Hey ML crew,

My wife and I are looking to buy an SUV and the usual suspects have come to mind. X5 4.4, XC90, Lexus and the ML 500. We're looking at 06-07 model years and I wanted to get your take on the vehicle overal if you have experience in any of the competitors and how you feel they compare.

If this forum is anything like the CLK forum, I'm sure you all are a wealth of knowledge I am eager to tap into.

Thank you in advance!

 

There have been numerous threads on this topic on both this forum and Benzworld. Do a search and you will find out everything you need to know (which is that MLs are fabulous/crap, with good/lousy roadholding, very reliable/unreliable, cheap/expensive to operate, can be bought with great/crappy synthetic leather or great/crappy real leather, and owners would happily buy/never again buy another ML).

Should help your decision immensely.

 

Thanks roadrutz, I appreciate your sarcasm/candor.

I've done plenty of reading in the ML side of the forum and as you pointed out the search function is a great tool. It works here just like its works on the CLK side of the forum.

I've never owned an ML, X5, Lexus SUV or Volvo XC90. In fact the last SUV I owned was a 1989 Range Rover, it was a lemon and went back to the dealer. If any of you have driven the competition I'd be interested in why you chose the ML in the end.

Thanks for the knowledge.

 

Don't buy 2006. It was the first year after redesign - tons of problems and electrical bugs. 2007 model had hundreds of modifications....

 

Thats the kind of intel im looking for! Thanks for that storm10!

 

That being said - my wife has the loaded '06 and it has been amazing. If you want an '06, just make sure you get a certified pre-owned from a dealer who will back the car up.

 

Don't buy a 06 or 07. I have an ML350 2007 and it's been in the shop alot.

 

I chose the ML (2009 ML320 BLUETEC) because I felt it did the best job among the competition in the things I felt were important....Driving Experience/Sport, Comfort, Safety, Quality, Style, and Fuel Efficiency...

My research led me to believe the XC90 is less reliable, less fun to drive, and consumed way more fuel than a gas ML, especially a diesel ML....To me the ML also looked better, inside and out....The Volvo could closely match the Benzs' safety

The MDX was a bit sportier than the ML (Some would argue the ML is sportier, they are indeed close) but was gaudi inside (looked like the helm from an 80's sci-fi movie) and had far less driver's legroom (i'm 6'3")...

I originally thought I would buy an X5....I was very familiar with the older X5 (2006 and older)....My old 2004, 4.4i was awesome!!! I believe the outside styling of the new X5 (2007+) looks even better....However, BMW has cheapened the interior and while the drive is genuinely BMW, it is totally inept off the pavement and it isn't as comfortable as the Benz...My research also led me to believe the current X5 is electrically problematic...However, if I had bought a gas V6 SUV, it would have been the BMW or a new Infinity FX35...The X5's do hold their value well.....The used 2007+ are very expensive....at least in FL...

I really liked the new Infinity FX.....At the time I could have bought a new one in the upper-mid 30's...It was the only SUV in my price range that had cooled seats (I live in Florida!)....The V6 is a hoot to drive!....it gets better fuel economy than it's competition (gas V6 models)....The downsides were that it had very little cargo space and driver's legroom was lacking......The Benz feels way safer to me....

The ML is pretty damn sporty, not the sportiest, but for my taste the blend of comfort/sport is most balanced in the Benz....The Safety of MB is legendary and the diesel returns a great blend of power and fuel economy...If I were buying a used one I would choose an 07/08 CDI (diesel)....You can slap a Kleemann KD-Box (about $500) on it if you want more power....with the KD-Box it will go 0-60 in 7 secs (8 secs w/o the Box). That is pretty damn fast in a SUV. I would avoid the air-ride adjustable suspenion because they are problematic and expensive to fix out-of-warrany. In my opinion they offer a "Floaty" ride in normal mode that might get your kids seasick....If you ever need to tow anything, get an ML with a factory hitch. Adding a hitch to an ML is a maddening experience. It will cost you about $2,000 to add a hitch with electricals at the dealer...It is the only simple option....The interior of the Benz is the best among it's peers listed here in my opinion. It is rich, supple, tight-fitting, and classy....I say this even though I have MB-Tex (fake leather)...The leather vs. MB-Tex debates are well documented....I will just say this....The only thing I don't like about MB-Tex is that is isn't leather...It kind of pisses me off that MB puts fake leather in 90% of it's cars that cost less than $75,000 but the stuff looks good, feels good, and it is supposed to not show wear...The only people that know the difference are people who have had Benzs'...Put me in the "I like it" camp...

