Road Test: 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK300 car review

The 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class is something now that it wasn’t a decade ago. Then available only with an automatic transmission and a less-than-inspiring engine, the first SLK was spurned by purist sports car enthusiasts who rightly saw it as better suited for the boulevard rather than the winding backroads.

But the SLK did have something no other convertible or roadster had, the first modern retractable hardtop that converted a weatherproof, quiet and secure two-seat coupe to a topless almost-a-sports car in less than a minute.

Today the 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class still has a retractable hardtop, though refined from the original to take less trunk room when lowered, but the two-seater has been honed to a genuine sports car.

The differences are largely subjective, meaning the handling is sharper and such, but there are objective factors as well. Take power, for example. While the SLK-class received a significant restyling for 2009, with a crisper front end with a new front bumper that emphasizes the V-shaped hood and what Mercedes calls a “modified segmentation of the air intakes” for a more aggressive appearance, the V-6-equipped SLK350 received a 32 horsepower bump so that it now produces a healthy 300 horses.