so this week i've been driving around my step moms "2nd car," a 1999 sl500 convertible. its been a fun week, and i thought it might be nice to compare the crossfire to what could be considered its big brother, the sl500.

first off, interior fit and finish on the benz is IMPECCABLE. i mean just top notch stuff, super soft carpet, and its really, really thick, like a high quality home rug. there is no plastic to be seen anywhere, just high quality leather and what i think is faux wood. it just so pleasing to touch every part of the interior, soft, plush and really beautiful. the car is rarely driven (only 59k miles in 8 years) and looks completely brand new, inside and out. its not surprising, seeing as how my moms convertible 1995 e320 (only convertible class and only coupe e class even made, very rare car) also looks brand new even after 13 years on the road. mercedes really does make incredible cars. its not surprising, as the msrp on a 1999 sl500 is 90k or so, but still, many automakers just cant keep up with the longevity of quality as a mercedes. the crossfire has a nice interior for its market, but its just not a fair comparison.

mercedes 1, crossfire 0

now as far as power goes, obviously the sl500 feels like a rocket compared to the crossfire, it runs about a 14 flat quarter mile, has 302 horses, and 339 ft. lbs or torque. i have driven much faster cars (read my dads 2007 xkr) but all that torque really makes you feel like you have the engine of a sports car. the engine has a very nice tone to it, but the exhaust sounds kind of crappy. the whole car tilts when you rev the 5 liter v8, something i haven't ever felt with my little 3.2. it feels like the car pulls harder and harder the faster you go, and it could probably hit 170 if it wasn't limited. i have only been up to 100 this week in the car, and it feels phenomenal at that speed, very similar to the crossfire, but much noisier (because the hard top is not on, just the cloth top right now). the 5 liter really feels like it would just be an absolute perfect match to the crossfire, i've always imagined mine with a v8 rather than a supercharger. the engine just feels perfect.

mercedes 2, crossfire 0
now handling. WOW, the crossfire handles SOOOOOO much better than this behemoth, and is scary because the steering wheels has 3 inches of play when turning either right or left. i tried to rotate into a smooth drift and got the crap scared out of me because of the lack of steering feel in this car. thankfully the esp kicked in and saved my butt. i know alot of magazines criticized the crossfire for a lack of "steering feel," which i think is b.s., but i have never driven a car with more perfectly weighted steering or a fatter steering wheel than the crossfire (and i have driven the above mentioned cars as well as a 3rd gen rx7, 3 series bmw's, sti etc.) i have never ever felt like i was going to lose control in the crossfire, but in the benz you just feel like the car is warning you not to push it. granted, alot of this is do to the cars substantial heft and skinnier tires (245's in the rear) and the body roll associated with the convertible top, but its not a fun car to drive fast in the bends. there is an insane amount of body roll.

Just to give you and example, there is a long, sweeping, circular on ramp that i take to get to work. i can hit it at about 75 mph in the crossfire without even losing traction in the crossfire. i took it today in the benz, pushed as hard as i could, and felt the rear end begin to rotate at 45 mph. its just no where in the same league as the crossfire in the handling department. im sure with stiffer springs, wider tires and some work with the steering rack it would be alot closer, but do the same with the crossfire and you are talking about Z06 type handling.

mercedes 2, crossfire BIG 1 (almost wanted to make this a two point round)

Transmission - you guys know my answer when it comes to this, manual> than any automatic, though this is a fine automatic.

mercedes 2 crossfire 1

WOW factor- honestly, both cars leave people staring, and while the crossfire is a real beauty, personally i think that last generation of sl's where the prettiest ever. everyone, i mean everyone stares at this car, even thought its an outdated design. and when the top is down, forget about it, you feel like a star. the crossfire is one of my all time favorite designs, but falls just short of the sl here. it just makes more of a statement.

mercedes 3 crossfire 2

driving fun - this one is kind of a toss up. when you are going in a straight line, the mercedes feels amazing. its not neck snapping, but just instant on throttle acceleration and feels like an old school american v8 with all that torque. any time, any speed, its more fun to push the go pedal on the benz. BUT, and a big but(t), the crossfire just trounces is far and away in any other situation, and i don't know about you, but i have taken numerous runs up twisities with my car (azusa canyon, angeles crest) and know what it can do on the open road when things get twisty, and its an amazing car in those situations WITH the stock suspension. the fact that i enjoy going sideways more than straight away gives the crossfire the edge here.

mercedes 3 crossfire 3

now if cost were the deciding factor, it would also be a tie. but im not motor trend so i don't decide competitions of cars based on price. the benz, a 1999 sl500 with 60k miles retails for about 25k, and for all the fancy stuff you get is definitely worth the 5k premium over a new crossfire that would probably cost about 20k. but the crossfire is new, would have zero miles, so that balances the scales.

either way, owning both cars would be a joy to own. if i had to had to choose, i would probably take the sl500, then regret it the next day. the first thing i would do was some serious work to the suspension. i feel if that were sorted out the competition wouldn't even be close, but then you would have to be fair and mod the crossfire, and given the already 5k advantage, you could afford to supercharge it and it would probably again be a draw. so thats what it is to me, a draw.

the most interesting part is my dad offered the sl500 to me when my lease is up, and while tempting, i feel i will just miss driving manual too much after a while. plus, with my new desire to track my next car, i think i would be too paranoid driving that fancy of a car around the track.

 

I don't know man I own an SRT Crossfire and have only driven the N/A crossfire for no more than 20 minutes, and comparing the old generation sl to the crossfire in my eyes is down right offensive to the crossfire owners...


