Mercedes-Benz M-Class: Launch Review

Mercedes-Benz ML 250 Bluetec, ML 350 Bluetec 4MATIC

While it's almost certain that canny Benz buyers are holding off their M-Class purchase until the new-gen model arrives early next year — and that's probably the major factor currently influencing lower sales — could it be the advent of a new Jeep Grand Cherokee, sharing some of the Benz DNA with the M-Class, that is another factor?

Chances are good that the M-Class will recover its sales form when the new model is released. It's a significantly better product than the last (W164) model motoring.com.au drove and we anticipate the new four-cylinder ML 250 Bluetec is likely to undercut the price of the current entry-level model when it arrives. It's the first time the American-built SUV has been offered with a four-cylinder engine, earlier diesels numbering as few as five cylinders.

As the existence of the ML 250 suggests, Benz engineers have made lowering the car's environmental impact a priority. There's more aluminium to reduce weight, plus a lower drag coefficient of 0.32Cd to improve aerodynamic efficiency, significant changes to drivetrain components and the introduction of electrically-assisted steering in the interest of squeezing every last kilometre out the fuel tank.

As also reported earlier, the relative strength of the Aussie dollar and other considerations will decide whether the ML 250 scores the Active Curve System, which will otherwise be made available as an option. 

Neither the global press kit nor the German brochure proved very informative as guides to the standard features we can expect to see in the Australian-delivered M-Class. The Thermatic climate control, electrically-adjustable front seats, Attention Assist and an MP3-compatible CD audio system are listed as standard in the international material, but it's also likely that many of the optional features listed will be fitted as standard to Aussie-spec cars.

Those we think might make it here as standard include Comand Online system with satnav and HDD, Lane Tracking, Active Blind Spot Assist and Active Parking. And naturally a given, local cars will have electric windows/mirrors and remote central locking.

For a vehicle boasting peak power and torque figures of 150kW and 500Nm respectively — from 2.1-litres, even the proposed Australian figure is laudable for a vehicle hovering around two tonnes.

Both the ML 250 and the other diesel in the range, the ML 350 Bluetec, are Euro 6-compliant and feature AdBlue after-treatment to reach the emissions standard. This urea-based treatment requires top-up only at regular services.

The new V6 diesel is 24 per cent more efficient than the ML 350 CDI of the previous model, Benz claims, using just 6.8L/100km in the NEDC combined cycle test. Peak power and torque are rated at 190kW and 620Nm respectively.

A Euro5-compliant 3.5-litre V6 is the only petrol engine available in the range so far and powers the ML 350 BlueEFFICIENCY; an AMG version is due April of next year and we're told that another petrol V8 variant is planned for the M-Class — not an AMG model though and possibly not planned for Australia.

The combined-cycle fuel consumption for the revised petrol V6 is 25 per cent lower at 8.5L/100km and peak power is 225kW and torque maxes out at 370Nm.

All three variants are fitted with the 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission, upgraded for the new ML. Among the changes to the transmission are: a more efficient torque converter, lower friction bearings and a thermal management system for the lubricant. In addition — and also aimed at reducing its environmental footprint — the M-Class gains low-friction axles, electric steering, an optimised belt drive for ancillaries (with a decoupler and on-demand control of ancillaries) and low-rolling-resistance tyres.

The new car's drag coefficient has been pared back to 0.32Cd (for the ML 250) and is claimed by Benz to be the best in class.

For the Australian market the Benz will specify the M-Class with a 93-litre tank— as opposed to the 70-litre tank available in other markets. The prestige importer claims that with the added fuel capacity all three variants can achieve a range of at least 1000km without refuelling. Based on NEDC combined-cycle figures — but likely to be slightly lower for Aussie ADR figures, the M-Class will travel 1090km for the petrol V6, 1370 for the diesel V6 and 1500 for the diesel four-cylinder.

The M-Class can be ordered with dual range transfer, but it only comes with the On&Offroad pack, which is to be an extra-cost option in Australia. For all their love of SUVs, Australians are, in the main, unlikely to take them far offroad — and that has informed Benz's decision to offer the On&Offroad pack as an option only.

Despite that, the ML 250 will go bush even in standard trim. Benz's official figures for the M-Class's approach, breakover and departure angles are 26, 17 and 25 degrees respectively. Opting for air suspension in lieu of the car's standard steel springs will improve those angles to 30, 20 and 28. For the ultimate offroad ability, the M-Class with the On&Offroad pack boasts angles of 31, 22 and 29 degrees.

In contrast to the situation with the On&Offroad pack, the state of play for the Active Curve system is not cut-and-dried. There's still a better than even chance the active suspension system will be offered as a standard feature with the ML 250 — and we understand it's a certainty for the two V6 variants.

According to the international specs the two diesel variants (ML 250 and ML 350 Bluetec) will feature 17-inch wheels shod with 235/65 tyres, while the petrol V6 will come with 18-inch wheels and 255/55 tyres. It's unlikely that Benz in Australia will opt for different wheel/tyre combinations.

Benz rates the braked towing capacity for the M-Class at 3500kg.

The ML's seats proved to be very comfortable and supportive during the drive program for the new SUV. Occupants felt fresh as a daisy after some of the longer legs driven. Adjustment is via Benz's conventional graphical switchgear on the door capping near the A pillar, so if you've driven earlier Benz models, the ML will be easy to work out.

Rear-seat accommodation was ideal for adults. There was plenty of headroom and the writer felt comfortable stretching out, with more than enough legroom there.

We’ve argued elsewhere that the Active Curve System developed for the new M-Class should be fitted as standard for every variant in the range when the new SUV arrives in Australia.

Occupant safety is handled by nine airbags (including side curtains and a kneebag for the driver), plus Pre-Safe and Attention Assist. These features are complemented by the high-strength passenger safety cell of the new M-Class.

Other rivals in the market segment include the BMW X5, Land Rover's Discovery 4, the Volkswagen Touareg and the Volvo XC90.

Benefiting from being a newer design, the BMW has outsold the M-Class for the year to date and will be the car the Benz really has to knock off when the new model arrives. The Land Rover is a bit more offroad-ready than either the Merc or the BMW and will be judged accordingly by the market. In some ways it's more a direct competitor for the Jeep than the Benz.

Showing its age, the XC90 stands to lose some significant market share to the new M-Class, unless Volvo can attract customers through retail incentives, but the Touareg is more a threat to the M-Class, although badge cachet works against it.

While the drive was mostly a mix of open-road and gentler country touring, the overall impression was that the M-Class is a competent handler, although the vehicle's weight can be felt in tighter corners. It provides a very balanced measure of grip with excellent ride quality. And at the straight-ahead it's very stable and unfussed.

The electric steering, one of the new features of the M-Class is light enough when it's required to be for those drivers who don't want to be hauling on the wheel all the time. It never feels heavy or inconsistent, but there's less feedback than through the hydraulically assisted system of the previous M-Class.

On some of southern Germany's autobahns both the four-cylinder and the V6 were being pushed along at speeds of up to around 180km/h without any drama. There was some tyre noise present on the occasional coarse-grade bitumen and we would expect this to be more of a problem in Australia.

Otherwise noise was mostly limited to wind — and typically at significantly higher speeds than the legal limits for Australia.

The four-cylinder diesel engine was an impressive performer right across the board. It did assume some of the typical traits of a diesel when the transmission held a higher gear. There was some labouring around 1500rpm, but it was very subdued.

Power delivery was at its best in the lower gears, naturally, with the small-capacity engine feeling the pressure at what would be an overtaking situation in Australia. That said, the performance is at least adequate for the majority of prospective buyers. Fuel consumption during our drive was 8.2L/100km, including some bursts of high-speed touring on the autobahns. Hard to complain about that...

The V6 diesel was even quieter still and didn't give the game away at any point that it was a diesel unless you watched the needle climbing in the tachometer. Indeed, it is so quiet, that you can walk around the car with the engine idling and not pick the faintest hint of diesel NVH.

It's the same inside; work the engine hard and it sounds just like any petrol V6. Fuel consumption over the course of some slower country roads as well as the autobahns yielded a figure of 8.9L/100km.

Both engines were coupled to Benz's 7G-Tronic automatic transmission. It couldn't be faulted in the four-cylinder application, but with the V6 the transmission occasionally changed with a minor thump if the driver lifted the foot at a certain point.

As already mentioned, Mercedes-Benz offered international journalists, including an Aussie contingent, an opportunity to try out the offroad package for ourselves at Saalfelden, and ride shotgun with a test driver during a demonstration of the Active Curve System.

Equipped with the On&Offroad package, which comprises a centre diff lock, two-range transfer case, six driving modes and air suspension, the M-Class would easily cope with a 60-degree downhill slope with the DSR system locking the speed into whatever the driver chose, using the cruise control stalk to set the speed from barely moving up to 18km/h.

The offroad pack allows the M-Class to sit as much as 285mm above the road and ford streams measuring 600mm in depth. During our drive around a quarry in Austria the M-Class never put a foot wrong. There were no bumps and scrapes front or rear, with just an occasional thump underneath the car, between the axles. Traction was also up to scratch in the circumstances. Buyers of the M-Class planning to go offroad — seriously, not just the occasional rally road — are well advised to opt for this pack.

The Active Curve System is impressive, even from the front passenger's seat. As the test driver explained, the system will respond to changing situations in nano-seconds. Most of the time the car rides comfortably, until the driver suddenly starts throwing it around, as the test driver did when approaching a slalom mapped out with witches' hats. The M-Class didn't do anything noticeably untoward, merely cornering with little body roll as the driver spun the wheel back and forth.

The system works in conjunction with stability control too, as the driver proved at the end of a long straight with a chicane. Under heavy braking and with some lock to the left applied, the M-Class's wheels locked and unlocked as the stability control did its schtick; the whole time the anti-roll bars limiting body roll as the car turned in.

What was less apparent still, from the passenger's seat, was the car's handling, which approached neutrality as the stability control applied more braking pressure independently to reduce understeer.

Whether on a racetrack, offroad or flitting down an autobahn, the M-Class was highly refined and capable. There's little doubt that it should revive Benz's fortunes in this niche of the luxury SUV segment when it arrives in Australia, but we'll be curious to see how the company positions the new model.

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