The Mercedes-Benz SLK55 Is an Underrated V8 Luxury Miata 

such an animated guy lol

I read this before that part and lost it. lmao thankyou

LOL

9:27

Doesn't yours? ;)

I had a 370Z in Los Angeles with long-tube headers. None of the cops cared that I had no catalytic convertor, a car that smelled like raw gasoline and a decibel level greater than a Harley. All you have to do is find someone's cousin who will give you a pass on your smog check for a $100 tip and you're golden.

@@yungboicontigo9278 false. Sounds like you don’t live in CA.

@@yungboicontigo9278 yes, Cali has an exhaust law. It’s a $25 ticket.

@@yungboicontigo9278 Yes and for the past 100 years your natural water source is the colour of a elderly humans blood.

@@yungboicontigo9278 Go drink white mans altered natural Michigan water from over a century of chemical automotive waste dumping.

My thought before clicking

Yep. Every hidden gem in the car world jumps in price when he talks about them

That's fairly common in Europe, we don't have enough cows to kill but stitching looks cool.

my long departed 1983 Mazda 626 comes to mind.

Kia Sportage had it, too

Honda has done this on a few models in the past few years on the dash.

Fake stitching in plastic probably were never that common in North America than Europe. I think people do tend to forget that Doug lives in USA and people in USA never seen stuff that we see in Europe.

He literally talk about it, looked at it, and still didn’t closed it.

Guessing it wasn’t locking

You can notice in the drive test that the lid was dickerd. 😬

I was annoyed as fuck just watching it. Why not just leave it open??

I think I went grayer during this video because of that.

I think weekend-score should be better, because that guy have so many cool cars... 😄

Doug’s wife: “Starting in the weekend categories with styling…”

@@JS-1983 no weekend score is lucky to be a 2

so like a toyota?

@@deuteriumjones lmfao

Was hoping for a comment like yours. Thanks

Also- the “vents that do nothing” actually do! Move the center vent dials to the mid position and the “ears” will produce air! Can’t believe Doug missed these quirks and features!!

center console storage has a double opening with 1 small and 1 big compartment

really one of the most timeless mercs i’ve ever seen

Am I the only one who finds it ugly?

I like the looks in general but i hate that nose. Makes it look like squidward. Thats why i never liked peugeots with that similar nose too.

@@Mr.Marbles yes

@@prinpupper7846 no dont like it too

Joe Biden Mode Pls it's just a joke, don't kill me for this

@@straightbusta2609 Sleazy Joe

Joe Biden loves this car then…

Jeffery Epstein definitely owned one then.

Sleepy Joe picks kids up with this car…

@@TheFalseShepphard lol, yeah it is far better 🥲

But does yours have a center console lid?

@@TheFalseShepphard ya that is is arguable ... performance wise ...its 100 percent better , reliability ..this car doesn't have much problems ..so stfu hondas are lame as shit and kinda just piles of shit

How many miles does it have? Cherish it lol!

Yeah mine’s in good shape. Not having that lid would be annoying af because the lid is exactly where you rest your right arm/elbow.

The interior looks like it's falling apart.

@@mmjackk that means the owner actually uses his car :D (I hope, would be nice if it wasn't just shoddy care)

I wanted to point out the same thing lol

@@abysswalker2403 using a car doesn’t mean that it should fall apart if you actually take care of it🤦‍♂️

@@all-caps3927 true, but i would MUCH rather a car fall apart and break down from use over a car just sit there in perfect condition never getting driven.

Man lucky…. I’m still waiting

How has it been for you reliability-wise? 2 door convertible with a 355hp v8 for under 30k sounds pretty fuckin sweet to me

@@DaCheezerz I've had it for over a year now, and it's been pretty reliable. No problems with the top (biggest concern), probably been about 1-2k in maintenance costs in just over a year I'd say. It's such a fun car and sounds incredible.

He had to leave the top up, otherwise you wouldn't be able to hear him talking. Also exhausts do not make music, they make sounds.

@@automation7295 You're so confidently wrong hahaha. OP was talking about the convertible top timelapse music

@@automation7295 Exhaust make real music.

Leaving us to sing it ourselves: "I wear two t-shirts all the time. Please check out Cars & Bids today. I'll have a lemon popsicle..."

