The leather-covered seats are supportive and superbly comfortable. They're larger and more sumptuous than those in previous-generation SLs, and Mercedes says they'll adjust for the 95th percentile body type. Dynamic multi-contour seats are available that give a continuous massage. Also available are seats with active ventilation. The relatively low seating position in the SL can tire the legs on daylong trips, something we discovered on a drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in the SL600's 12-way multi-contour seats with ventilation. It seemed more comfortable than a Cadillac XLR or Corvette, however, because you don't feel like you're sitting on the ground. Visibility is better from the SL as well. Everything is trimmed in sumptuous leather and rich wood. Even the headliner is nicely trimmed in suede-like material.

Whether the top is up or down, there isn't much trunk space, but we found the trunk system works well with a few small bags that maximize the space, offering plenty of luggage room for a long weekend. Also, the compartments behind the bucket seats will hold a good amount of stuff and are lockable. The SL offers 10.2 cubic feet of trunk space with the top up, 7.3 cubic feet with the top down.

The SL is not whisper quiet. There's enough road noise to compete with the stereo in the small cabin. Drop the top and the sound system compensates automatically for the increased road noise. Mercedes worked long and hard to ensure that you can still hold a normal conversation with the top down and the side windows lowered, even at high road speeds.

Keyless Go uses an electronically coded card to replace the normal fob-and-key arrangement. As long as you have Keyless Go in your pocket or purse, you simply walk up to the car and touch the door handle, which automatically unlocks; then, once seated, you touch the knob on top of the shifter to start (or stop) the engine. Pretty handy when you've got a double armload of groceries or dry cleaning. No need to struggle to get that key out.

Passive safety features include frontal and side-impact head-and-thorax airbags as well as knee airbags. A rollover protection bar automatically snaps up if its controlling computer senses that the car is tipping over.