I am thinking about getting a ML 430 it would probably be used from around 1999 or 2000. Anyone here have one and if so was it worth it? I am only 20 so I am probably one of the younger ones on this forum but I just wanted some advice on what you guys think about this suv? How they drive? Any performance? Anyone here really go offroad or are they all for the market and picking up your kids? Please help me out with any info you can give.

 

We have a '00 320 - we test drove the 430 and frankly it was difficult to tell the difference, power-wise. The added horsepower is offset to some degree by the lower final drive ratio. The 500, though, has significantly better power.

I would not get a '99 - try to get AT LEAST a 2000 - a 2002 or newer would be better. The '98s and '99s had a lot of problems.

Our 2000 has been exemplary, but the '02's are much nicer - auto headlights, real climate control, more air bags, etc.

We drove our ML (and my brother's FourRunner) off road (mud and pasture) in Montana last year - it was no problem. In fact, anticlimactic - the ESP triangle would light, but we'd just keep moving right through the mud!

We didn't push very hard, though, since the nearest dealer was in Denver, probably 800 miles away!