H3D

Just drove the ML350 & 550 today .... Had to pull the trigger & order the V8... So much more fun to drive than the 350. Seemed to corner flatter, had better steering & brake feel but the engine put a smile on my face... Had similar get up & go as my 2012 Audi S4

Was told by the dealer that MY14 ML550's build start dates are September 1st with delivery 45 days later ... So mid October delivery here in the Pacific Northwest.

Build Specs ...

Premium Pkge 1
Polar White
Black Leather
MBTEX Wrapped Dashboard (spc)
Aluminum Trim Pkge (spc)
Harmon Kardon Audio
Multi Contour Seats
Heated & Ventilated Seats (spc)
Heated & Cooled cup holders (spc)
Ambient Lighting Pkge
Adaptive Lighting Pkge
LED Kit for Running Boards
20" AMG Wheels (dealer is goint to refinish them in titanium gray)
Trailer Hitch


Dealer also added Keyless Entry & Parktronic Assist (both of which I'm not really interested in... Will probably have those removed)

Hoping that the Aluminum Trim Pkge will take the place of the wood on the dash... I blame my distaste of dark shiny wood on being European! Lol

If anyone has any relevant info on the Aluminum Trim Pkge I'd definitely appreciate it!

Cheers,

Marc

2012MLBlue

Great choice - you will love it!

fabbrisd1

I'd change the aluminum trim for Satin Ash - Satin Ash is the new wood of choice for the "new Germany" ..... quite the rage right now Hinderland..

Digital photos don't do justice to the look.. gives a muted yet sophisiticated look.. here in the US to almost every buyer here in the US who are not aware of the sustainable characteristics of aluminum .. to them "aluminum" means "cheap" and not "sporty" like it does in Euro

H3D

I'm just not a fan of wooden dash trim...

Funny thing is many of the high end performance cars out there; Ferrari, Lamborghini,Porsche etc tend to go more for carbon fibre or aluminum trim rather than wood... Never found that it looked cheap, it just fits the character of the car.

With the black leather interior, white exterior combination & satin titanium wheels, it just made more sense to go with metal than a brown wood option... I just don't see a brown tone working well in a black white & grey environment.

Pretty sure the Aluminum will blend quite nicely with the wrapped dash & leather interior .... Keeping my fingers crossed that the Aluminum trim Pkge will replace all the wood areas

H3D

Spoke to the dealer today. Aluminum Trim Pkge (739) does replace all wooden trim throughout the cabin. We're also going to powder coat the AMG 20" Wheels (758) a Satin Titanium finish... Going for more of a DTM look than Cigar Lounge, polished wood feel

YYZ-E55

Aluminum Trim









Though I find it looks very cheap, I think it would look better with black headliner at least.

Thimee

You might also discreetly ask your dealer about installing some sort of laser detector... I've gone six years without a ticket, then in the first six months of owning my ML550 I've picked up two, one that required a visit to the traffic court (dammit DIA and your stupid speed trap on the E470 offramp).

She's a dangerous animal to own, I found out the hard way that I have to make a conscious effort to dive tamely!

I chose auburn brown / satin ash for my interior - to me the black interior felt rather bland. I get tons of comments, even from the SA at the dealer about how nice she looks in person:

Pntblnk

The product you need is Laser Interceptor - mounts discretely in your grill and highly effective against laser speed measurement devices. The owner of the US distributor is a MB enthusiast and has a set in his wife's ML550 and his C63. Easy install and just plain works!

H3D

Thank you for the images. We have it with the wrapped dash option... It's exactly what we wanted... We are both European lol

H3D

Interesting idea... Looks like a cool system. I'm useless at installing stuff like this, so would go with a professional installer. Seems a bit expensive but also appears to be effective... I'll look into it with my Sales Assoc.

Thanks

schroedinger

I love my 2013 ML550! P1, lighting pkg, ambient lighting, satin ash wood trim, Pearl Beige metallic, Almond MB-Tex interior. The acceleration is thrilling! I love freeway on ramps now. So much improved over the 2011 ML350 I had before.

H3D

Have to agree... I was more impressed with the 550 than the 350. Thats not to say the 350 isnt a good car, its just that the 550 from my own perspective is so much better to drive

In the past I've owned BMW X5 & Audi Q7 V8's, an Audi S6 V10 & currently have an Audi Q5 3.2 S-Line & a 2011 Audi S4.... The ML550 put more of a smile on my face than all of them with the exception of the S6, which is still one of the best engines I've ever had in a car!

There is something pretty cool about a big heavy German SUV that has the ride quality of a luxury sedan & yet is still almost as quick as an Audi S4.... for me its the best of both Worlds! Cant wait till it gets here in October!!

LionelYukina

Hey Guys,

Is the Artico trim at the dashboard still a standard option for the 2014 M Class? I was told they are thinking of removing it?

thanks

jtorrebl

I have one similarly ordered but with sport interior with the sporty aluminum steering wheel package 318 but with anthracite black wood. I've had aluminum trim in my 2012 a6 and want to go with some thing different and more blingy. Have had aluminum in about 4 Audi's already. I was never into wood either, but the anthracite poplar wood is nice. You should really do the sport interior to. Complete your look. I have the same colors as you ordered.
I'm trying to remove the side running boards (even though they're great for th kids) but I might lower the car to mimic an ml63 order that I cancelled.

Ljcml

Wondering how things are going with your new ML550... I just got a used 2011 (pre-turbo) and it had the airmatic suspension. Just curious why you didn't get that option.