If you’ve spent much time in a Mercedes-Benz you’ll recognise the usual mix of expensive-looking materials all bolted together with hard-wearing precision found in the SLC 43.

The new infotainment system – displayed on a larger screen – looks crisp and is easy to navigate.

There’s not a massive change in design from the SLK so you still get a centre stack-full of buttons and a straight, simple looking dashboard.

There’s a noticeably firmer ride than the standard car and bigger wheels too but it’s not too extreme, this is a car that needs to be equally good for posing in as it is at tackling a set of switchbacks.

Dynamic Select means you can turn everything down a bit too and cruising around in Comfort mode feels surprisingly unruffled. Wind noise is well controlled with the roof down and you can have a conversation with your passenger even at high speeds.

The seats are very snug and do a good job of pinning you down on a spirited drive but don’t expect a huge amount of variation in legroom or the angle of the seat back as the cabin is quite cosy.