In Thailand, there are two kinds of drivers who would consider a convertible: one, those in their late 30s and up reminiscing their college years in southern California driving a targa-top Honda CR-X Del Sol.The other are those whose dream cars are either a Ferrari or a Porsche, but realise that they may never be able to afford one or become too old to drive one.
To the latter, it does not really matter whether their second or third car is a coupe' or a convertible as long as it looks sporty and they can shout "hey, look at me, I'm successful" really loud.
What we have here this week are two of the "entrylevel" luxury roadsters that may appeal to the two group of buyers. First is the long-time sales champion in this little segment, the Mercedes-Benz SLK200K with 184hp 1.8-litre supercharged four-pot costing B4.5m.
Its contender is the BMW's new-generation Z4 sDrive23i powered by a 204hp 2.5-litre straight six and comes with a price tag of B4.599m.
The pair is quite evenly matched in just about every aspect: price, prestige and performance. With foldable metal hard-tops, they both double as two-seat roadsters and coupe's.
From the outside, the second-generation SLK's design has stood the test of time pretty well considering this is its fifth year and has recently been facelifted. As per Benz's tasteful tradition, it looks well proportioned, sporty without being overtly garish and instantly recognisable as the baby SL.
The Z4, on the other hand, is an all-new secondgeneration released only this year, and it shows how many fractions of a light year ahead it is in car design,meaning it captures your attention on its futuristic looks which takes a few minutes to take in. Our testers agreed that it was better looking, rather than weird, than the Benz.
Inside, the SLK sold here has crime-scene red leather as standard to add zest to its otherwise sombre and conventional, yet ergonomic-friendly, dash and trim. The seats many not offer as much power adjustment as in the Bee-em, but it is snug and easy to get into a proper driving position.
The steering wheel, though, looks unfashionably large,but the oval rim profile and its leather cladding are good to hold. The shift paddles would stand out better if they are in aluminium instead of black.
The Z4 here comes in a more neutral cream-coloured leather trim and a dash design that may never be called exciting but doable with the aluminium panel right across it.
The Bee-em's seat design might be modelled after some American cars with the back and headrests looking like a human finger. They offer good band adjustments,but getting into a sweetspot of a driving posture is tricky and the lateral support can be lacking.
The steering wheel is the right size, but its thick round rim may not suit smaller hands. The aluminium shift paddles atop both horizontal spokes, however, ooze sporty purpose.
In the Benz, you still turn the electronic key fob at the traditional steering column location to start the engine.And then the soulless supercharged four-pot engine thrum takes away your grin and you start wondering how much more for a V8(some B10m for an SLK55 AMG).
The Bee-em has a trendier push-start button to fire up the engine. But once you do that and rev the straight-six up, nothing exciting could be found it's just smooth-revving and graciously refined.
On the move with the SLK, you weave through city traffic enjoying its decently comfy low-speed ride that neutralises most bumps and potholes nearly like a saloon. But the engine needs constant jabbing at the throttle pedal taking away some of the citycruising smoothness. Traffic noise is hardly any worse than in, say, a C-class saloon which means it's quite good.
The opposite is true in the Z4 as the throttle response is sharper and the heavier steering effort needed may not be appreciated by all. Still, the wheel feels noticeably lighter than in a 3-series saloon.
If you think a Mini Cooper has a choppy ride in the city, then the Z4 is worse - not only does it thumps but also shudders lightly. In this car, you cannot ignore you're driving a convertible for the traffic noise seeps in.
Out on the open road where both roadsters are more at home, the two's characters begin to diverge even more. The Benz's aging engine needs a bit of pushing to reach highway cruising speeds and is always hesitative, even in sport mode, to stomping on the gas pedal when passing power is needed.
With a power-to-weight ratio of 130hp per tonne,there's enough oomph to enjoy for rather brisk but not fast driving. Perhaps you'd need to master paddleshifting rather than leaving the five-speed automatic in "drive" or even toggle the lever from side-to-side for manual shifting.
In the Z4, it is more effective to flick the gear lever to sport mode then toggle it up and down for manual shifting. Whatever method you use to shift the Beeem's six-speed auto, the shift is positively quicker than in the Benz.
The Z4's 138hp per tonne may look only marginally better than SLK's. But in real-world driving, the Beeem feels more alert and ready to translate any pedal action into forward movement. On paper, the Beeem has a 0.6sec better 0-100kph sprint time at 7.3sec than the Benz. And on the open highway, you'd be in front of the SLK most of the time.
The SLK handles quite accurately eating up corners and curves like cutting butter with a hot knife. The steering that first feels kind of vague at slower speed does deliver what it takes to point the wheels where you want them at higher speeds.
It is quite fun to exploit the chassis with the light rear tending to drift, but not unexpectedly, on hard cornering. Whatever the SLK can do with handling,the Z4 does it better with sharper steering, flatter cornering and apparently more rear-end stability.
Even the brakes feel more progressive and reassuring in the BMW, whereas the rear discs on the Benz are prone to locking up under hard braking.
Fuel economy may not be of any consideration to prospective buyers of these roadsters. But for the record, they did neck and neck with 9.5kpl and 9.7kpl,in favour of the SLK, with the tops up. And also for the record, the Benz's roof opens and closes about three seconds faster at 20sec than the BMW's pointing to a more efficient folding system.
Other than that, it seems like the Benz cannot breach the Bee-em's bullet-proof hull of competence,but not quite. Despite the Z4 employing a threemode adjustable suspension, the normal or softest mode is a notch too stiff for most of Thailand's highways and city streets. The jarring over potholes and washboards is felt through the steering wheel and, more disturbingly, through the seats.
The annoying wind noise above 110kph in the Z4 may be mediocre for a soft-top cabrio a decade ago,but it falls behind most modern hard-top convertibles we've tested so far.
Our drive from Bangkok to Phetchaburi province was full of these road surface flaws and we could conclude that the good driving dynamics of the Z4 is outweighed by all the unpleasant shudders. Yes, you can drive the BMW harder and faster. But on typical bumpy Thai roads, you would feel more like being punished rather than rewarded.
In the end, this means that there is still good reason to go for an aging Benz over a brand new BMW.
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