Our 1996 Mercedes SLK 230 Kompressor in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez

Our SLK 230 Kompressor did not arrive after months of searching. It came into the garage through the family, with a known history, regular maintenance and that small sense of inevitability that changes the way you look at a car.

Within our collection it occupies a special place. It is newer than our other classics and more firmly rooted in the 1990s, yet it still has real character: compact dimensions, rear-wheel drive, a supercharged engine and a folding hardtop. In the Gulf of Saint-Tropez it is also one of the cars that most naturally makes us want to go for a drive as soon as the weather is right.

A family arrival, not an advert hunt

The car was given to us by Bruno, Jean-Noel's brother. That matters for more than anecdotal reasons. It means this Mercedes was not a late discovery and not a purchase made from a file of invoices alone. It comes with a clear story, long-established maintenance habits and a relationship of trust that starts before the first journey.

The two brothers spent many years working in the motor industry in Poissy, through the Simca, Simca-Chrysler, Talbot and Peugeot periods. In that environment a car is never just another consumer object. You listen to it, you follow it, you know what has been done and what will eventually have to be done again. For a car like this, that continuity matters almost as much as mileage.

Our car in a few key facts

Our SLK is a September 1996 R170, blue, with a grey and black leather interior and an automatic gearbox. It shows roughly 170,000 km and remains close to original apart from the radio. That is exactly what we like about it: it has not been altered to pretend it is younger than it really is.

• Model: Mercedes SLK 230 Kompressor R170
• Date: September 1996
• Specification: blue paint, grey and black leather, automatic gearbox
• Mileage: around 170,000 km
• Condition: very close to original presentation apart from the radio

This picture shows an R170 from the same early period. It is not our exact car, but it captures the model's compact shape, long bonnet and the way Mercedes kept the silhouette of a small coupe even with the roof in place.

Engine and roof: the two parts that define the car

The 2.3-litre supercharged four-cylinder gives the car an early, full response. It does not deliver its performance in a brutal way. Instead it supports the drive with a steady reserve of torque that suits real-road use very well. In a car of this size, that availability changes the whole character.

The real centre of the model remains the Vario-Roof. Closed, the SLK behaves like a serious small coupe, easy to leave outside and easy to take on a longer run. Open, it becomes a genuinely pleasant car for touring in the South, without the more obvious compromises of a fabric roof.

Since it has been with us, two jobs have mattered more than the others: replacing one hydraulic roof hose and dealing with the electronic management of the automatic gearbox. There is nothing exotic about that on a modern classic, but it is exactly the kind of work you must accept if you want to keep a car like this reliable and pleasant to use.

How it feels on our roads around the gulf

On open secondary roads and on the motorway, the SLK feels in its element. The engine has real reserve, the steering is precise and the car keeps that dense, composed Mercedes feel. It is neither soft nor theatrical. It simply moves with confidence.

On rougher surfaces the suspension can feel firm. In town the automatic gearbox makes life easy, but fuel consumption climbs quickly, which remains the main drawback in our use. We accept that because the rest of the car delivers exactly what we want from it.

With the roof down, this is where the car really makes sense in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. You enjoy the light, the air, the leather, the engine note and the very particular way the car stays protective without losing the pleasure of being outside. Raising the windows is often enough when the wind picks up.

Why it stays with us

We are not keeping it to tick a box in a collection. We keep it because it carries a precise family history, because it was properly looked after before we received it, and because it brings something that none of the other cars in the garage brings in quite the same way.

It links several worlds at once: our first Mercedes, a car handed down rather than bought, a modern classic before it becomes a museum object, and a real touring car for drives in the South. That very concrete mix, more than any abstract collector's value, explains its place with us.

We are not keeping it to lock it away. We are keeping it because it still drives well, because it ties us to a very clear family story and because it has found a natural place in our drives around the gulf.