What they said when the Mercedes M-Class was new… (Sep 10 2005)
THE new Mercedes M-Class makes its debut in the UK this week with vastly improved styling and equipment levels.
The outgoing model, which began life in 1997, has been a popular choice for those looking for a luxury SUV with off-road capability but to be frank it was beginning to look dated.
Now Mercedes has breathed new life into its successor which looks modern and sporty and ready to compete with the growing band of luxury SUVs on the market such as the Discovery, X5, XC90, Cayenne, Touareg and even the daddy of them all, the Range Rover Sport.
The new M-Class offers three powerful new engines, standard seven-speed automatic transmission, an even more effective four-wheel drive system, air suspension and many other technological advances.
But to my mind it's the classy, sporty shape of the new Mercedes that will attract most buyers. It has a blend of heavily contoured surfaces and taut lines, especially the swept-back windscreen and aggressive grille.
The M-Class also offers more cabin space. For example, at 880mm, the distance between the front and rear seats is 15mm greater than that in the outgoing model. Knee-room for the rear passengers has been increased by 35mm and elbow width by 32mm.
Overall the new SUV is longer and wider but slightly lower than the old M-Class.
Although the big Mercedes is primarily an on-road 4x4 it is quite capable of tackling the most demanding off-road terrain when fitted with an optional low ratio mud-plugging "Off-Road Pro" system which costs £1,320.
The off road pack offers a downhill speed regulator, start-off assist - which holds the car still when stopped on steep gradients - an off-road ABS system, differential locks and additional ground clearance through the Airmatic suspension system.
Three of the four engines available for the latest model are new, including the V6 diesel available with two different outputs of 224bhp and 190bhp.
Another newcomer is the V6 petrol unit powering the ML 350, with 272bhp, but the top dog is fitted to the ML 500, which now has an output of 306bhp.
Mercedes has changed the seven-speed automatic transmission system from a lever operation to a selector positioned close to the steering wheel with additional gearshift paddles on the back of the wheel.
This paddle system is fine on road but I found them to be extremely awkward to use off-road.
Mercedes UK estimates that around 80 per cent of sales will be diesels and after brief tests on four models - the 320 CDI SE, 350 Sport, 320 CDI Sport and 500 Sport - I came to the conclusion that the 320 SE should satisfy most buyers.
Fuel consumption at a claimed 30mpg is pretty good for this weighty motor and with high fuel prices seemingly here to stay economy must be taken into consideration, even for those who can afford to shell out £39,465 for the privilege of sporting the three-pointed star.
Mercedes of late has taken some flack over its quality but in this new model there is no evidence of underachievement on the production line.
Despite ploughing through a tough off-road course for around three hours in various models of the M-Class I didn't detect any squeaks or rattles.
On-road the new M-Class is a much better runner than the previous model. It hugs the bends with little body roll and is quiet on the move, with the exception of some rough tarmac surfaces which result in a fair amount of vibration through the suspension.
Equipment levels are high on all models of the M-Class and if you are still not satisfied with the standard gear there are dozens of options available to personalise you choice.
A total of more than 620,000 drivers around the world have so far opted for the original M-Class, making it one of the most successful models in its class. To date, over 38,000 of those drivers are in the UK.
Mercedes expects to sell around 4,000 M-Class units in the UK next year and has already taken hundreds of advance orders.
I don't think these buyers will be disappointed with their choice.
Words: Stewart Smith
Copyright