In our second and final Review Roundup of the day, we have a total of five articles analyzing the Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, C63 AMG and SLK200 Kompressor for your reading entertainment.  As always, you can find excerpts from each article along with links back to the full review immediately below.

Enjoy.


Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG (via evo)
Reviewer's rating:

"Moving off, the SL63 feels more like an automated manual than a torque-converter auto, the bite of the clutch varying with the throttle input. However, once you’ve shifted into second there’s little to suggest that there’s anything but a regular auto ’box shuffling the gears. Meanwhile the steering is meatily weighted and the ABC suspension, firmed up over the cooking versions, feels less absorbent than the SL55’s, no question, but there’s an edge, a directness, that suggests a quite different experience to the out-going model.

Initially, it feels like it’s going to be a lesser experience. The instant gratification of the torque-rich SL55 is missing, despite seven gears (as opposed to five) and the sharper throttle response; you have to work the new engine hard, using lots of revs. However, while the start-of-day feeling was that the SL63 was a little ‘flat’ and not as exciting as its 518bhp rating suggested, by the time I handed the keys back I had been won over by its ability and consistency. The further you drive the SL63, the better it feels. The directness of its steering, the firmness of its chassis and the need to work its engine and gearbox hard ultimately fuse into a very satisfying experience. As ever, the active suspension helps disguise the SL’s weight, giving the car a neat, agile feel through a sequence of bends."

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Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG (via CNN Money)
Reviewer's rating:  Unspecified

"Beyond looks, I found the SL63 a perplexing series of pros and cons. I climbed in: great seats, fine Nappa leather, expensive Alcantara headliner. So what was that sea of knobs and switches crowding the center console? The start/stop button, placed atop the gearshift knob, caused me to inadvertently shut the car off several times when trying to go into reverse.

Then there's the hand-built 518-hp V-8 and the fabulously sonorous, burbling exhaust music. AMG has produced massive performance upgrades on Mercedes for decades; you can count on the driving experience to be consistently close to a bullet train - loads of speed, loads of grunt. AMG didn't underdeliver here.

There's so much power and torque (80% of its 465 foot-pounds is available at 2,000 rpm) that when I nailed it off the line at a light, I snapped my own neck back. Still, the weighty SL63 tended to plow into corners with a bit too much unsporting understeer. Stabbing for the controls to set up my preferred level of play (there's Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus, and Manual) was distracting, especially because most are mounted below eye level."

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Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG (via Road & Track)
Reviewer's rating:  1st out of four

"An enormous, throbbing engine encased in a sports-sedan exoskeleton...that, in brief, describes the C63 AMG, the latest recipient of the 6208-cc V-8 that's hand-assembled by a single technician at the AMG plant in Affalterbach, Germany. And although it makes the scales groan at a 3920-lb. curb weight, the 451-bhp C63 leaps off the mark to a test-best 4.1-sec. sprint to 60 mph, and a ground-shaking 12.5-sec. pass through the quarter mile.

The 'ground-shaking' part isn't complete hyperbole, as thick chunks of sonic energy get hurled out the quad tailpipes with every articulation of the throttle pedal. And wheelspin (with traction/stability control off, naturally) is never far away. Said [tester] Monticello: 'Any C63 owner who doesn't go through a set of rear tires in 5000 miles or less should turn his car in at the Weenie Depot.'"

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Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG (via San Francisco Chronicle)
Reviewer's rating: Unspecified

"The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG makes perfect sense as a gateway vehicle to the AMG brand, rather than a hot-rod C-Class entry-level ride, while representing an outstanding value in the process. The performance is phenomenal on all levels, which was aptly demonstrated during spirited exercises on the road course at Arizona's Firebird International Raceway. There were no casualties, only challenging maneuvers in trying to keep up with professional driver/instructors piloting CLK 63 AMG Black Series lead cars.

The C63 AMG is at home on the road or on the track. It can be a comfortable cruiser, or a worthy competitor on the track. Is it worth the price? Well, when one adds the sound emanating from this engine's exhaust note, the special resonance warrants a yes."

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Mercedes-Benz SLK200 Kompressor (via FemaleFirst)
Reviewer's rating:

"I am a great fan of the SLK range and was pretty content with the outgoing models. However with these new 2008 updates, the SLK 200 Kompressor has just got better. The ride and handling is fantastic thanks to loads of technology under the bonnet. The steering is utterly precise, a real point and go job but the looks. The SLK is one of the rare roadsters that are simply stunning as either a hardtop or a convertible.

My neighbours will be speechless and tuning green with envy if I owned one which one day I will. Prices may start at £29,710.00 but I have to have some of the optional extras. So I best go and buy a lottery ticket today."

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And to our friends Monk and Shiv:  thanks yet again for the tips gentlemen; we sincerely appreciate them.