Mercedes-AMG SL Review (2023-present)

What is the Mercedes-AMG SL?

The Mercedes SL is a two-seat, open-top sportscar that aims to strike a happy medium between being a luxury grand-tourer and a serious sports car. It’s certainly got the heritage, being able to trace its routes right back to the Mercedes Gullwing SL of the 1950s, although it’s the ‘Pagoda’ Mercedes SL of the ‘60s that really started the modern SL format. This is now the 7th generation of Mercedes SL, which has evolved more than usual to become a more aggressive, more sports-focussed option, rather than the generally more laid-back, touring-focussed SLs of old.

To our eyes, it certainly looks great: sharp and purposeful, and while there may be a bit of awkwardness to the rear angles, we’ll forgive it for that classic long-bonnet, rearward-cabin shape that echoes the Mercedes SLS supercar, the (smaller and more focussed) AMG GT, and even the original 300 SL Gullwing that is the original godfather of the SL series. Notably, Mercedes has also gone back to a fabric roof rather than the folding hard top of the previous SL, and it’s an impressive trick that the cabin still looks dinky and sleek, yet there are now two occasional seats behind the front seats, making the SL a four-seater.

Engines in the line-up include a four-cylinder, 2.0-litre turbocharged motor with 375bhp in the Mercedes-AMG SL43, and the ‘M177’ 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 motor with 469bhp in the SL55, and 577bhp in the SL63. A nine-speed automatic gearbox is standard on the entire range but, more radical, is that the V8 models come with Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel drive system; the first time that the Mercedes SL has ever been offered with four-wheel drive.

That’s not the only first, either. Rear-wheel steering premieres on the Mercedes-AMG SL 55 and SL 63 for the first time, too, as does AMG Active Ride Control, which brings active hydraulic anti-roll stabilisation, albeit only on the range-topping SL63.

How Practical is it?

The big news regarding the SL’s practicality is that the car now gets rear seats. Well, occasional rear seats anyway. It’s not the first time that the big Mercedes roadster has had four seats; the R129 Mercedes SL that was sold throughout the 1990s had optional back seats. But, before you get the child seats out, bear in mind that the rear seats really are… occasional. There’s very little leg- and headroom, and the seat backs are very upright. It is great to have them for the odd short drive with the kids or some friends, but it’s no family car and, most of the time, those rear seats are best used for your coats and bags.

Space in the boot is pretty good. With 231 litres it’s hardly big, but you’ll get a few soft weekend bags in there easily, and you don’t lose much space with the fabric roof dropped.

Up front the seats are deeply sculpted and offer loads of support and adjustment. They’re low-set, and it encourages a legs-stretched-out position, which suits the low-slung SL just fine. There’s storage in the armrest, and the dashboard feels beautifully finished. By the standards of performance roadsters, this is impressively classy and surprisingly practical.

What’s it like to drive?

Mercedes-AMG has gone to great lengths to make the new Mercedes SL more focussed; more of a purist sports car to take on its nemesis, the Porsche 911. The modern Mercedes-Benz SL series has always been a Grand Tourer first and a sports car second, but this is arguably the first generation to switch those performance and handling priorities.

And it has worked, in that the SL now has a lurking purposefulness to it on the road that it hasn’t had before. We’ve only driven the SL 55, and you immediately get that rolling, background V8 engine rumble. Not too intrusive if you don’t want it to be, but always there, reminding you that you’ve got 469 bhp and 516 lb ft worth of detonation under your right foot.

It is a detonation, too. Especially if you choose Sport or Sport+ driving modes, which sharpen up the throttle response and open the exhaust baffles. It is a truly theatrical car to blast about in, yet is also easy to drive in everyday traffic and touring situations. Our only big gripe is that the throttle response in Comfort mode is a touch unpredictable, being fairly soft and unresponsive initially before suddenly delivering a shove of pace. With familiarity you get used to it, but it could be smoother. Refinement (including wind bluster with the roof down), steering response and the way the gearbox blurs its shifts is all slick and more than well sorted enough to make this an effortless long-distance cruiser. Ride comfort on the standard adaptive dampers is a touch firm and restless at low speeds, but settles down for really lovely, loping comfort at higher speeds.

Handling is where things need to have improved to really reflect the SL’s new sportier outlook, and in certain aspects it has. The steering is now a touch quicker and, critically, that 4Matic four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering system are just brilliant. It all delivers a real sense of playfulness while still bringing impressive grip levels. You can still feel that most of the power goes to the rear axle, though, which will squirm around if you really want to push the SL’s limits, and in more moderate use, also allows you to adjust the car’s line on the throttle. But there’s always a keen awareness that this is a powerful car that deserves respect; it doesn’t nanny you, and that’s very good news.

For all the playful but incisive handling that the AMG has achieved with the SL, the handling isn’t as sweet as in the 911. Having said that, it’d be interesting to try the SL63 with its hydraulic anti-roll bars and electronically-controlled rear differential, as it seems reasonable to assume that these features would elevate the SL’s handling response even further.

