Being a Mercedes fan as many of us are, thought of test riding a Mercedes SUV, the ’M’ series. As always, it was a good idea to do the homework before test riding the vehicle on the road. Found few interesting things after reading reviews. The first fact is this model is manufactured at Alabama, USA and not in Germany as other Benz models are. Secondly, this being a first entry of Mercedes into the SUV segment, had many similar problems with consumers. Many consumers have also complained about the ’’cup holders’’ not being good enough and not so ’’Mercedes’’ standard interiors. With this much of information, I thought of taking a test ride myself in this ’’Truck of the year’’.
The model that I drove was a 1998 ML 320, one of the first year production model. I must say that I was impressed by the looks. Looks are simple, defined and with curves. This makes the vehicle look more simpler than other competetive models like BMW X5 and Lexus RX 300. One gets a solid feel while closing the doors though they do not feel solid enough as the German Mercedes Benz models. Interiors are not impressive neither the dashboard. The ML 320 that I drove was Black with Tan leather interiors. After sitting inside, did not get a roomier feel and realized poor visibility (especially side). Bose sound system, sun roof, moon roof, alloy wheels, leather interiors were standard features. 1998 model did not have third row seating available but had an arrangement to add it later. Cargo room was enough for the SUV in height but less compared to a standard mid size car. But rear seats fold to make it more roomier. Navigation was not available and CD changer was in the back. Vehicle had features like trip computer, temperature gauges, miles to refill and other indicators which were easy to locate. Driver, passenger front and side airbags were a standard feature.
Driving the vehicle did not feel as solid/safe as many people have said and it was not very good in absorbing the road bumps either. As I have mentioned, side visibility was not as good and due to the compactness of the interior, never got a feeling of space compared to a mid size sedan. Front visibility was excellent and non-obstructing. I drove a used ML 320 model and the person owing it mentioned lot of problems like wipers, un-recognized noises from the rear, broken cup holders, alarm problems etc.
Overall, I was not impressed by this first Mercedes test drive and would rather consider a BMW or a Volvo.