Thanks for your kind comments guys! Glad you like it.

Yes, the OFF road pack is great. Shame you can't get it in Canada. That makes no sense at all to me because you guys have heaps of snow, tons more than us.

 

Hi All,

AussieBenzLover, thanks for the update, great to hear you're loving it and enjoyed wonderful Tassie. I'm rather startled by your fuel consumption too!

I picked up my new ML350BT early in Jan and have now done 4600klms - one trip Sydney Canberra & return and 6 trips Sydney to Gulgong & return.

My initial reactions -
* Best (above expectations)
· very quiet
· great engine & transmission
· great lights
· very comfortable and well set out
· command interface to IPhone, Samsung Note and SD card
* Disappointments (below expectations)
· Fuel consumption - so far for 4,600 of 99.6% country running 9.4L/100 - a long way from claimed consumption. In my C280CDI/C200CDI I have been regularly/consistently able to get the book figures.
· Trip fuel consumption under reads by 5% the actual over the 4,600k - trip reads 9.0L/100, the actual is 9.4. Previous MBs have been accurate.
* Would have designed differently
· Gear Stalk - I have got used to it and very much like the resulting centre console area, however I think a stalk is not the best solution. To me, stalk controls are for regularly used "driving" functions (indicators, wiper washers cruise control etc) and I think that Toyota's solution in the Prius (i.e. a dash mounted control) would have been a more functional solution with a lower risk of false usage.
· Space Saver spare should have been a full size spare.
· I have the Off Road Package and therefore Airmatic. On the Airmatic I would like to be able to lower the vehicle manually the 15mm that happens automatically at higher speeds. Also I would like to be able to select a sport mode for engine/transmission response without automatically firming the suspension. I guess on this last point I have enjoyed this flexibility on the E280CDI with Airmatic.
* Yet to sort out
· How to fit a UHF CB
· What tyres to fit on a set of 18" rims for planned outback trips - not planning harsh/difficult off roading
· If the MY2013 ML supports LED trailer lights.
· How to modify the trunk area to fit a full size spare
· If I can get reasonably priced (not MB's $490 each) tyre pressure sensors for the set of 18" rims that will work with the tyre pressure monitoring system (I'd prefer to keep the existing senders in the 20" rims)

Cheers,
Chris

 

Thanks Chris. Interesting that you've written down all those comments as I've just done the same on a new thread I started. Check it out here https://mbworld.org/forums/new-m-cla...-new-w166.html if you haven't already seen it

I noticed you mentioned my fuel consumption. On our recent zip up to Sydney and back I averaged 11.4l/100km on the 'from start' part of the menu, which I was pretty happy with. I wanted to see if I could get from Melbourne all the way to Sydney (890kms) on a tank, but when I got to Yass which is still almost 300kms from Sydney (sounds like you're familiar with that though) I was on 1/4 of a tank so I thought I'd better fill up. Perhaps I can make it when the car is run in a bit more. When I mentioned my average fuel consumption on my earlier post below on 23 Jan it was sitting at 16l/100kms, but after this Sydney trip it's now right on 15 so it is improving slowly. That's on the 'since reset' part which I haven't reset at all since I took delivery, and probabaly never will. When I sold my W164 I never reset that either, and it was almost at 50,000kms and the average consumption said 13.4.

I had a UHF CB in my W164 and it worked well. I haven't bothered to fit it this one yet, and not sure if I will as I don't want to have the big ugly aerial fitted to the side guard like I did before. I noticed you commented on my other post about nudge bars and that you'd consider fitting one too, for the purpose of fitting your aerial to. That's another reason why I was considering a nudge bar also. I've added a couple of comments over there for you as well. Anyway, if you're in Melbourne I can put you onto the guys in Ringwood who installed my last UHF. They know what they're doing and I'm involved in the transport business so they're fitting these units and others to heavy vehicles all the time. PM me if you want their details.

Again thanks for your comments and feedback.

Hope you continue to enjoy your new car!!

Cheers

 

Chris I agree with most of your thoughts. The gear stick is in the prime position for the wiper control.
I have already posted about the airmatic height controls. An intelligent driver can judge the road ahead and set the height according. An unintelligent driver should stay in the carpark or suffer the damage.
The trailer light module should cope with all combinations of LED and incandescent lamps including all clearance lamps.

