anybody know which engine is anticipated for the AMG ML?

any idea whether ventilated seating will be made available?

do you know which phone will be sold with the ML, and whether a choice of carriers will be made available?

wasn't COMAND standard in the previous ML?

looking forward to your thoughts.

thanks,
david

 

The AMG ML will have a new breed of AMG engines, no specs out yet but it will rock!

Ventilated seating will come later, probably with 2007 production. Don’t quote me, things change daily it seems.

The ML will have three choices for phones, V60s(cdma-verizon), V600(gsm-Cingular) or V710(cdma-verizon), all Motorola, the Motorola plant must have hot chicks working there. You will have to purchase the correct cradle for the phone you want after purchasing the phone kit, Voice control is not available.

The ML has a system called MCS2 (similar to the passenger car COMAND). This was, and will still be standard production.

All an All, the new W164 is an excellent improvement over the W163 and after driving the W164, I can tell you that it will do everything a W163 will do off-road and everything a W163 couldn’t do on-Road. The W163 did exceptionally well off-road but was a little stiff on-road. The W164 truly rides like a passenger car and looks a whole lot better doing it.

Later,

 

THANK YOU for the great info.

voice control will not be available for the phones? so odd that the MBUSA site has hands-free option, but not voice-control. and voice control is available in other models.

reviewing the 2006 ML build site, seems COMAND is included, but the NAV feature is optional. tricky...

i'm intrigued by your comments regarding the next-gen AMG ML engine. do you think it will be far superior than the 55k now being used?

i'm asking all these questions because we're considering the last of the current G55k as a get-us-through-anything vehicle for S FL weather emergencies. although we think the beast could muscle out of almost any hazard, after reading road reviews, we're somewhat concerned that high winds on the boxy body could diminish the value of all that road-surface toughness.

what are your thoughts?

thank you again,
david

 

No Problem, glad to help.

Your correct, hands free phone is available, but no voice control for Radio, CD, NAV, etc…

DVD Nav is optional. Also, if you want satellite radio or a CD changer, you will need to order them from the factory. I heard that these would not be dealer installed or available from the dealer.

There are three current AMG engines. The M113 - 360+HP naturally aspirated engines (C55, CLK55, 2004 G55), the M113 - 500+/- HP supercharged engines (E55, SL55, CL55, S55, 2005 G55, etc..) and the M275 - 600+HP bi-turbo charged engines (SL65, S65, CL65) , and to be completely honest, the SLR M155 engine is also an AMG engine, so four really. All of these are rock solid in my opinion. The 2005 G55k has the supercharged engine, which has done exceptionally well. It’s been out for close to three years in the USA and you know that every AMG with this engine has been hammered constantly since the owner took delivery, and I haven’t heard much of anything for major problems.

I can’t really say if the new engines will be superior, AMG really does their homework when it comes to engine building.

As for the G55. I love the G, it seems to be a love/hate thing with the G-Class for most people. The G55 is not only a great off road vehicle – it has performance specs comparable if not better than the Hummer H1. And I know that the US Military has purchased several hundred (G-diesel’s) for field-testing since the original jeep is been deemed too dangerous and the H1 is very heavy and wide. (You can fit more G-Class’s in a C130 that H1’s). But the G55 can also kick the crap out of most passenger cars from stop light to stop light, and for me that’s fun. As far as being a high profile vehicle, I can only tell you that most of it’s weight is down low for a low CG, but I realize that CG is different than wind pressure on a high profile vehicle. I don’t have much experience with high winds and the G-Class. But if I were in a weather emergency, I personally would prefer a G to anything else – it is tough.

I hope that helped…Good Luck

 

really appreciate all the info. very helpful.

do you think the new ML AMG would fare well enough in severe weather, running through deep puddles, and going over curbs to escape traffic jams?

it'd be a shame to get the G and find that it was generally impractical, and useful only a handful of days yearly. could it be a practical daily driver, fuel toll notwithstanding? speaking of fuel, do you know real-world consumption numbers? (my 2002 CLK55 gets up to 27 mpg highway, and about 16 city down here in S FL.)

looking forward to your reply.

thanks again,
david

 

The new W164 with Air Suspension option does lift about 4 inches when activated and when available (MY2007), the off road package that includes a two speed transfer case will lift the vehicle 7 inches (both those figures are beyond the stock ride height)

The Air Suspension also lowers the vehicle at speed for improved fuel economy. An option I would most definately get.

I'm not sure when the AMG-ML will finally launch and the G55k is going out soon, so I guess it depends on the amount of disposable income one has. If money was no object, and being a big G-Class fan, I would own a G55k until the AMG-ML comes out. That's probably two years of G-Class fun I would guess.

