Until a 2008 M-Class was assigned to me for this review, I had kind of forgotten that Mercedes redesigned this luxury SUV two years ago. I hadn't noticed it in commercials, on the road or in newspaper ads. After a 10-day loan, however, I started seeing new ML350s and 550s all over.
That bit of psychological auto trickery may already be familiar to other drivers out there, but believe me when I tell you these full-time M-Class drivers might be on to something: This is one alluring SUV.
Unlike the middle-of-the-road previous generation, the current M-Class can stand out on the road. Small details like carved taillights and numerous creases along the body show that Mercedes spent time on the design. Inside, the cabin is dark and elegant - dark because the black leather in our test car covered every inch of interior space. There's little room left for the dark wood accents, which I thought were too subtle in this color scheme. Gray and tan leather are also available, as is aluminum trim.
There is a 382-horsepower V-8 under the hood, so calling this SUV "fast" is an understatement. Mercedes says it goes from zero to 60 miles per hour in 5.6 seconds. That's muscle-car fast. There are shift paddles on the back of the steering wheel so drivers can select any of the automatic transmission's seven gears manually at any time. The location seems odd in that they're essentially hidden from view, but ergonomically they make more sense than the funky column-mounted gear-selector stalk you use to move from Park to Neutral to Drive to Reverse. I'm not a huge fan of paddles if they don't do a better job of accelerating than just plain mashing the gas pedal, but I found both methods of joyriding enjoyable in the M-Class.
I was pleasantly surprised at the gas pump, where I realized I was getting more than 16 miles per gallon during all the pedal-mashing and lots of stop-and-go traffic. That's dead-on with the EPA's 13-miles-per-gallon city and 18 highway ratings. Sure, you have to use premium gas, but the numbers are still quite good for the class. On open highway trips of 50-plus miles, the trip computer had me in the low-20-miles-per-gallon range.
Handling was superb. All models feature all-wheel drive, and the ML550 has 19-inch wheels and tires that contributed to an extremely comforting, planted feeling at all times. The M-Class also has an optional selectable suspension that moves between automatic, Sport, and Comfort modes. Many other luxury cars on the market feature similar setups, but few work quite as transparently. The Comfort setting did make the ride smoother on highways, turning this otherwise bruising SUV into a great cruiser. When you hit the off-ramp, though, you'll want it in Sport mode, as the suspension stiffens and turns the handling quotient up a bit. The bumps also make themselves well known in this setting.
The one failing in the performance repertoire is braking. I'm not sure how you build such a powerful vehicle and don't give it the most responsive brakes possible. The 13-inch ventilated four-wheel disc brakes stopped the car, but the mushy brake pedal feel led to poor response at almost every stop sign, light or congested road. After 10 days of using the car, I was still jerking passengers' heads as I rushed to avoid possible fender-benders at every turn. That's a feeling you don't want to have when piloting such an otherwise-fine performance machine.
The ML350 costs roughly $10,000 less than the ML550 and features a less-intriguing 268-horsepower V-6 engine and 15/20 mpg mileage estimate. I'm not one to say go for broke, but it would take a lot for me to give up the V-8's power.
As we cram more technology into our homes, cars, and palms, the ergonomics of using said advancements should be getting better. Mercedes has a few elegant systems in cars like the S-Class and new C-Class that allow the driver to play with all the onboard technology with little headache. Not so in the M-Class. The LCD screen in the easy-to-reach center dash is perfect for a touch-screen interface - except it doesn't have one. Instead, you have to use buttons lining both sides of the screen that correspond to functions displayed on the screen. Those functions change with every screen as you move through radio, navigation, and onboard computer settings. There's also a small joystick on the far side of the dash that can move the cursor around the screen, but it's difficult to use. I found myself looking for ways to work around the system most of the time, and after a few attempts at inputting directions I simply gave up.
With all that power under the hood of the M-Class, along with the sporty nature and comfortable cabin, it's easy to forget it's an SUV. That means the M-Class better do a good job of hauling things. Indeed, the rear cargo area is large, flat and quite tall. I fit a golf bag straight into the cargo hold with the club heads against the backseat and the bottom of the bag pointing outward. The M-Class could easily swallow a foursome and their clubs.
To fold the rear seats flat you have to flip the seat cushions up then fold the seatbacks down into the open space. This is an antiquated method I've grown to despise, as other SUVs in every price range are finding simpler, more elegant ways to do the same thing. On the plus side, the resulting extended cargo floor is completely flat.
As it should be, the M-Class is full of standard safety features like an electronic stability system, antilock brakes, traction control, side curtain airbags, and side-impact airbags for the front and rear seats.
It's a bitter pill for a reviewer to swallow when you see a test car do so many things so right, yet fall short in a few key areas. Most shoppers won't get to spend as much time with the M-Class as I did, so I feel confident in saying that with the flaws in its braking and navigation system, I would lean toward the BMW X5 as the better performer and daily driver. That said, the Mercedes' safety ratings, flashy styling, and overall comfort are mighty alluring.
You should also consider the price. While the M-Class is priced almost identically or a bit less than the X5, it can get costly when it's well-equipped. With all its fancy add-ons, our tester hovered near the $70,000 mark. I used the Mercedes website to build a less-equipped ML550 with the basic Premium package (there are three to choose from), a cold-weather package, a six-disc CD changer and iPod integration - you know, the necessities. That took the $53,175 starting price up to $60,365. An identically equipped ML350 is $50,370 and still delivers the comfort, utility, and looks of the peppier ML550.
These are mighty tricky price-points to be playing at, though, and Mercedes needs to be at the top of its game to beat rivals.