Your desire for a full sized spare is old fashioned. With the standard tyre pressure warning system, you will discover the slow leak early so the prime cause of blowouts is eliminated. TMPS works even better of course.
Just get good advice from several tyre dealers ignoring the long live tyres that give less grip.
Then select the ones which are least prone to sidewall damage, and the spacesaver will probably never be required.

 

Thanks Ian for the good advice. I guess I better get over my tyre failure phobia!!
Cheers

 

I just bought a brand new 13' ml bluetec just after I picked up I realized I could've gotten the Amy package speacial ordered but the car is not well made my rear right light doesn't work right but the problem is Alabama they screw everything up MB just make it in Germany. Furthermore it's been in the dealership 3 times in the last 2 months. The only good thing is that the car is beast and perfect for NYC with a boatload of torque and good gas milage on top of it.Amazing that is the only thing that Alabama couldn't screw up. Sorry for any mistypes in a rush.

 

I intend mounting UHF aerial to front tow point. Screw in the tow ring with hole horizontal and fit aerial to that. Base extenders are available to increase the height if necessary.

Fuel use... 350bt
90km round trip to mothers was 8.3 l/100
Same trip to mothers, now i have done a 1000km road trip towing 500kg trailer is now 7.7 l/100

Towing the trailer was 10.1 l/100 for the trip and improving all the time. Expect to be under 10 next time.

Very happy chappy

 

Very interesting. Please post some pictures when you do fit your UHF aerial.

My fuel usage seems to have settled now at an average of 14.9l/100km on the 'from reset' menu which I haven't reset since delivery. I have now done about 7400kms in total. Usually after starting fresh the 'from start' menu reads 20l/100km for a short time, but once I've reached Melbourne city which is around 21kms and a 30 minute drive it's generally sitting on mid to high 13s. I had it down as low as 11.4l/100km during a recent 900km to Sydney. I don't drive hard, except for the occassional squirt to overtake perhaps. I do expect the consumption to continue to improve though. Even so, for a car of this size and weight with a bi-turbo petrol V8 those figures are fairly reasonable compared with a V8 Land Cruiser I previously drove, and then a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 5.7l Hemi V8. They both used to hover around 20l/100km around town and get down to 16-17 on the highway.

Cheers folks!

 

Hi MLee, just wondering if you ended up mounting that UHF aerial to the front tow point, and if so how does it look? Any chance of a picture please ... thanks

 

Sorry, been too busy to fit uhf arial yet.

 

Congrats Man. Great ride

 

The 'drive-away' price of mine, with the options I selected, was roughly 85% more than it would have been in the USA. Here they start at $130K before options, in the USA they start at just over $59K. However, unlike the USA a ML500 (ML550) here is loaded up with lots of options as standard ... such as airmatic, active curve, driving assistance package plus, lighting package, sunroof, keyless go and so on ....
Check out our specs list if you're interested ... http://www2.mercedes-benz.com.au/con...mp/M-Class.pdf

Still, what we pay here in Australia is heaps cheaper than Singapore or parts of the Middle East.

 

No problems. Me too haha. I'm thinking of doing it soon though as we're looking at doing roughly an 8,000km return trip from Melbourne to Cairns. I'll probably just end up mounting it on the side like I did on my W164.

 

Yeah mate, thanks! Yours is pretty nice too. I was checking it out on the thread https://mbworld.org/forums/new-m-cla...-mls-here.html the other day. And today your little story about your drive at the AMG track was interesting too. Had a laugh when you said you were in trouble or something for yours being too loud!

I'm not normally a fan of extreme mods on these type of cars, but what you have done with yours is decent and it still looks like a Benz should. Well done for not going overboard. I wonder how it rides though, are those 22" rims? I wish I could have got the AMG sports pack to give mine that more aggressive look, but I have the ON & OFF Road package, and you can't order them together here in Australia.

The only mods from standard on mine are the tinted windows and I've now put 'V8 BI-TURBO' badges on the side. After seeing some pics of the new GLA recently I'm now thinking of painting the centre of my wheels black, same as what's in the attached pic ... perhaps that will give mine that more aggressive look that I'm looking for!

Cheers