I am not a huge fan of the gas V6 in the Benz....It seems sluggish and achieves average-at-best fuel economy....If possible, I would get the diesel or the gas V8...(gets within an mpg or 2 of the gas V6 and is way more fun)...

I believe the Japanese SUVs may be a bit more reliable, but they seem so flimsy to me. The European models are overbuilt and perhaps it is just me, but I feel safer in them...Have you ever looked at the door hinges in a Japanese car and then looked at the hinges in a German car??? The Japanese cars have a piece of sheet metal that is rolled on the edges fashioned into a hinge....The hinges on the Benzs' are cast and heavy. The body sheet metal on the German cars are a gague or two heavier than their Japanese counterparts. The differences are apparent; at least to me...I also have a 3-year old....this weighed heavily on my decision....The Japanese do have a superior user interface into their electronics....The controls for the Navi, Sound, and HVAC system trump any offering from Europe......However, the Benzs' sound system is the best among the competition IMO....The Mark Levinson system in the Lexus is very nice as well...

Lexus doesn't have a direct competitor to the ML....The smaller unibody RX looks soccer-mommish to me and the gear selector looks as if were straight out of a minivan....It is less-expensive though....definitely the most uncool car among any mentioned in this post....The larger GX is built on a truck frame and rides as such....Either Lexus has that typical Toyota/Lexus numb driving experience with no feedback at all from the steering or chassis.....Why people buy these cars totally perplexes me...If you want reliability why not just take the bus, the ride is better..

If I were considering a V8 German SUV, I would also look at the Cayenne. It has limited legroom, but it is fast, nimble, well-built, has a great interior....The Porsch'e are pretty reliable as well...

 

realralfy:

What a great post. I sorted through most of the options you mentioned, and ended up getting a 2010 ML350 Bluetec. You summed it up perfectly.

The only model I did not really look at was the Cayenne. I thought they were really expensive to repair, and not too reliable. Plus, the salesman was so smug and superior, I couldn't stand dealing with him! I love the look of the Cayenne, however.

 

Can't prove that from my 06 ML500 that I recently traded on a new 550. Not one issue and was never in the shop for anything but routine maintenence in the 4 years I owned it.

 

Lark:
The Bluetecs are the sweet spot in the ML....You obviously feel the same.....

The diesel roars off the line with the thrust of a powerful V8 (although it does temper a bit after 50 mph)...

I get 21-24 around town and 25-33 on the highway!....Unbelievable!!!

I do wish that the Kleemann KD-Box worked on the new Bluetecs.....It would be awesome to get that extra 50hp and 100ft-lbs of torque....

 

I agree 100% about the Bluetec. When I went for a test drive of the ML, they did not have the Bluetec on the lot, so I drove the gas model. It had no pep - as least that was my experience. I almost walked away to the Audi Q5, but the dealer brought a Bluetec out for another test drive. Amazing difference in torque from the gas version. I still liked the Q5, but I wanted a diesel, and did not want the Q7 (too big).

I'm not getting that type of mileage yet, but maybe after the break in period it will go up.

I never even heard of the Klemaann KD-Box before.

 

The Bluetec may feel faster than the gas version but it certainly doesn't "roar" off the line. In fact, it's flat out slow compared to the X5 diesel.

I agree that a Kleeman box would be nice to change this.

