Hi all,

I've been browsing numerous 4x4 sites and found mixed reviews about the offroad capabilities of the ML, many sites mention the low range gearing and other gizmos, but what about it's ride height, is it enough for mild-medium offroading?

I want to hear from people's experiences of unmodified (as in no altered suspension) ml offroading, eg whats its limit and which engine is more responsive in the mud, what tyres would you recommend?

I might even consider taking mine out for a fling in the dirt if the comments are good...

thanks, D.

 

Check out some videos on YouTube or Google Videos. You might get better luck with Google.

 

As far as what the car can do... Its really only limited by the ground clearance like all SUV's. I have done mud fields and did just fine no trouble at all with my Michelin cross terrain. I have also done several different off road places in arizona, one of the more mentionable ones and the only one I had trouble with was a place called box canyon. The only thing I had trouble with is I hit a rock with my tires side wall and got a flat tire but I was prepared and had an air pump to pump it up until I could get to a place the spare tire would work.

A few tips,

Bring an air compressor that can be run by your 12v power, dont count on a power inverter air compressors love to blow fuses get one that is made for a 12 volt power supply.

If possible have a full sized spare, get a brush guard and skid plate for the front end if you are tackling rocks.

Take your time, If I would of taken to time to realize that I needed someone to direct me in a narrow area of the canyon I would not have gotten a flat.

Carry a stick to check water depth, when crossing water make sure to roll the windows up.

Make sure to take plenty of water incase you get stuck, best bet is to have multiple cars go with you and make sure before you go at least 2 of you have tow ropes and make sure they will attack to the front and back to everyones cars. Another good tip MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS A SPARE TIRE AND MAKE SURE THE SPARE TIRE DOES NOT HAVE A KEY THAT HOLDS IT IN, IF IT HAS A KEY THEN ASK THEM TO SHOW YOU THE KEY AND TRY IT OUT. From person experience we got about 9 miles in on a nice dirt road friend hit a nasty hole crossing a wash at night, broke his rim so he was unable to just inflate the tire and drive out, well his spare tire was locked under the car and he did not have the key that worked it, ended up leaving his car finishing up the drive camping out then driving the next day to get a spare tire to get him out.

As for driving tips, use low range just about all the time(but dont use it on a dirt road only use it on very lose surfaces and climbing up and down junk for the most part even on lose gravel with moderate hills drive works just fine) and become familiar with using tip tropic it makes the steep hill climbs easy, and remember to take your time. The only time I found low range unhelpful was in the mud field I just put the car in drive and never had any trouble.

One last thing mess around with ESP, I have yet to find a good rule of thumb for when to turn it on and off, but so far any big hills I turn it off to gain more power but at that time I had low range off, when you turn low range on ESP has a special off road program.

 

sounds like u take ur ml offroad quite alot... thanks for the tips andrew

 

I try but most of it is what I call "urban" off road.. Meaning at a friends house that had a big dirt field next to it. Last time we did that the neighbors didnt think it was cool and tried to call the cops on us but luckily the cops told them they didnt want to waste time to come out since we were doing nothing illegal. But being respectful of neighbors we have stopped doing it.

 

Check out this video that caught an ML55 on Gold Bar Rim even though pics never do offroading justice http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...9&q=ml55&hl=en

Or on Lion's Back (where MB debuted the new GL450) http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...5&q=ml55&hl=en

Skill and tires are the biggest parts of successful offroading but the ML has made it easier.