Mercedes-AMG SL review: the roadster comes home to AMG, and it suits the car
4.4/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
The current SL is a genuinely different car from the R231 it replaced — firmer, faster, all-wheel drive, and unmistakably an AMG product rather than a Mercedes with an AMG badge stuck on. In Bahrain that translates to a convertible that copes with the causeway at speed and still has enough usable rear space for a briefcase or a small passenger, at the cost of some of the old car's wafting comfort. Buy the SL 55 over the 43 for the V8 soundtrack and the extra shove; the 63 is for buyers who genuinely need the last 10 percent and are prepared to pay for it in tyres.
Pros
- First SL built entirely by AMG, with a genuinely engaging chassis
- 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive adds real security and launch performance
- Small rear seats return, adding practicality over the old two-seat R231
- Tiltable portrait touchscreen genuinely helps against Gulf sun glare
Cons
- Firmer AMG-tuned ride trades away some of the old SL's wafting comfort
- Roof-down driving is only comfortable outside midday summer heat
- Running costs and tyres are priced as a full AMG performance car
- Rear seats are genuinely occasional-use only, not for adults
For the first time since the R231's predecessors were still hand-assembled decades ago, the SL is built entirely at Mercedes-AMG's Affalterbach facility, not as an in-house Mercedes roadster with an AMG engine bolted in. The result is a noticeably firmer, more focused car than the SL that came before it, with a fabric soft-top replacing the previous generation's folding steel roof to save weight and free up boot space.
The SL 55's 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and standard 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive is the sensible middle ground in the range: enough performance to feel genuinely quick, without the SL 63's extra intensity or running costs. Two small rear seats return after the strictly two-seat previous generation, useful for a bag or a child seat rather than adult passengers.
Driving it in Bahrain
4MATIC+ traction matters little on Bahrain's dry, flat roads day to day, but it pays off in launch feel and in the rare heavy-rain event, and the firmer AMG-tuned chassis makes the sweeping curves of the Budaiya coast road genuinely engaging rather than just comfortable. Roof-down driving is a dawn-or-dusk pleasure here more than a midday one — the climate control works hard but a Bahraini August at noon is a test for any convertible.
Cabin tech is Mercedes' current-generation MBUX system with a portrait touchscreen that can tilt away from direct sun glare, a small but genuinely useful detail for this climate.
The verdict
This SL is a more serious performance car than any SL since the AMG-tuned R230s of the 2000s, and it trades some of the old model's wafting long-distance comfort for that focus. Buy it as an AMG sports car that happens to be a roadster, not as a soft cruiser, and it makes complete sense.