I've experienced about 12 mpg all the time with the old G55 (360+H.P.). The supercharged motor is nice though, It will turn off the supercharger to conserve fuel from time to time (If you stay out of it). I don't know what the G55k gets though.

Good luck, I'm curious how it turns out for you...please keep in touch

 

really great info.

so, you think the ML would do nicely as both daily driver and emergency getaway vehicle? terrific news.

MY 2007 is perhaps 1.5 years away. realistically, that'd mean about 2 years until one could make it thorugh the stampede to the new model and features.

i would indeed load up the ML with all the options. do you think the ML AMG would be made available with off-road options?

regarding the current G AMG, i'd be inclined to get one used, knowing i'd be likely to trade it in rather soon. their resale values seem to tank quickly. i avoided all Gs until MY2005 because a full complement of airbags -- head, specifically -- wasn't previously available.

fuel economy is an expected albatross insofar as all Gs are concerned. but that's the price one pays, i guess.

would you make an educated guess as to which AMG engine the new ML would get?

are you similarly informed about SLs, CLs and CLKs?

thanks again,
david

 

Not who you were talking to, but I'll throw in my two cents--the most common prediction is the ML63 AMG will have 6.0 normally-aspirated liters and about 475 hp and 440 ft. lb.

 

Greg's pretty much on the money.

I heard some other variants (H.P. etc..), but for now, the ML63 will do. It's a M156 engine (V8 config). There's no replacement for displacement! http://www.whnet.com/4x4/w164.html

I can usually hold my own in a conversation when it comes to the entire MBZ model line. I don't know a lot about the aftermarket side, but factory stock I do pretty good.

I've been with the product since 1989 and like to help people get the correct information, at least correct at the time. MBZ, like a lot of other manufactures changes things from time to time and forgets to tell anyone, so I try not to talk to much about items that have not been released yet, things always change and the net is good at providing miss-information.

In general, I like the product and enjoy it's customers (of which I am also) and like to support MBZ in a positive way. These forums provide a great resource for that when I have time.

 

We always appreciate a perspective that is different from most of us who glean things from the internet and other sources that may or may not be reliable. "Inside" information, within the extents you are allowed to divulge, is great.

My '98 ML320 was my first Mercedes, but even though it had niggling minor problems early on, it has served me well and I am anxious for the new one.

 

Thanks for not taking what I said the wrong way, the internet is a great resource, especially for the aftermarket. But sometimes it can also haunt you - With the good comes the bad....But I would still prefer to have it than not.

I'm glad to hear that there is a customer who like's their ML. The ML to me was a great vehicle, although, it had a shaky start - I lived it. But looking back, the ML never really had any great hurdles, it was just small, pain in the *** items.

I will say that the new ML is really nice and there have been significant amounts of money spent and improvements in quality to avoid a repeat of the W163 launch. I guess time will tell, but it looks good so far...

David - I forgot to answer one of your questions - I don't know much about what options will be available or when the ML-AMG will launch in the USA.

 

thanks for the info. i'll take it where i can get it.

i prefer the unblown engines, if only because they tend to be a bit less complex. being a fairly simple guy, they're more akin to my nature. ;-)

thanks,
david

 

i understand that the only reliable timeline is the variable one set and reset by MB.

do you think the 63 engine referred to by GregW may make it into the the CLK, although perhaps retuned?

i think my 2002 CLK55 has 342 hp and more torque (edmunds claims 362 hp and 376 lb-ft torque, but i believe that's for the current CLK55 engine). even slight jabs to the pedal can cause limiter engagement, so more torque would be a practical waste in my car. with the current CLK55, i have little experience upon which to base an opinion about the value of the greater output. what do you think?

david

 

Very nicely put...

I don't think you'll see the C-Class or CLK-Class receive any larger powerplants unless MBZ decides to stiffen the chassis. If you think about it, it's a testament to the exceptionally well built C-Class platform that they were able to take a vehicle originally designed for small displacement engines and drop in 300+ H.P. without any major chassis modifications to speak of. I always found that alone amazing. This is why I believe that the C and CLK never got the supercharged engines.

After driving the SL65, I feel somewhat the same way as you. I’m sure I will upset many purists with this, but what’s the fun if the traction control is always kicking in (for most drivers and most city streets). Sure, you could back off the pedal a bit, and I do, but after racing 100cc Yamaha go-karts with only 25 H.P. for 5 years, you learn the value of control, the advantage to being smooth and your forced to do more with less, which only makes you better in the end (and then 604 H.P. is awesome). I don’t think most of our customers know how to drive with that much power. Sure, everyone thinks they can drive, and I’m sure they can in a straight line, but there’s more to driving than a straight line (sorry all you NHRA Fans – I’m not knocking drag racing, it’s just not for me. I know I couldn’t pull 6g’s and steer straight down the track). Thank God their in a Mercedes-Benz when things do go wrong.

