A LITTLE sports car from the 2000s that Jeremy Clarkson once highly praised can now be all yours for a bargain price.
The good looking Mercedes SLK 350, which the former Top Gear host reviewed in 2004, was described as both “fast and well-equipped” – and nowadays it can be found for less than £5,000.
The SLK-class was produced by Merc between 1996 and 2020, with Clarkson taking a ride in the second-generation model – built between 2003 and 2010.
It featured a 3.5-litre V6 engine, and was seen as a rival to the Audi TT and Nissan 350Z.
In a piece for The Times in 2004, Clarkson even claimed the SLK 350 – which was priced at £36,110 at the time, roughly £63,000 when adjusted for inflation in 2024 – was slightly better than its bigger, more expensive brother, the SL55.
Clarkson wrote: “The little car does slightly better on the gadget front because it has a seven-speed automatic gearbox and, joy of joys, heater vents in the headrests.
“This ‘air scarf’ means that as you drive along with the roof down your head is cocooned in a pillow of warm air.”
He’s also impressed by its power, saying: “Well, the SL55 with its supercharged V8 will get you from 0 to 62mph in 4.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 155mph.
“The new SLK with a 3.5-litre unsupercharged V6 takes 5.5 seconds to get from 0 to 62mph and will also reach 155mph
“So the only difference is 0.8 of a second in the zero to 62mph dash.”
However, Jezza does criticise the SLK’s interior quality compared to the more premium SL55.
He wrote: “Everything in the SL feels substantial whereas everything in the SLK feels like it was made by a satellite channel’s version of Blue Peter.
“I’ll take one example – the sun visors.
“They’re hard, brittle, nasty to the touch and feel like they’ll break in less than a month.
“Magnify the cost savings here across the whole car and it explains why the SLK is so damn cheap.”
However, he ultimately weighs up and the pros and cons of the tidy set of wheels, concluding: “Should we dismiss the SLK for being flimsy and thin, or should we rejoice in the fact we can buy such a fast, well equipped and good looking car for such a small amount of money?”
Remarkably, the SLK 350 can be picked up for a pinch at used car dealerships in 2024.
One listing on CarGurus offers a 2005 SLK 350 for £4,995, with 69,000 miles on the clock.
The black roadster, which also features a lovely cream interior, generates a sizable 272 horsepower.
Photos show it to be in great condition, while its history appears to be flawless – with its MOT set to run until February 2025.
This comes as a car expert picked out a handful of motors that drivers can buy right now that are brilliantly efficient on fuel.
