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Zut
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| First long trip - My impressions
I drove from Montréal to Sept-Îles and back (a 1839km/1,143mi trip) and I am absolutely impressed by the performance of my little 350. It behaved beautifully and the fuel consumption was amazing (an average of 7,7liters/100km, i.e 36.6mi/UKgal. or 30.5USgal.). The ride to Sept-îles was a little hard on my back but I bought a small 10$ lumbar cushion at the local Wall-Mart and the ride back was wonderful. I am quite sure this was the first SLK of any year to go there. I had to show the service station attendants how to work the fuel door!!!
It is still winter there. When I left this morning it was -4ºC/29ºF there and it was 23ºC/73ºF in Montréal when I arrived this afternoon. I suppose our friends in Colorado can relate to this summer-winter-in-a-day situation! I am looking forward to many long trips this summer. 
Anyone went on a long trip with his or her SLK? Was it a pleasant experience? How was the fuel consumption? |
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bmwnomore
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| RE: First long trip - My impressions
I took a two hour or so trip today. It's the longest trip I've done in the SLK. I also was very impressed. I was comfortable the whole time. I even had it up to 100 miles per hour. It was smooth as silk.
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Zut
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| RE: First long trip - My impressions
bmwnomore - 4/30/2006 7:38 PM
I took a two hour or so trip today. It's the longest trip I've done in the SLK. I also was very impressed. I was comfortable the whole time. I even had it up to 100 miles per hour. It was smooth as silk.
I also pumped it up to 100mph and the ride was so smooth It felt like the car was literally sucking the road. As you said, smooth as SiLK! |
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bmwnomore
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| RE: First long trip - My impressions
You want the opposite of smooth as silk? Read my post about going 175.
Edited by bmwnomore 4/30/2006 8:39 PM
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AsianML
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: First long trip - My impressions
Nice little write up Zut! What is it with MB and not having lumbar support. The '97 Maxima we had, had it standard.  |
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Zut
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| RE: First long trip - My impressions
bmwnomore - 4/30/2006 8:38 PM
You want the opposite of smooth as silk? Read my post about going 175.
I read your Drove 175 miles per hour today post. I don't think I could go that fast without being a little nervous!
We don't often need all the power our SLK can offer but it sure feels great to have enough umph for special occasions. If the law allowed it, I should be very comfortable doing 160km/h (100mph) whenever possible. I felt extremely safe when I did it. |
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Zut
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: First long trip - My impressions
AsianML - 4/30/2006 8:59 PM
What is it with MB and not having lumbar support. The '97 Maxima we had, had it standard. :angry:
I know, I know... Fortunately, I don't need lumbar support for short trips (less than 3 hours). But now that I have my little cushion, there is no limit to what how far I will go with my SLK!  |
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etyu
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: First long trip - My impressions
Zut, Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed reading it. |
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taroliw
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: First long trip - My impressions
I recently took the longest drive so far with my 350 as well. Decided to drive instead of flying to a conference in Henderson, Nevada last week. Total mileage was just north of 1,186 miles (590+ on Sunday and then again on Thursday coming back). Average speed was 63MPH, but maximum speed was closer to 95MPH (on the longer stretches, but not constantly). Mileage averaged 26.5 for the round trip (all with the top up, since I didn't want to have to clean bug parts from the rollbars and windscreen).
In my usual fashion, I drove only making a minimum of stops (one on the way down for gas/food) and two on the way back (one food, one gas). Made it in about 8.5 hours going and 9 hours on the return.
All aspects of handling and performance were superb. Noise levels with the roof up were wonderful. This was further aided in that the dealer did find the squeak that had plagued me for a bit with the top up -- it was a metal and not a rubber squeak.
From a comfort perspective, my only complaint is that the taper of the seat tends to irritate my right knee quite a bit. But since I was using the cruise control for quite a lot of the trip, I was able to move my foot around to avoid knee fatigue.
One other thing I noticed -- this may just be a personal preference -- is that I wound up setting the A/C fan rate to manual instead of leaving it on auto with 70 degrees temp. It just didn't seem to be moving enough air around for me not to feel like it was getting a little stuffy. On slower stretches, I naturally lowered the windows. But I was choosing to keep the roof up simply to maximize mileage for the long haul. On my shorter trip onto the Las Vegas strip, I naturally had the roof and side glass down. :D
Overall, I give my little Trollup two thumbs up for long drives.
Edited by taroliw 5/1/2006 6:40 AM
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Zut
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: First long trip - My impressions
taroliw - 5/1/2006 6:31 AM
In my usual fashion, I drove only making a minimum of stops (one on the way down for gas/food) and two on the way back (one food, one gas). Made it in about 8.5 hours going and 9 hours on the return.
We would travel great together. On my way back, I ate fajitas in the car. I only stopped for the ferry and once for fuel.
From a comfort perspective, my only complaint is that the taper of the seat tends to irritate my right knee quite a bit. But since I was using the cruise control for quite a lot of the trip, I was able to move my foot around to avoid knee fatigue.
Isn't it the best cruise control there is? I travelled in a very hilly region (there are a lot of warning signs for articulated lorries/trailer trucks) and I almost never had to use my brakes. My old car had a very bad cruise control. The SLK's is smooth, even and very cost-effective.
One other thing I noticed -- this may just be a personal preference -- is that I wound up setting the A/C fan rate to manual instead of leaving it on auto with 70 degrees temp. It just didn't seem to be moving enough air around for me not to feel like it was getting a little stuffy. On slower stretches, I naturally lowered the windows. But I was choosing to keep the roof up simply to maximize mileage for the long haul. On my shorter trip onto the Las Vegas strip, I naturally had the roof and side glass down.
Personally, I find the A/C-heating system exceptionally good. Where I live, the temperatures can go from -40ºC(-40ºF) in the winter to 40ºC(104ºF) in the summer (and we even broke some records in the past). The SLK has the most effective A/C-heating system I have ever seen. Once the temperature is set, you never have to touch a button. During the trip, however, I drop the passenger's window (I travelled alone) every 15 minutes or so for a few seconds just to fill the cabin with pure cold mountain air. Very healthy!
Overall, I give my little Trollup two thumbs up for long drives.
Ditto! And if I had a third one, it would be up too!
And Bill, there were a few bears along the way. The ideal trip for nature lovers!  |
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Zut
Date registered: Dec 1899
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| Re: First long trip - My impressions
etyu - 4/30/2006 10:58 PM
Zut, Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed reading it.
Thanks! I can't wait to read other members' stories. Living in California, there are a lot of great roads you can explore with your SLK. Lucky you!
BTW, pewter and brown nappa leather is a great combination. Any photos? |
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