Convincing a manufacturer to lend you one of its mega-bucks supercars for a long-term test is a complex task. Such requests either evoke peals of unrestrained laughter, or more often, a stern ‘no’. Usually both. But persistence pays off and here’s the proof. We’ve snagged this Dh832K Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG for a month.
Over the next four weeks or so, the SLS will undergo tests that can prove the undoing of any supercar. It will be dropped into the vortex of traffic jams and will do supermarket runs. It will even face off with Ikea. If it can live through that, it will survive anything.
The first impressions are favourable. I have driven the SLS on open highways, through bumper-busting car parks and even ventured into the throbbing city centre. And it’s fared well so far.
Despite the long swooping bonnet, visibility is as good as in an SLK. Actually, it is no more daunting to drive around town than its puny sibling. But then, as you’d expect, it has its share of idiosyncrasies. Getting in, for example, has to be a meticulously choreographed routine. Being a contortionist would certainly help matters.
You need to ease your right foot into the cabin, taking care not to step on the horn, plonk your derriere into the seat, then grab hold of your left leg to pull it in to join the rest of your body before stretching up to pull the door down. There are additional considerations in case you’re wearing a skirt, as Britney Spears will tell you.
And not only do those doors turn the simple task of ingress and egress into an elaborate ritual, they also make the SLS a pathological attention seeker.
The styling may seem a bit iffy at first, but in my opinion this is one of the most striking supercars ever built. It’s splendid to behold in real life.
But everything pales in comparison when the thumping 571bhp, 6.2-litre V8 comes on song. Zero to 100kph is reached in just 3.8 seconds, while the top speed is on the scary side of 300kph. It’s a devastatingly rapid car.
But should you buy one over a Lamborghini, a Ferrari or an Audi R8 V10? Stick around and all will be revealed.
Facts
Driven by Amit
Start mileage 20,852km
Recent cost Fuel
Average fuel economy NA
Highs Styling, engine, performance
Lows Getting in and out is a mission
