Interior styling
The two-tone interior is tastefully done. The plastics are nice but be careful with what you use to clean the top of the dash, as the material picks up every piece of lint and dust. The leather is also of good quality. The ergonomics are right out of the Mercedes-Benz SLK (1998-2004). A couple of annoyances are the very small radio buttons that happen to all look alike. Likewise, the rotary temperature control knobs are somewhat bothersome. They work fine but it is impossible to know exactly what position it is in; there is no line or real notch to indicate that the desired temperature has been selected.
I found it slightly difficult to achieve a comfortable driving position. The fact that the driver seat is power adjustable in 8 ways and the steering column is telescopic helped only a little. Eventually though, one adapts to the surroundings. Once settled in, the seats are supportive and comfortable enough on long hauls. There is a fair amount of legroom for the passengers but there is a knee bar on the driver side; as the dash is very low and the steering wheel is very big (right out of a Pacifica). When clutching, the knees come into contact with it and turns out to be more of a nuisance than a safety feature. The centre armrest is deep and large. There is but one cup-holder and I would not trust it with anything other than a sealable bottle to avoid spills. Another little issue involves the power seat controls: they are awkward to reach between the seat and the door panel once the door is closed.
The trunk volume is nearly laughable when the top is down but when the top is up, space is in fact surprisingly generous. There is a divider between the cargo and the roof storage area. This separator must be perfectly in place otherwise the roof will not go down. It actually happened to me on two occasions when I thought there was something wrong with the roof mechanism.
Technical
Power comes from the widely used Mercedes SOHC 3.2L V6 that does a good job of hauling the just-over 1 400 kg roadster. It is torquey down low and pulls strongly through the mid range. It develops 215 hp @ 5 700 rpm and 229 lb/ft of torque @ 3 000 rpm. This engine has been used in many Benzes over the years: SLK, C Class, ML, E Class. Hopefully over time, Mercedes has improved this design to avoid premature failures due to excessive oil consumption.
The two-tone interior is tastefully done. The plastics are nice but be careful with what you use to clean the top of the dash, as the material picks up every piece of lint and dust. The leather is also of good quality. The ergonomics are right out of the Mercedes-Benz SLK (1998-2004). A couple of annoyances are the very small radio buttons that happen to all look alike. Likewise, the rotary temperature control knobs are somewhat bothersome. They work fine but it is impossible to know exactly what position it is in; there is no line or real notch to indicate that the desired temperature has been selected. I found it slightly difficult to achieve a comfortable driving position. The fact that the driver seat is power adjustable in 8 ways and the steering column is telescopic helped only a little. Eventually though, one adapts to the surroundings. Once settled in, the seats are supportive and comfortable enough on long hauls. There is a fair amount of legroom for the passengers but there is a knee bar on the driver side; as the dash is very low and the steering wheel is very big (right out of a Pacifica). When clutching, the knees come into contact with it and turns out to be more of a nuisance than a safety feature. The centre armrest is deep and large. There is but one cup-holder and I would not trust it with anything other than a sealable bottle to avoid spills. Another little issue involves the power seat controls: they are awkward to reach between the seat and the door panel once the door is closed.
The trunk volume is nearly laughable when the top is down but when the top is up, space is in fact surprisingly generous. There is a divider between the cargo and the roof storage area. This separator must be perfectly in place otherwise the roof will not go down. It actually happened to me on two occasions when I thought there was something wrong with the roof mechanism.Technical
Power comes from the widely used Mercedes SOHC 3.2L V6 that does a good job of hauling the just-over 1 400 kg roadster. It is torquey down low and pulls strongly through the mid range. It develops 215 hp @ 5 700 rpm and 229 lb/ft of torque @ 3 000 rpm. This engine has been used in many Benzes over the years: SLK, C Class, ML, E Class. Hopefully over time, Mercedes has improved this design to avoid premature failures due to excessive oil consumption.