 

We just got our 06 ml350. My wife test drove RR, x5, and others but she liked the ml the most. X5 took alot of effort to drive she said. Our ml just ran out of warranty but I checked maintenance history to see if there was any unscheduled repairs done but it all checked out. Handling on our ml is very good for a large car maybe due to 4matic and wide wheels. It feels like touring sport sedan. I'd say look for one with warranty for peace of mind.

 

Not sure that I agree or disagree, the word "roar" is subjective I suppose...while the ML certainly isn't fast like my wife's M3....it accelerates very hard when the turbo scrolls up.....you can feel the 400 ft-lbs push you back in the seat.....it has a V8 feel to it...it definitely accelerates harder than the gas V6, at least up to city street speeds....It compares with my 04 X5 4.4i off the line...

the X5d might be faster 0-60 because of the twin turbos, but off the line I would say they are somewhat comparable....their 0-30 times are pretty close but the X5d's 30-60 time is much better by virtue of it's second turbo....the Bluetec does 0-60 in 8 secs, the X5d in 7 secs......If the KD-Box would work on the new Bluetec's, it would be very close....

 

Pretty good analysis overall.

I'd agree that the ML is similar to the older X5 gas variants (we had an '03 4.4 ) and is good when compared in that way. Now not that I'm racing my SUV's , but when going back and forth between the two the X5 is simply faster period. 0-30, 0-60, 0-100 the X5 pulls much harder than the ML.

Maybe I should race the wife to see...

As far as Kleeman goes, it's been a while since I spoke to them (ie. last year) but at the time they had no plans to develop a new box for the Bluetecs. They stated that the challenge wasn't increasing the power, but properly integrating the management of the exhaust, ie. Adblue.

 

I check every month with Klemaann.....they told me last month that it is in development now....If they don't they will be out of the MB diesel tuning biz going forward....

 

realralfy: Great write up and I appreciate you sharing your experience. It'll make our choice much easier. So far, nothing has come close to the MB in terms of overall performance and comfort....as far as my wife in concerned. I've spent a lot of time in the back seat so far!
Gotta get behind the wheel. Thanks again guys!
*** always....thanks for the knowledge!

 

Orig owner 07 ML500 here. We now have 40K miles and car has never been to the shop except for service A and B.

We tow jetskiis with it with no issues.

I was a bit apprehensive about all the gadgets and options failing over time.... but knock-on-wood everything works everytime we start it up. This is our 4th 3point star car and we love em...... to be honest the only failure I've had on any of our mb's was self induced.... I put an aftermarket air filter on our CLK55 and it nuked the MAS...... $140 for a new bosch unit and problem fixed. In our experience these are very reliable cars.

 

45k and counting on my '07 ML320 CDI. Great car and I love the diesel. I chose the diesel at the time because I didn't want to spend $100k on a 63, but still wanted something unique. I also did not want the 500 as I knew it was on its way out and the 350 was too bland for me. Mine was before Bluetec so I don't have the worry about the AdBlue system either. I'm selling it, in case anyone's interested. I love the vehicle, but I actually want out of SUV's (been driving them daily for 10 years now) and have a strong itch for the Porsche Panamera Turbo.

 

I had a 2006 ML500 and my recommendation would be to steer away from them. Anecdotal evidence on these forums is that subsequent years are much better.

It had a beautiful engine with plenty of power and really quite economical. I averaged 13.5L/100kms (sorry I don't know what this is in MPG) and I do mainly short city trips and I have a heavy right foot.

But after close to 4 years I sold the car and couldn't wait to get out of it. You can see my messages elsewhere on this forum for details but basically it was a lemon with 50 days back for warranty repairs in that period and things were still breaking and falling off.

But many other owners report hassle free motoring.

Before anybody flames me, my car was 100% mercedes serviced, well looked after, less than 15,000 kms per year on the clock and I've never had significant problems with any other vehicles I've owned. (So it's not me.) I don't even blame the vehicle : every manufacturer makes a lemon every now and then. It's the attitude to customer service from MB Australia and our almost total lack of consumer protection legislation here in NSW Australia that I blame. But enough ranting....

I think the wise advice would be, if everything else is equal, buy an 07 rather than an 06.