Drove ML350 for two days w/ 7 sp tranny
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Drove ML350 for two days w/ 7 sp tranny
Was given a 2006 ML350 SUV for the two days my car waited for an audio amplifier to come in.
I was eager to see what the much promoted 7 speed tranny was like. Yes it shifts exceedingly smooth. No, you have little to no control over it. There is so much computer 'logic' controlling the transmission operation that the driver really has little input.
Additionally, if you stab the gas, the engine RPM's continue to climb for about 4 seconds after your foot is off the throttle- you don't really feel any difference in speed since the transmission is going through gears and balances out the engine output. This is very peculiar behavior.
One very onerous feature is that if you are cruising on the highway at a constant speed (say about 65-70mph), when you lift your foot off the throttle, after two seconds, the tranny downshifts and you begin to slow down noticeably. This is very poor design since merely taking your foot off the pedal (normal in traffic) sets the tranny into a downshift procedure and it feels like you are braking instead of just coasting. Your speed varies considerably due to this design.
The shift control is via a column mounted stalk. However, it is nothing more than a 'joy stick.' You push it up to go into reverse, you push it down to go into drive. When you park, you just push the botton on the end of the stalk and it goes into park. No noise, no clunks, totally silent. I could not see any way to manually select intermediate gears. It is very simple but again, offers little driver control other than forward, reverse or park.
Bottom line: Nice SUV but far too much computer control that interferes with your driving. Overall mpg according to dash computer was 19.4 mpg.
I was eager to see what the much promoted 7 speed tranny was like. Yes it shifts exceedingly smooth. No, you have little to no control over it. There is so much computer 'logic' controlling the transmission operation that the driver really has little input.
Additionally, if you stab the gas, the engine RPM's continue to climb for about 4 seconds after your foot is off the throttle- you don't really feel any difference in speed since the transmission is going through gears and balances out the engine output. This is very peculiar behavior.
One very onerous feature is that if you are cruising on the highway at a constant speed (say about 65-70mph), when you lift your foot off the throttle, after two seconds, the tranny downshifts and you begin to slow down noticeably. This is very poor design since merely taking your foot off the pedal (normal in traffic) sets the tranny into a downshift procedure and it feels like you are braking instead of just coasting. Your speed varies considerably due to this design.
The shift control is via a column mounted stalk. However, it is nothing more than a 'joy stick.' You push it up to go into reverse, you push it down to go into drive. When you park, you just push the botton on the end of the stalk and it goes into park. No noise, no clunks, totally silent. I could not see any way to manually select intermediate gears. It is very simple but again, offers little driver control other than forward, reverse or park.
Bottom line: Nice SUV but far too much computer control that interferes with your driving. Overall mpg according to dash computer was 19.4 mpg.
Last edited by skytop; Nov 16, 2005 at 08:09 PM.
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From: Toronto,ON
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Originally Posted by skytop
I could not see any way to manually select intermediate gears.