@@S_G_1_9 Except, exhaust can't sing, nor does exhaust has a music genre. So your exhaust make RnB or pop or even heavy metal?

Only if you added a SmartTop

I own one of these and I never knew that! Just went and checked on my car and it works! Thanks for sharing.

@@habsa420 no problem! I randomly found that when doing something in my car :D

Jay Leno runs Bids and Cars, right?

Automobiles & Auctions

@@TheDomeHepot010 Brings and Trailers

Trucks and Retail

Carry a lorry

Thanks for mentioning it, I came to say the same thing!

Only those of us who have had one knows.

@@donmic7620 when I was looking for one I've seen some examples listed for sale ale most of the owners had no idea about half the car's features 😂 i was blowing their minds just by having read the manual beforehand 🤦🏼‍♂️

@@MrTypowy1 I finally bought 350 version about like 6 months ago and let me tell you, that kind gentleman that was selling this car, he had NO idea. Since R171 is sort of dream car for me, he was shocked about what that car can do 😂 Had no idea about triangle windows, no idea where hydraulic pump was, where was your "emergency roof valve", hidden storage in trunk, he even had no idea about that multi-link suspension, he didnt even know about DVD player... How, literally how... 🤣Somehow there is a lot of car "enthusiasts" that have no clue about what their car is capable of.

@@donmic7620 Haha, We bought an SLK200k 1.8 Supercharged 2009 model about 2 weeks ago. Were still figuring out new quirks with it! But yeah i was also coming to say the same thing about the windows.

You should buy one again, The prices on these are going to go up so much. One of the last NA v8 amgs in a miata size car

The hero we needed

Should be standard feature in all his videos.

@@mixmixed.comics3002 😊😊 I'm no hero. Just someone who's been telling Doug to do this since ... it started.

@@zalansz9450 I agree. Since Timestamps were added, I've asked @Doug DeMuro to add them. He of course, ignores it, thinking he knows what we want/need...

2015-10-14 Операторы и регионы для мобильных (и др.) телефонов РФ

Ha ha yeah. The funny thing is that the lid is closed in the external shots. Maybe Doug broke the lid between those external and internal shots.......

I noticed that too, LMAO!😂

I also bet every time you drive by, you want to steal it.

You think he would sell it?

I actually have a 2008 slk55amg and its the best. Never going to sell it

And that car has the same engine as a Pagani Huayra

the SL65 weighed exactly TWO METRIC TONNES!!!

Its a monster indeed. Doug reviewed one a few years ago( an sl65 amg black series with 640 hp) crazy torque and speed, truly dangerous if you dont know what you're doing

@@piuthemagicman that's not bad

@@jaya1000 2 metric tons = 2000kg = 2.2 NA Miatas = 0.98 of a (FWD) new Chrysler Pacifica = 133,330 empty Pepsi cans = 0.05 of average American house. How is that light?

He would completely bash and make fun of them

Would be nice to ser him review a Troller T4, Puma, SP2…

i'd love to see a puma gts

i found that comment a little odd because there’s so many cars that put fake molded stitching in like the dashboard and stuff lol

@@itslucienEven in US? Because I really think that american cars are better than brazilian ones. To prove that, search for the brazilian version of the Golf and Jetta and compare them,, you'll see what I mean.

This was the last amg I could afford and I was saving up for it😭now I'm gonna have to hope I can find a c32 amg that's not beat to shit

yup one of the last NA v8 amgs that was put in a miata sized car. Im going to keep mine and sit back and watch the prices go up

fine for me i own one :P

Fax

@Johnson Long I drive a Mercedes with very... Not useable cupholders and tbh you get used to it😂just use a bottle and put it in the door bin

There is basically no difference whatsoever. What is "secure and cozy" about a thin sheet of metal vs. multi-layer fabric? Which do we wear in the winter to keep warm, metal or fabric? Metal-roofed cabrios are totally overweight, and the cabrio feeling is gone as they have to design the windscreen to stretch so far back over the driver's head and the rear has to be designed really high. Then there's no luggage space.

@@yungboicontigo9278 good engine too

@@bcc5701 Reliable?

