but I have seen numerous references to the pedigree of our fine automobile and how it shares much with it';s big brother M-B, I must say that I take some of this kinda talk with a grain of salt and put it down to envy (they told ya I was hard headed). Well today the rubber really hit the road ( multiple puns, pardon me)for me... I was at the coin wash ( relax- high pressure wands, no brushes) and after washing and Meguiaring mine, I noticed a gentleman ( he even spoke with a German accent, yippee) in the lot not far from me towelling off a fine looking black SLK 320 - I couldn't resist and since I just finished detailing my coupe, I walked over a struck up a conversation. Turns out it is a 2003 and he doesn't drive it in the winter, etc ... I asked him if he knew that the Xfire was based on the SLK platform and he said he had heard something to that effect but didn't know the details. I told him I'd heard that the are essentially the same car and we both began to wonder how much they actually had in common. I pulled mine up beside his , opened the hood and...

This I can tell you, apart from the big MB engine cover and any electronic differences that aren't visually apparent, - IT IS EXACTLY THE SAME ENGINE. Components and component placing are identical. His makes 218HP ours 215 ( Coupe).

The cars are pretty much the same size, the big difference being he has a truck, we have a hatchback thingy. He has a mini-spare, we don't. He runs 17" 225s on the back/205s on the front, stock Michelin Pilots. I never looked at the tire ratings, just that they aren't ZRs or Y -rated , nor are they low profile.
The interiors are pretty similar and are identical in a spatial sense. His dash was fitted with wood trim , the seats were leather cedar, the rest is black plastic/leather and is really exclusive looking, ours is, nice, but it is ours :-) Apart from a different layout for vents and a different radio ( it says Mercedes Benz on it:-) the console is the same. Emergency brake and that damn cupholder, where they should be.


I have a 2004 and fellow Xfire owners would be proud of how my car was fit, finished and detailed relative to his. As I said, I had just finished polishing the Meguiars and it shone like a new showroom sheet of glass - anyone who has seen the Graphite Metallic paint will attest to it's beauty, particularly in the sun. Anyway, this gentleman's beautiful black car was filled with swirls, and I mean filled- to the point that I felt compelled to tell him that they make products to help with that these days and all were available pretty much everywhere. I felt badly for him so I went back to my car got and gave him some microfibre polishing cloths and some Meguiars Quick Detailer ( excellent product!!!) He sprayed some on and polished it - it was like his first Christmas :-)


Modge