Smart money on the roadsters

The Mercedes SLK 55

One is a motoring aristocrat, born from Formula One racing and mixing wall-to-wall muscles with high-tech dynamics. The other is a bit of an upstart, a curio penned by a novelty watchmaker.

But both vehicles are roadsters, two-seaters from the same parent company aimed at different segments of New Zealand's new-car market.

Big brother is the Mercedes-Benz SLK 55, from the carmaker's performance arm AMG.

It costs $179,000, has a 5.5-litre V8 engine producing 265kW (360bhp) at 5750rpm and 510Nm of torque at 4000rpm, is chock-a-block with race-track technology and sports a seven-speed gearbox.

Little brother is the smart roadster, from the company started by Swiss watch company Swatch and later bought out by Mercedes-Benz.

It was launched in Auckland yesterday and costs $37,900, has a turbocharged three-cylinder 698cc engine developing 60kW (80bhp), a six-speed gearbox and ... a line-up of accessories that allows owners to literally change the face of the car by changing the body panels.

The roadster was one of a handful of smart models officially unveiled for the first time in NZ by product manager Shae Wright.

The two-door smart coupe costs $22,900 and the cabrio $26,900. The bigger forfour - a four-door model - costs $27,900 for the 1.3-litre unit and $29,900 for the 1.5-litre.

The coupe, cabrio and roadster are 2.5m long, weigh around 800kg and are powered by a turbocharged in-line 698cc three-cylinder engine, producing 45kW (60bhp) in the coupe and cabrio and 60kW (80bhp) in the roadster.

The bigger and heavier forfour uses a choice of four-cylinder engines, the 1.3-litre producing 70kW and the 1.5-litre unit 80kW.

Each smart model can be tailored to suit owners' tastes, inside and outside. A largely orange car today can be accessorised to look blue tomorrow, at a cost. Accessories are not free.

Fuel economy across the range falls between a claimed 4.8-6.2 litres/100km, or roughly between 45 and 60mpg.

Government tests in Australia show the smart fortwo coupe and cabrio are officially the greenest cars on the market across the Tasman, achieving five stars for overall environmental performance.

More than 700,000 have been sold worldwide since the range was launched in Europe in 1998.

The new SLK 55 is a development of the standard car launched last year to widespread acclaim. It has one of the best cabins in the business, with a renewed build quality that points at things to come from Mercedes-Benz.

The high-performance model introduces to New Zealand the carmaker's new seven-speed gearbox, called 7G-Tronic, an automatic unit with manual model. Drivers change gear using the lever or with steering wheel-mounted paddles.

The gearbox has been programmed to exploit the power of the V8 engine. In automatic drive, it shifts up and down under throttle load. In the manual mode, it stays in the selected gear heading towards the redline of 6700rpm.

Mercedes-Benz believes the manual programme allows drivers with "finely honed sporting ambitions" to make better use of the car's performance potential.

The SLK 55 comes with everything that opens and shuts, including a power-operated, folding metal roof.

Standard also is what the company calls an Airscarf - a neck-level heating system built into the head restraint.

It's a high-tech form of winter woolies, where you can drive with the top down in winter without your ears turning blue.

Now watch for the smart and its accessories people to come up with blue, fit-on ears for the winter roadster driver.