Here are two cars you don’t normally see together in a shootout, though they do kind of fight for the same class’ laurels. The Jaguar F-Type, in V6 S trim, with 375hp, is a perfect match for the Mercedes SLK 55 AMG, a car running a more powerful 410hp V8 – it’s also a bit lighter too.
The Jag is obviously the newer, more interesting and more desirable car, though, as MT found out, it’s actually the Mercedes that’s the more rewarding driver’s car, with crisper steering, tighter handling and a generally nimbler feeling.
Where the German car loses out is modernity, as the interior really looks like it’s from the past decade, not only compared to the Jag’s, but also newer Mercedes models, like the S-Class-inspired C-Class.
In the end, despite being a tad quicker and more sorted around the bends, the Mercedes’ weak brakes and age relegate it to the second place in the test. The Jag wins out thanks to its exhilarating nature, loud, aggressive engine sound, the way it looks and the fact that it also brings all of those elements together with a pleasant degree of engineering prowess which had been absent from some of their older models…
By Andrei Nedelea