Four-wheel drive or not, the SL doesn’t have quite the same zen levels of steering tactility as a Porsche 911 or Audi R8, nor the same mechanical grip levels. Part of the reason it feels less wieldy is also the basic shape of this long-bonneted, front-engined car. You sit so far back from the nose of the car that you feel like you need a rudder rather than a wheel. But it’s also this iconic and very evocative body shape that makes the SL distinctive and appealingly different to its rivals, including the Bentley Continental GT that we’d say is closer to the Mercedes-AMG SL in nature.

Technology and Equipment

The Mercedes-AMG SL has always been a technical showcase for the brand, and this model is no different. The dynamic highlights of rear-axle steering, 4Matic four-wheel drive and, on the SL63, hydraulic anti-roll bars, are the headlines. The infotainment touchscreen is also a neat touch, as it automatically changes the tilt of the screen when you drop the electronically-controlled soft-top, to help prevent glare on the screen. You can turn that feature off, if you want, but we found it to be a really neat feature that actually does help you to see the screen more easily in bright conditions.

Speaking of the infotainment system, every one of the SL models gets an 11.9-inch touchscreen with the latest MBUX interface, including wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, sat-nav, a truly brilliant Burmester sound system and wireless phone charging. All models apart from the entry-level SL43 Touring and SL43 Premium also get a head-up display and the MBUX augmented reality navigation, which imposes an arrow onto a live video stream of the road ahead to make it clearer when you’re approaching a turn on your route. The ‘AMG Track Pack’ is another standard feature on all but those entry-level SL 43 trims, and includes a lap-, sector- and acceleration timer, as well as a live telemetry data to help you improve your circuit driving.

It does take some time to work out where the main functions are and how to use them properly, but the screen itself has fantastic graphics and responds quickly. When you’ve familiarised yourself, it’s one of the best infotainment systems to live with.

The SL 43 Premium and Touring both cost the same and offer entry-level options in the Mercedes-AMG SL range, but offer different style features, with the Touring getting a chrome exterior package and the Premium getting the darker, ‘Night Package’ exterior styling. On top of the infotainment features we’ve already mentioned, they also get 20-inch alloy wheels, heated steering wheel and seats, keyless entry, adjustable ambient lighting, powered bootlid, 360-degree reversing camera and full adaptive ‘Digital Light’ LED headlamps.

The SL 43 Premium Plus gets bigger 21-inch alloy wheels, cooled and heated seats with massage function. The SL 55 and SL 63 are both offered in Premium Plus or Touring Plus trims only, but get different suspension setup and dynamic features as we’ve already mentioned above. The SL 63 also gets a front axle lift system, which hydraulically raises the nose of the car to give better clearance.

Overall, the SL really is a very generously equipped car that’s stuffed with tech. If it wasn’t for the fact that adaptive cruise control is optional, we’d have given it five stars here.

Mercedes SL running costs

The Mercedes SL isn’t cheap. The Porsche 911 Cabriolet and Audi R8 Spyder both look comparably reasonable next to the SL 55 and SL 63, and it’s hard not to feel that the four-cylinder engine in the SL 43 is a touch less desirable than the flat-six that you get in the cheaper Porsche 911, and the V8 that you get in the BMW M850i that costs a similar amount to a high-spec SL 43 AMG. By the time you get up to the price of the SL 55 and SL 63, you can have a Bentley GTC V8 and are not even that far off the price of a Ferrari Portofino. Mind you, the Mercedes is lavishly equipped as standard, while Ferrari will typically charge extra for fresh air, so it’s hardly like-for-like. Still, the SL 63 costs over £170,000 list price, and if you’re seriously thinking of spending that much money it won’t escape your notice that you’re well within reach of an Aston Martin, Bentley or Ferrari, and are an astonishing £40,000 over the cost of a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet that actually has slightly better performance than the Mercedes-AMG SL 63. As we said , the SL isn’t cheap, but the 43 and 55 are both justifiable given the high standard equipment levels.

If you’re worried about fuel economy, go for the SL 43 as it manages an official WLTP combined economy of 31 mpg, while the SL 55 and SL 63 both manage 21.4 mpg. In our experience of the SL 55, that’s actually very achievable in the real world; we saw some 23mpg without trying very hard on a steady motorway cruise, although that will drop extremely quickly if you choose to make use of the performance on offer.

Depreciation is historically rather painful on the Mercedes SL, and on most of its rivals, to be fair. Avoid the SL 63 if you want to crisis-manage the inevitable drop in value as much as possible. Nearly-new or used examples of the SL 55 or SL 43 will offer a great way to avoid the initial big drop in value, and promise to be properly tempting as a more theatrical alternative to the Porsche 911, which typically holds its value much better.

The Mercedes SL is too new to have gathered any real feedback from owners on reliability, but it does come with an unlimited-mileage, three-year manufacturer warranty, and roadside assistance that can be extended for an additional cost.

As an overall brand, Mercedes came a rather disappointing 23rd out of 32 manufacturers included in the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey. It also fared poorly in the 2022 Driver Power survey, which factors in new car reliability and also overall owner satisfaction with the vehicle and buying process. Mercedes managed 23rd out of 29 brands surveyed.