bigdog32553

Any info out there as to the availability of the new V6 twin turbo engine and wether it will replace the the ML550. I have read articles announcing that the E550 will become an E400 with the new V6 in 2015.

2012MLBlue

I'm not sure but the Car and Driver review comparing the E400 6 with the E550 8 sure make me think I will be keeping my ML 550 long term.

"Meanwhile, back under the hood, offering a twin-turbo V-6 puts Mercedes in rare company in today’s market. Only Ford, Lincoln, Nissan, and Maserati currently list an engine of that spec in their U.S. portfolios. Mercedes’ is a good one, though, with an estimated 329 horsepower and 354 lb-ft; it’s smooth and powerful, with gobs of torque compared with Benz’s naturally aspirated six. Still, it’s hard to discuss this engine without bringing up the twin-turbo V-8 it will replace in the E-class sedan. Sure, the new engine is smooth. But not as smooth as Benz’s turbo-eight. Sure, it’s powerful. But it is also 73 horsepower down on the eight. And torque? There’s a drop of 89 lb-ft. Technical details are sparse, and the cars we drove were European models, so there’s a chance those figures could change a touch. But there’s no chance whatsoever of this mill suddenly sprouting 33-percent-more cylinders."

Benz Werd

Earlier this year we approached our dealer about trading in our C250 for a new E500 sedan, but were informed a new facelifted model was about to come out and we should wait for it, so we did. When the new model arrived a couple of months later we were all excited and got in contact with our dealer again and they informed us with the facelifted update the E500 was no longer available here in Aus, only the E400. Annoyed much? .. oh yeah! But anyway, we asked the dealer for a demo E400, that was 6 months ago, and we're still waiting. We've lost interest now, and are looking elsewhere as we really want a nice V8 luxury sedan. If they do the same thing with the MY14 or 15 MLs that will be another nail in their coffin. I've loved MBs very passionately since I was a kid but they're about to lose us for good. What's even worse is the E500s are still available in other right hand drive markets (Singapore for example) but they won't even consider allowing us to do a special order here. Hello 550i ... even though BMW have treated us very badly in the past too.