@@markladenheim5352 m113 amg motor are very durable motors

You couldn't be more wrong...well, ok, FWD cars are worse. But Mercedes managed to make a pretty horrible car out of such a great idea, it's quite an achievement to screw up a small RWD roadster... Just because they look like a fun, sporty car doesn't mean that's what they are. The engine is set pretty high up and actually is placed very far forward! That gives it poor weight distribution. At the other end the cabriolet system increases weight high up in the back. The chassis is not too good, and the suspension certainly isn't. The steering is horrible, engine is pretty ok I guess but the gearbox is not only junk but also makes it un-fun to drive. About the performance: Sport Auto, the German performance testing experts had several tracks (nowadays they've switched up their track use) that they tested an incredible amount of cars on (main ones were Nürburgring and Hockenheim!!) and provided a massive amount of detailed data in an open manner, and standardised their testing very well. They're really superb: they really just specialised solely on performance testing! They tested the BMW Z4 3.0si, Z4 M as well as the Merc SLK 350 and 55 AMG all together (issue 06/2006), and the results were astounding: even the "base" Z4 3.0si was faster than the Mercedes SLK 55 AMG!! Imagine, the "base" version absolutely murdering the "special" AMG version with its massive V8 engine!! It's telling about the quality of the car's engineering that the BMW with its about 265 hp and 315 NM from the 3.0 six cylinder easily outperformed Mercedes' 5.4 liter V8 model with 360hp and 510 NM of torque!!

@@markladenheim5352 extremely reliable from my experience. The gearbox is a little slow which is a shame. That's the only thing that stopped real drivers from queuing up to buy it but it's still so much fun to drive and made much better if it has paddle-shifts fitted

It's not rocket science is it?

Same. They’re all awesome really

First gen CLS was a beautifulual car

What if some of the -55 AMG cars aren't even sold in US or Europe specific only?

What do you mean? All the 55’s were sold in the US, the C55, CLS55, E55, ML55, S55, CL55, CLK55, SL55, and of course the SLK55

​@@mr_sparkly_face4087 *"All the 55’s were sold in the US"* Not the Black Series models, that's only sold in Europe and other markets.

Yes!! They were if I am correct Srt got inspired by amg and they came out with the hellcat later , due to amg using Superchsrgers on there amg sedans. I wish amg still did this like dodge now is killing it no doubt

Hell yeah! German muscle cars. They had a supercharged V8 for Christ sake

@@markanthony1615 Mercedes would make a killing right now if they stuck to focusing on making big V8s and others with superchargers. They were literally the SRT of the 2000s. AMG and SRT are 👑

@@ArbitraryFilmings you clearly aren’t in this planet dip shit. No they don’t make “big amg” anymore. If your speaking 4.0V8 . Compared to the 6.2lV8 , the 5.5LV8 then no they aren’t making big amg anymore so clearly you don’t know what you are talking about. Look at the Sl55 amg with the 5.5NA V8 in a small as car. Amg can’t even put a 5.5 or a 6.2 In there big sedans / suv like srt. And I own a amg 2 actually

AMG owned the early 2000s. It’s the reason the E46 M3 went from track-carving god to E90s tire shredding monster. They were trying to compete with AMG for once. Same with Cadillac’s V.

Same!

Me too =(

They were too expensive already, nice engine but heavy and slow gearbox.

That is why I bought a red one yesterday.

i bought mine like 10 years ago and im just waiting for prices to go up lmao

Don’t ever let it go!

Thumbs up on the F1 hood style, was surprised Doug didn't mentioned haha

p.s. I just left home depot with 75 feet of drainage tube and a case of beer in the trunk. I can still get the top down. I think a 2 on practicality is harsh considering how truly impractical some of the cars he's reviewed are!

@@HomeAwesomation proof: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iugnWRQImMA.html

M113 and M113K were the best engines Mercedes ever made. Although my personal favorite will always be the M156

