Interior Features

The designers have increased the level of luxury inside this already beautiful interior for 2007, by specifying more expensive leathers, woods and carpeting throughout.

The main instrument cluster has been redesigned, with new chronometer graphics and additional leather stitching on the binnacle. New aluminum trim panels are coordinated with a new burr walnut wood trim. New, softer leather is used on the seats and panels, and new colors, black and red, have been added.

Cockpit comfort in the SL550 as well as the other models is superior, with a huge range of seat and steering wheel adjustability, and the seats are supremely comfortable and containing. This is a two-seat sports car, however, and there's still that wall behind the seats that restricts seat travel and may make taller drivers fidget around, looking for the best compromise in seating comfort.

All of the controls are in the same places as on the 2006 model, albeit surrounding by more aluminum trim, and they're easy to use, including the COMAND system and the navigation screen.

With the steel top up, you have the kind of grand touring intimacy you want with your driving partner. In 16 seconds, you have the open-air cruising mode, and with the side windows up and the conversation panel flipped up behind the seats, you can converse with your partner in a normal voice, or listen cleanly to the stereo right up to about 100 mph when the wind noise will win out.

Sirius Satellite Radio with six months of free service has been made standard equipment on all models. The in-car hands-free communication system can use either Bluetooth connectivity (to use with your Bluetooth-compatible cell phone) or a multi-handset interface, each of which is sold separately from the car through dealerships.

An electric trunk lid opener button has been added for 2007. A power trunk lid closer will be added but won't be on early 2007 models. The luggage cover, which keeps luggage from interfering with the stowed top, is now removable, to add more luggage space in the tiny trunk. If you're planning on carrying more than a weekend's worth of luggage for two, though, you're out of space already. The SL offers 10.2 cubic feet of trunk space with the top up, 7.3 cubic feet with the top down.

The folding and disappearing power top raises or lowers in just 16 seconds

Driving Impressions

You can't argue with more horsepower, more torque and more gears to put them through. Not in this segment, you can't. The larger, more powerful V8 engine that comes in the 2007 Mercedes SL550 rips through the gears in the new seven-speed automatic at a furious rate, if you want it to. When you prefer to cruise, it just sits back and relaxes, upshifting and downshifting silently.

The new V8's exhaust system has been re-engineered to give a much more throaty, sporty sound at wide-open throttle. It settles into a nice burble at cruising speeds. While most German cars are limited to 155 mph by an industry agreement, how quickly you get there is another matter entirely, and the SL550's V8 will get you from rest to 60 mph much quicker, in about 5.5 seconds. Every chance we got, we mashed the throttle pedal down into the carpet at stop signs and traffic signals, and the electronic systems allowed about two turns of the tires before taking over control and keeping the car pointed straight ahead, every time, like launching a rocket. Very confidence-inspiring.

In terms of steering and handling, the 2007 SL has even more chops. The steering ratio has been quickened up so that left-right transitions happen more quickly, there is more feel in the system at the steering wheel, and it tracks better. The second-generation Automatic Body Control (ABC) active suspension system, now standard equipment, has been altered radically, so that it controls body roll, pitch, dive and yaw about 60 percent tighter than the original system, and makes fast driving on challenging roads a very rewarding experience, without beating up the two occupants with a rough ride.

We've also driven the silky smooth S600 with a 510-hp V12 that packs 612 pound-feet of trip-shortening torque as well as the SL55 AMG with a V8 also rated at 510 horsepower, but with a mere 531 pound-feet of torque.

Which model? The SL600 is the one we would buy if we could afford it and justify its price. Its quiet, smooth demeanor, the refinement of the ride, along with its incredible performance (0-60 in the low 4-second zone) and brilliant handling make it the ultimate of luxury sports car. Its turbocharged 5.5-liter V12 engine boasts 510 horsepower and 612 pound-feet of torque. It's paired with the heavy-duty five-speed automatic to handle the huge torque output of the engine.

The SL55 AMG, with supercharged power, lightning shifts with or without the manual shifter paddles, completely different ABC suspension calibrations, bigger, more powerful brakes, and huge tires, is rougher-riding than either the 550 or the 600, with 0-60 times of about 4.5 seconds, louder at the exhaust tips, but oh, so much fun to drive, so much more masculine looking, and more agile than the other two versions on a country two-lane road. The supercharged 5.5-liter V8 engine gets more power for 2007, to 510 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque.