Mercedes ML320

The Mercedes ML320 was one of the first SUV’s or sports utility vehicles that Mercedes Benz built. The ML320 that I tested came with a 3.2 liter V6 petrol motor, which sounds good but it only has 215 HP. It weighs in at a staggering 2080 Kg’s also. So it has almost the same power as a decent 2 liter turbo but weighs almost twice as much, giving it dreary acceleration when you need it most. The V6 power plant through the automatic gearbox, which I don’t like, always makes you feel tense and nervous when approaching the rev limiter, not that it’s a sports car but you never feel comfortable giving the motor the beans. Which you need to do if you are going to make it to your appointment on time. However there is an Ml430, Ml55 AMG and now the Ml 63 AMG with over 500 BHP, so if its power you want go for the latter.

The ML320’s first impressions are that it is slow, big, and the gearbox doesn’t do what you want it to. It seems to take a long time to change down gear, and when trying to change gears manually through the automatic box, it doesn’t listen to you and decides to change into low gears when you least want it to. However this could have been a fault with that particular automatic box, but it still did not leave any good impressions at all.

The handling isn’t too great either, the ride can be described as bouncy, the ML I drove was fitted with off road tires and my advice is fit normal road going SUV tires to improve handling and comfort, seeing as the ML is built for the road and will probably never go off road in its lifetime.

Interior space in the front and rear is more than comfortable, and the driver position is good, electric seats also are a joy to use, however the rest of the interior feels very plastic and cheap, not what buyers of expensive SUV’s want. Once again though this is the first model Ml320 and since then there have been many later models and engine ranges produced.

There is permanent four wheel drive with a fifty, fifty split between the front and rear wheels, with a low range gearbox available at the touch of a button. The Mercedes ML320 and indeed the entire ML range will never be the off road adventure seeking battle bruised 4×4’s, such as a Land Rover Defender. But instead, urban monsters used for fetching the children and groceries from curbs and pavements throughout the urban jungle. My advice is, buy the ML 63 AMG, it has lots of space, looks aggressive sounds great and most importantly scares the hell out of every M3 while taking the children to soccer.

Pros:
Interior space

Cons:
Plastic interior
Power (this particular model)
Ride comfort
Handling

Ewen Cameron