The SLK much lighter? What? Just because they look like a fun, sporty car doesn't mean that's what they are. The engine is set pretty high up and actually is placed very far forward! That gives it poor weight distribution. At the other end the cabriolet system increases weight high up in the back. The chassis is not too good, and the suspension certainly isn't. The steering is horrible, engine is pretty ok I guess but the gearbox is not only junk but also makes it un-fun to drive. About the performance: Sport Auto, the German performance testing experts had several tracks (nowadays they've switched up their track use) that they tested an incredible amount of cars on (main ones were Nürburgring and Hockenheim!!) and provided a massive amount of detailed data in an open manner, and standardised their testing very well. They're really superb: they really just specialised solely on performance testing! They tested the BMW Z4 3.0si, Z4 M as well as the Merc SLK 350 and 55 AMG all together (issue 06/2006), and the results were astounding: even the "base" Z4 3.0si was faster than the Mercedes SLK 55 AMG!! Imagine, the "base" version absolutely murdering the "special" AMG version with its massive V8 engine!! It's telling about the quality of the car's engineering that the BMW with its about 265 hp and 315 NM from the 3.0 six cylinder easily outperformed Mercedes' 5.4 liter V8 model with 360hp and 510 NM of torque!! Of course the SLK 350 was WAAAYYYY slower than the Z4 3.0si and even the 2.5 versions Sport Auto had tested earlier (but on a different day). Sorry, but performance-wise the SLK was not good.

@@TheFalseShepphard But neither was the CLK DTM sold in North America, which Doug was still able to obtain and review. So my request is still plausible.

m113 not m106. The old 5G could take more torque though.

the 1st version of the SLK 55 even had 6 pistons brake calipers on the front wheels, the 2nd gen only got 4 pistons

I understand that the idea of those cars seems cool, based mostly on the badge and looks, if you have no idea of the tech and if you are not a person interested in the driving experience whatsoever...or performance. Reality is very different, when you know what they're like under the skin and how poorly they perform, and how un-fun they are to drive. Just because they look like a fun, sporty car doesn't mean that's what they are. The engine is set pretty high up and actually is placed very far forward! That gives it poor weight distribution. At the other end the cabriolet system increases weight high up in the back. The chassis is not too good, and the suspension certainly isn't. The steering is horrible, engine is pretty ok I guess but the gearbox is not only junk but also makes it un-fun to drive.

The SLK 55AMG's gearbox is really bad, is no fun at all. It's still slow, ponderous and clunky. And the engine goes to waste with such a poor chassis and layout, as well as the overweight metal-roof-cabrio configuration. About the performance: Sport Auto, the German performance testing experts had several tracks (nowadays they've switched up their track use) that they tested an incredible amount of cars on (main ones were Nürburgring and Hockenheim!!) and provided a massive amount of detailed data in an open manner, and standardised their testing very well. They're really superb: they really just specialised solely on performance testing! They tested the BMW Z4 3.0si, Z4 M as well as the Merc SLK 350 and 55 AMG all together (issue 06/2006), and the results were astounding: even the "base" Z4 3.0si was faster than the Mercedes SLK 55 AMG!! Imagine, the "base" version absolutely murdering the "special" AMG version with its massive V8 engine!! It's telling about the quality of the car's engineering that the BMW with its about 265 hp and 315 NM from the 3.0 six cylinder easily outperformed Mercedes' 5.4 liter V8 model with 360hp and 510 NM of torque!!

@@pistonburner6448go away BMW fanboy 🙄

THIS IS NO TOUCHSCREEN! 😁

Never sell the car, the prices are going to skyrocket. Im keeping my slk forever.

@@stootsievonsalzburg7769 I KNOW IT'S NOT A TOUCHSCREEN! 😁 I already said in my comment it's an AFTERMARKET screen.

@@kindnessisalie5411 bought mine 4 months ago with 72k miles, I'm getting close to 100,000 now. Three trips across the country and countless late night drives with the top down. Super fun car. I'll never get rid of it either

Mercedes managed to make a pretty horrible car out of such a great idea, it's quite an achievement to screw up a small RWD roadster... Just because they look like a fun, sporty car doesn't mean that's what they are. The engine is set pretty high up and actually is placed very far forward! That gives it poor weight distribution. At the other end the cabriolet system increases weight high up in the back. The chassis is not too good, and the suspension certainly isn't. The steering is horrible, engine is pretty ok I guess but the gearbox is not only junk but also makes it un-fun to drive. About the performance: Sport Auto, the German performance testing experts had several tracks (nowadays they've switched up their track use) that they tested an incredible amount of cars on (main ones were Nürburgring and Hockenheim!!) and provided a massive amount of detailed data in an open manner, and standardised their testing very well. They're really superb: they really just specialised solely on performance testing! They tested the BMW Z4 3.0si, Z4 M as well as the Merc SLK 350 and 55 AMG all together (issue 06/2006), and the results were astounding: even the "base" Z4 3.0si was faster than the Mercedes SLK 55 AMG!! Imagine, the "base" version absolutely murdering the "special" AMG version with its massive V8 engine!! It's telling about the quality of the car's engineering that the BMW with its about 265 hp and 315 NM from the 3.0 six cylinder easily outperformed Mercedes' 5.4 liter V8 model with 360hp and 510 NM of torque!!

