Comparison: New Mercedes SLK vs BMW Z4

[Essence]

Originally Posted by samchoi604

I'm a great fan of the Z4 but I have to admit, the SLK looks much better than before and even better than the Z4.

1
Sorry guys,
But the SLK looks great, and beats the Z4 this time round. Thou I'm a BMW fan, but the SLK finally made it.

[LeifW]

Interesting to see that the Merc has cross drilled brakes while the BMW does not.

Leif W.

[vic85]

The question is how will the SLK drive compare to the Z, after all roadsters are drivers cars and that is the reason I drive one

[E89Tardis]

Clearly, Mercedes has one department that designs the front of the car forward of the windshield and another department that designs the back behind the windshield.....

And clearly they don't think alike. They couldn't even get the body height of the two sections to line up.

The back has some nice curves but the front is a box... I know I'm bias and anything they copied from the Z4 appeals to me more but am I really the only one who sees it? It's like they was designed by two different countries....

It's new and e89 is not.. Wait till the new wears off and take another look.

Awesome looking roadster but still it's no E89... Oh, but then it's a Mercedes !

[Merefield]

Originally Posted by Nikkahtropolis

I don't see how anybody could see the new SLK a good looking design in any way. It's a bastardized melting pot of MB's new design language jammed into far too small of a package. I don't know what's worse: the hunchback rear, the disjointed lumpy profile, or the barricade destroying ram-nosed front end. The previous SLK, while not stand-out or even that aggressive, was far better as a whole design than this piece imo.

TOTALLY agree. The MB design is quite clumsy.

The E89 is one of the most beautiful designs BMW has ever produced and this pretender doesn't get close.

[Taipei-TT]

I find a few things fascinating about this thread.

First, what's up with North America a "chick cars"??? As the black Z4 posted in this thread amply demonstrates, a Z4 is aggressive and can be suited to different types of owners. When I had my 2008 TT in Taipei, my sister back home in Toronto is "Why did you buy a chick car?" Whereas here in Taipei, 99.9% of the TTs have male drivers. I really don't get this arbitrary classification that if a car has curves, it's a chick car.

Second...I agree with other posters...the styling on the SLK is mash-up of MB's latest design language and a few cues back to the original car. The front end on the new MB's is not growing on me yet...but it does look fantastic on something that is supposed to be square..eg the GLK. Can't wait to see it on the CLS in person, I'm sure that should be a fantastic expression of this design language and may influence on how I see this car.

On a different note however...why would anyone buy EITHER car? For my money, I'd be sitting in a 2 seat Cayman rather than a Z4 or SLK. The driving dynamics just cannot be compared to the baby Porsche! (Ok...and if you really need/want a roadster...er..Boxter..hmm..ah..ok..maybe I see why there is a niche for these cars!) But of these over a Cayman, not for me!

[GOLFFRR]

great side by side comparison however the SLK just doesn't seem to flow front to back to me. The z4 looks very good, def have to give it to the BMW on this one. (not just bc i am a BMW dealer )

[vladberca]

The design is one point, much more subjective, but a side by side road test will show the superior performances of the Z engine! Curious also about the braking performances

[HerrK]

Originally Posted by LeifW

Interesting to see that the Merc has cross drilled brakes while the BMW does not.

Leif W.

Yes. The front MB calipers look better also. But as with the current model I imagine that a MT will not be available with the larger engine. Which was more than enough to do it for me when choosing the Z4.

Trolling around the SLK forums - SLK forum members desire the BMW DCT & twin turbo power, but not the HPFP problems - of course neither do we. Hopefully that sore point is near an end. Seemed to be lots of complaints about the current SLK seats. A few comments about the new Z4 harsher noiser ride with the RFT's - yes we know. Many current R171 owners are not thrilled with the new styling and I was surprised at how many negative comments the new models center top of dash clock received - I thought it was quite odd as well.

To each their own - The comparison testing will be interesting reading - but I'm keeping what I've got!

[BMWBoss]

Z4 takes the cake hands down...no comparison

[NewYearsBoy]

WOW!!! They are almost the same!!! I like the Z4 better...

Also I think Benz stole BMWs design.... They are scary close...

[Memphis1]

The Benz looks like the Saturn Sky...

[WhoU4]

Between these two models, the Z4 wins... much nicer lines overall.

[ac328]

The Z4 looks a bit better, but the SLK looks nice from the side. I think the current SLK 280/350 looks better than the face lift.......

[CeEl]

Actually, I am a bit surprised ... looking at the spy pictures and such, I thought the new SLK was going to be one ugly car. But now without all the camouflage and such, I am surprised that it actually doesn't look bad at all.

The interior of a car is more important to me than the exterior.

So far, I still prefer the Z4 both inside and out. I hope they will have the SLK at the local auto show ... sometimes they bring the ugliest example they can find of these "niche cars" (that's true for Z4 and SLK and others).

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by LeifW

Interesting to see that the Merc has cross drilled brakes while the BMW does not.

Leif W.

The W203 C230s came with cross-drilled brakes but that didn't necessarily make them good at braking or repeated stops.

[Otago]

slk = damn ugly car, only old dudes will drive it!

[Year's_End]

I'm honestly surprised that some people think this SLK looks good. I'm not trying to sound biased at all; I really do love some of MB's model designs, but seriously, this looks like a carved block of shit.

The surfacing doesn't match up. You've got sculpted surfaces on some panels and stamped surfaces on others. The vents look like toys, and the line running above it goes nowhere in particular. The trunk lip just kind of sits there, and the rear hump is stupidly massive compared to the roof. The worst part is where the shoulder runs into the A-pillar.

The front bumpers on both regular and sport packaged SLKs look forced. The sport-packaged one even looks like a toy with the requisite tacked on LED strips. The headlights would look better if they weren't spread out so wide (makes the face look like it wants to say derp derp).

[uhn2000]

Z4 is the best BMW design out there.. wow. Just so sexy.

[Year's_End]

I will say that the interior blows the shit out of the Z4's though. It's surprising that Benz decided to stick a near identical interior to the SLS's in a car that costs a quarter of its price.

[machine]

I hate to say this but it looks like the SLK has the z4 beat (in the looks dept)

I love the fact that it looks like the SLS

[Maroon]

The new SLK looks good, but the E89 is just beautiful...