With the roof up the interior can feel quite cosy, though visibility is good and it’s quiet. The wide, short cabin means taller occupants can feel like there should be more leg room, and head room is limited as you would expect of a low car. The seats lack the support you’d expect of a sports car, but the most obvious compromise is the lack of space to recline for taller drivers.

Refinement is excellent roof up or down. A standard, foldable mesh wind stop should be present in a pouch on the back of the cabin – it fits over the roll hoops and makes a significant difference to buffeting at speed.

The interior of a used Mercedes SLK will usually show wear on the seat bolsters, and often patches of the cosmetic finish on the centre console and lower dashboard trim – particularly on contrasting colour interiors. This paint can be renewed with a special soft-feel finish, or on black interiors, stripped away leaving rather shiny, hard-looking plastics.

Most cars have individual controls for passenger and driver heating, and on models with air conditioning a ‘rest’ mode can keep the interior warm after you leave the car on cold days. With the roof down the heater is quite capable of making the interior warm even on autumn evenings.

The SLK’s handling is obedient rather than exciting. It has a good balance and grip, meaning it’s safe, stable but just a touch sedate. Mercedes’ manual gearbox is typically un-sporty to use, and as such automatic models are the easiest used SLKs to find.