Ls-swapped Miata

Do u know the season/episode number where they reviewed Slk55amg?

The bigger question is: "How the hell did they manage to make their AMG special version with a huge 5.4 liter V8 slower on track than the non-M Z4 3.0si??"

Because unlike Clarkson they are skilled at what they do.

HAHAHA laughed way too hard at this xD

in America maybe :P my Peugeot never came with V8 :P

That was an American thing. Most of the world didn't have that, which is why it was always something unique and special to see a V8 in europe f.e. V8s were always made for luxurious rides, or for performance. Which is what we will always associate with a V8. In america you even had V8s pushing around 150-200hp, which was kind of useless.

@@matteiasm.3618 It was also an Australian thing.

@@matteiasm.3618 man, wish I was in the US in those days

ok boomer .....remember when we all said that? I miss those days

How exactly is it great?

@@pistonburner6448 you've really added a lot to this comment section, thanks.

Of course it's a great car. All the negative reviews of the 55 are Boxter owners.

@@pistonburner6448you are hell bent on talking poorly about this car. did you get beat by one of these in a lame BMW? it also has many great attributes. M113 , one of the most reliable mercedes engines ever. handles amazing. perfect visibility. still keeps up with modern sports cars on the freeway. appearance aged great for how old it is. looks like a mini slr. i could go on and on about how well it performs in canyons.

No dude, it really does suck. My first gen SLK has them too and I always have to keep paper towels in the car to line the cupholder so condensation doesn't drip on my stereo.

350 owner here too - the thinking person's choice (85% of the power, 50% of the price and maintenance costs). Smart top is the best money you can spend on your slk if you don't have it.

@@inscrutablechicken how much does the smart top cost? Including installation?

because they have different standards and they aren't judging it with the same experience. They usually get trained drivers to do those evaluations.

@@Jaqen-HGhar I mean I'm being a little cheeky in my question, but I do sometimes wonder like how Doug can tell how well a car handles going around town. Maybe it's more "how sporty it feels driving around town and taking an on-ramp turn fast", which I guess is what we really care about anyway.

@@MattWalshs I think it’s easier to compare cars he’s driven then it is to describe the car on its own without referencing other cars (which he does a lot)

The 7spd shifts significantly faster but it’s a shame about the early ones reliability issues. One of my buddys has an SLK55 and is getting the 7spd out of a C63 (non MCT) swapped into it, stronger than the ones they used in the SLK despite being a variation of the same box. Believe it or not the 7spd they used in the SLK55 is identical to the one from the SLK350. Weird in between phase where the 7spd was coming out but the 5.4 M113 was being phased out

I replaced my conductor plate.... on the bottom! Took 1 hr 10 mins minutes start to finish.... including reprograming the new plate and adding trans fluid.

Had to do it on my 2007 E550 at 147k miles. Never had that problem on my 5 speed 2003 E500. Mechanically the transmission is as good as the 5 speed though. It’s an electrical issue and not really that difficult of a job

@@SamAbraham I have a SLK 55. The valving, torque converter, TCU, and gearing are different for the SLK55, vs the 350. The reliability is actually pretty good (on-par with other MB transmissions of the same era).

I had a SLK 350 7-speed with 170.000km on it. I drove the car pretty hard with a lot of "manual" shifting with high revs and load. I never ever had any issues with this insane durable gearbox. Just give it new oil every 80.000km.

No problem with drink condensation dripping on the console nav? People often wonder about that.

Same for me I was looking for a Z4M and I got the SLK55 instead, Love it and this V8 makes the heads turn

@@lawrencefearon6830 Missed this earlier, sir. No problems for me. Not a lot of condensation with bottles - mostly bottled water and my gal's iced tea. It sticks out perfect distance - well away from lower controls. Keep a lid on those drinks, of course!