Thought I'd post my thoughts after a few months of SLK350 ownership.

The SLK is a very different car to the Crossy, at speed it feels more controlled although this does mean it doesn't feel as fast as it is. Build quality is better than the Xfire, the interior is a much nicer place to be, all the surfaces you touch feel like the extra list price is worth it.

The new 350 engine is magic and there is no real point buying an SLK with the smaller units. The 7 speed gearbox is fantastic in auto but in manual there are just too many gears and the paddle arrangement is difficult to use mid bend as the buttons rotate with the wheel.

MPG, on long motorway runs i'm getting 30 mpg, about 1 - 2 mpg better than the Xfire and the large tank on the SLK means only 1 fill up per week.

The folding roof is a major selling point and anyone who's owned a convertible will know why, but the SLK has the best of both worlds, roof up its as quiet as the Xfire coupe in terms of wind noise.

What do I miss about the Xfire, well no one asks if my Merc is an aston martin and it doesn't get the looks that the Xfire got. When i picked up the Xfire some 2 years ago people stopped and stared as you went past especially if the spoiler deployed.

So i guess its the unique Crossfire V's the more modern more powerful SLK350

Still a tough choice but the sensible part of me says SLK350, more for your money and it holds over 50% of its value over 3 years, My Xfire lost this much in 2!

Take care, I'll keep popping back to check on all of you i was lucky enough to chat with when I was an Xfire owner.

LP