I think we’ve stumbled onto a very interesting topic. The auto manufactures have come full circle since the 60’s. We are back to 500+ H.P. and climbing, we all love the rush, but inevitably you will reach a point of diminishing return. More power than brains equals bad press and expired customers. It would make an interesting thread, but probably upset to many. – Maybe someday I’ll stir the nest?

For now, beating a BMW-M3 from stop light to stop light in a G55k is awesome!

What are your thoughts?

 

my thoughts are very similar to yours.

after introduction of the current 55k SL, my tech advisor told me that the limiter was a continual annoyance and delimiting would be continually costly in the rubber department.

stirring up the pot just a bit more, i cannot believe that the 65s currently offer more than a tick more performance, but rather another ration of bragging rights.

that's fine with me. but i'd rather have something i can use unhesitatingly.

based on your informed opinion, i think the new ML would be usable all around. one could take the daily driving function for granted, but one never knows about emergency situations until they occur. it'd be best if we were never tested again. unfortunately, that probably won't be the case.

do you believe the off-road package would be made available for the ML AMG? i recall asking several times whether the CLK55 and E55 would have the 4-matic option at some point. initially, i was told MB intended to make the option available across the entire model range. subsequently, i was told that 4-matic and "sport" packages were incompatible because their uses had differing aims, the first being safety/security and the second being, well, sporty endeavors.

i believe that just as in rally, power to all points of contact would be a vast benefit. insofar as the mega-torque 55k, 600k and 65tt engines are concerned, fully distributing all that power would make the cars FAR more enjoyable and safer. what do you think?

are you knowledgable about the 2002 CLK55? i've got questions i could ask on another board. please let me know.

thanks very much,
david

 

I dont' know about the ML-AMG having an off-road package. My inital guess would be no since the standard air suspension raises 4 inchs and an off-road package on an AMG might not make sense to MBUSA - but stranger things have happened...

4-matics - I have not heard anything about 4-matics on the AMG cars yet.

What's your CLK55 Question?

 

understood about possible ML options.

regarding my 2002 CLK55, i normally due not shift manually. occasionally, the transmission will stick in 2 (the start gear when the selector is in W position, where it is usually), run RPMs into the high 2000s, then very abruptly kick into 3, jolting me. manual shift attempts are entirely ineffective.

both my 1999 and 2000 CLK 430s suffered the same symptoms. i traded the 1999 (at sticker) for the 2000 before the problem could be solved. the 2000 had the transmission control module replaced, but that actually worsened the problem. (the very clear day the car was returned to me with the new module, it shifted up so hard that i thought the car had been rear-ended.)

i recently discovered that while stuck in 2, i can shift to N for a moment, then return to D (auto), and normal shifting resumes.

any thoughts?

regarding COMAND, the unit sometimes will cycle the integrated phone (V60? with voice contol) on and off incessantly. only shutting down the car and COMAND for a short period will solve the problem. unfortunately, that's an impractical solution most of the time.

any thoughts?

thanks again,
david

 

david 101 -

Nothing comes to mind on the transmission, in general the AMG products do have speed shift programming which gives a firmer shift - just in general.

I would ask the dealer if their is an update available for your COMAND system, there have been many software flashes for the different COMAND systems over the years.

Not that's it's a consolation or anything, but the CLK55 is a nice ride....

Good luck, I hope they can figure it out for you soon.

 

thanks anyway, but the standard line in service is that if they cannot reproduce it, then they cannot fix it.

since getting the new 2002 CLK55, there's been an odd popping sound from the front suspension, occurring after releasing brake, especially at the end of a turn.

first set of techs, up north, claimed it resulted from "loading" of brakes, that it was unusual but nothing to worry about.

second set of techs, down here, actually scowled while acknowledging an issue existed. they said it didn't sound right at all. but they too said i shouldn't be concerned about driving with it, asking that i make an appointment and expect to leave it for a while.

front suspension also "chirps," sounding somewhat like a cricket, when passing over road irregularities, such as reflectors or rumble strips.

put that all together with noticeable wandering at highway speeds, and minor shimmy between 65 and 75 mph, and frankly i'm not unconcerned.

no matter, the car's gone 30k miles with these issues, so i won't lie awake through the nights until they're fixed, trusting that all the techs know enough to have told me if there were anything critical to fix ASAP. i'll get it in there soon.

the funniest thing is hearing the standard MB line from sales and service that one has to expect issues from such a complicated machine.

i think they'd be fairly ticked if a medical tech told them precisely the same about machines being used on them while catheterized or undergoing some procedure with so-called twilight anesthesia. don't you think? ;-)

and i wonder what they utter when their own MBs fail on the way to work or a hot date...

LOL.

thanks again,
david