First the thing that caught my eye the most in your review is how you say the sl " it just makes more of a statement" i find this to be funny?!? I don't know where you live, but I drove my friend's new generation sl500 and even it did not get half the attention of my crossfire, I found that somewhat disappointing...

To me taking the old sl500 over the crossfire is just plain madness in anyway you look at it, but I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinions, some people even buy green cars...

But one thing that I will agree on you with is that the interior finish on the Benz is very pleasant with a nice wood trim and good looking leather...

Sorry If my post offends you in anyway i am obviously a little biased because I myself am a crossfire owner, but when I read this thread my mouth dropped open...!!!

 

well, i live in los angeles, and as i said, its a draw. i don't know, didn't interview any people as to why they were staring at the sl500, maybe they were all looking at my girlfriend. but don't forget, about 50 percent of people love the looks of the crossfire, the others detest it and think it is hideous. I love the design of the car, as i said, i just personally think that the sl is a prettier car. but you are right, the new sl's aren't nearly as nice looking (although they come with one of the great motors ever put in any car, a 6 liter twin turbo v12, 604 hp, 700 lbs ft. of torque, over 700 hp and 800 torque if just tuned), but i find the last generation, 1990-2000, more striking.

 

First the thing that caught my eye the most in your review is how you say the sl " it just makes more of a statement" i find this to be funny?!? I don't know where you live, but I drove my friend's new generation sl500 and even it did not get half the attention of my crossfire, I found that somewhat disappointing...

Can't be that surprising, we are talking about a 100k dollar car versus a 30k car.

 

wait what? the 30k car got more attention than the 100k one is what i am saying... well a 50k car in my case.

 

just that you said you found that comment funny, how funny can it be when one car cost 70k less, or 50k less (hope you didn't pay that much).

 

If they were going for that much I would of gladly paid about that much, because after all that was their original intended price... but no I paid about $25,000 for mine last august.

 

As stated, it's a matter of opinion. But, after seeing a couple on the highway, I think the new SL500 is much better looking. They look like Mclaren SLR's while the 1999's look far too boxy for me.

 

Personally, I think the new SL500's look even better than the Mclaren SLR's.
I think the Mclarens have tooo long of a front end.

 

I go to school in Malibu and live the rest of the time in San Diego, and I can tell you that Mercedes SL's are a dime a dozen. Nobody stares at them, nobody cares. The last gen ones especially. Not to say that they are bad cars, but they are not special. You think driving in a last gen SL feels like you are a star, you need to drive a Gallardo Spider and then tell me what a being a star feels like.

 

Well that depends on where you live... Malibu is probably the richest area in the west coast if not the whole country, living in other areas (of the world ) where lower living standards are more common you can feel like a star driving a yugo...

I live near Alpine in New Jersey and unfortunately SLs are pretty common here too...

 

Yeah I live in New York... SL's are a dime a dozen here as well, same for bmw any series. No one ever comments on them, no one cares. I can walk outside right now and see about 10 of em. I'm surprised they even retain resale value frankly.

 

i never said i felt like a star. anyway, i got to say thats about the dumbest comment i have ever seen. your probably like 18 and think you are REALLY cool eh?

 

All I was saying is that in Southern California, which is where I think you are from, SL's don't make a statement. If you feel like a star in the last gen SL, good for you, really. I think that the Crossfire makes more of a statement.

And P.S. I'm not 18 and I don't think I'm cool. I just make honest observations.

 

a 90 thousand dollar car makes more of a statement than a 25k dollar car, its just a fact.

 

Well I think what my original point was, is that there are so many SL's around, that regardless of price, they are overlooked, where as the with the Crossfire, I have people ask me all the time, "what is that? I have never seen one of those before".

I guess it depends on what kind of "statement" you want to make: "I make a lot of money", or "I am original".

 

i was saying that i actually drove both cars, and the sl500 got more looks, keep in mind the top was down, but it got more looks. that is a fact, not speculation. you and others are arguing hypotheticals with me, i'm just stating what actually happened. and i really doubt that one guy could see 10 sl's if he looked out his window. the new ones are around everywhere, but the one we have isn't.

 

lol a 99' sl500...omg, it makes a statement...wtf ... it is about the ugliest thing on four wheels, it had the same body style for over 10 years, and even when it first came out it did not look that good.

the 03's and newer are nice looking cars, but the 4th gen sl's drawing attention...only thing i can think is that the people are staring at how ugly the damn things are...

a 100k car? right...fully loaded they MSRP'd at $83,800, and can now be had for less than 30k.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1999-...QQcmdZViewItem

anyways, to each their own.

 

I looked outside my window(s) just now.. i count 7 bmw's, 3 models, 5's and a 7 model... 4 mercedes sl's from what looks like 2001 model to a 2004-6 and 1 porsche cayenne with ugly rims, and it's an ugly car/truck/whatever... My block is in New York City and i live in a brownstone in Brooklyn. You may indeed doubt it but it doesn't make it not true. Infact i can pretty much put my life on the fact that you could count 10 mercedes or bmws or a mixture there of in 10 minutes from walking out my front door. Of course you'll only count 1 crossfire in that amount of time; my own. I'm not trying to knock your experience; it's great that you like the car and you got looks. I'm not knocking that, I was simply replying to the fact that mercedes/bmw at least where I live are actually a dime a dozen. Not that they're aren't nice cars, but they aren't unique in any fashion around here. Infact i've seen more bentley gt's in this neck of the wood than Crossfire.

 

Oh good, I see I'm not alone in my observations...