My dream girl? If you ask me, I want someone that knows what I’m thinking even before I say it. She’s got to be insanely good looking, and I want to be able to cuddle up with her and just happily sit there all day. Is it too unrealistic? Well you might not think I’d be able to find someone like that but you know what? I’ve already found her.
Her name? SL550. She’s just about everything I could’ve asked for. Under the hood, there is a 4.7L Bi-Turbo V8, with approximately 450 horsepower and 516 lb/ft of torque. That is just about as much power as you would ever need in a luxury cruiser. And considering that the car weighs a hair over 4000 lbs, it’s acceleration is absolutely mental. In the sport+ mode I found myself constantly looking down at the speedometer as the car would be flying forward at 100 mph if I took too long to blink.
Often times, cars with different driving modes are quite underwhelming. And frankly, I wasn’t expecting much as the SL is at the end of the day a cruiser. However, the driving modes was one of my favorite aspects of the car. In sport or sport+ mode, the car firmed up, the steering wheel was the perfect weight, and I almost forgot that I was lugging 4000 lbs of metal through curvy back roads. I’ve mentioned before in one of my articles that I personally am not a huge fan of electric steering wheels as it lacks the feedback you would normally get from a hydraulic steering system. However even in comfort mode, I could feel the road as if I was running along on my feet. The steering wheel is oddly large, but is no harder to control than a highly trained K9 unit. The precision of the steering wheel was mind-blowing, I practically just had to think of which way I wanted to go and it would be done. The accuracy of the steering combined with the phenomenal feedback from the electric steering made me feel as if there are no roads I can’t conquer. You also get an extremely comfortable seat that not only can give you different kinds of back massages but also as you turn the steering wheel, the SL550 adjusts your seat so that your torso is upright at all times.
This is a cruiser. Even though it may have an unnecessary amount of power, and though it could easily be considered a sports coupe, this is a car that you go for an excursion down the coastal road on a leisurely pace on a quiet Sunday afternoon. I’m about 6’1″-6’2″ and even with the top down, my hat stayed on my head without making me nervous that it was about to fly away. Once you put the car in comfort mode, it suddenly becomes a tame, civilized, little Corgi. The monstrous V8’s howl suddenly fades away, and the only thing that’s left is a soothing harmony of the wind, the rumbling engine, and the tires on the road underneath. If you wanted to, you could even kick back, turn on the autonomous mode, relax, and enjoy the view. With a fantastically implemented apple play along with the Harman Kardon speaker system, you can just about do everything you’d want to do while being driven around by your own car.
The SL550 however, is not without flaws. As a person who doesn’t daily the Merc, it feels extremely wide-therefore taking away from the experience of driving sometimes when you’re panicking about whether not the gap is too small; and though the dual clutch gear box is absolutely silky, the semi-automatic 9-speed transmission, at least in my opinion, is a bit extravagant. Besides that though, I do not have too many complaints as far as the car is concerned. The 2017 Mercedes Benz SL550 is an absolute beast of a car, with enough power to rip your face off yet still is able to create a relaxing environment for the driver to truly enjoy every second of being in the cockpit. Had this been a sports car, I would have probably complained that when compared to other cars of its caliber, it lacks power, is massive, and too heavy. But since this is a roadster instead, I can confidently say that, this car is an elegant piece of modern art.
The Road Tripp 
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