Editors' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2004

Most Wanted Convertible Over $45,000

Winner: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

Simply put, the SL is the best of all worlds — a sports car with tight handling when you feel so inspired and a luxurious and supple grand tourer when you're facing a 500-mile interstate trip. And then there's the graceful folding hardtop that lets the SL go from sleek coupe to sexy convertible in 16 seconds flat. And let's not forget the cooled seats, surprisingly spacious trunk and the veritable alphabet soup's worth of safety systems. If you can't get your jollies from 302 horsepower, then you've got a choice of two more speedsters in the SL family, each putting out nearly 500 horses — the SL55 AMG with its supercharged V8 or the SL600 that comes packing a twin-turbo V12 that likes to cruise at triple-digit speeds. A car with so few faults and such graceful styling is a winner in our book.