You don't have to be a 'car guy' to have expectations for a Mercedes-Benz. Achieved through slick marketing, outstanding customer service and, most importantly, by the creation of extraordinary vehicles, the brand has positioned itself at the top of the luxury category.
Typically, premium mid-size sport-utility vehicles promise room for five passengers and enough utility space to offer functional flexibility. The Mercedes-Benz ML550 has all of those tangible necessities with the intangible persona of being extra special.
After all, it is what you are paying for when you buy a Mercedes-Benz. What you will be paying for the 2008 ML550 4Matic is $68,250. Base price is actually $52,400, but the tester had add-ons, in particular a luscious $8,500 Premium III Package that quickly shot the price up.
While there is always going to be a consumer looking for the vehicle that is just a little more over the top than the rest in the class -- and is willing to pay for it -- the smart consumer is also attracted to the brand for its traditionally strong residual resale values.
On the outside, the ML550 tester exhibited all the characteristics that made the recent 2006 redesign such an improvement over the previous model. For me, if an SUV is going to claim off-road capability, it should wear a bit of that attitude on its sleeve. I like the flared wheel wells, which are a huge improvement over the previous design.
Overall, the exterior is truly a statement of subtle sophistication. The rounded front and rear profile is accentuated by the sloping roofline. There is a feeling of aerodynamic style, which is good given the 13 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway.
My tester had the AMG Sport Package, which featured attractive 19-inch five-spoke wheels and running boards. While these are small details in the overall scheme, they add up to an extraordinary exterior appearance.
Inside you have lots of glass that provides great sightlines for the driver and a feeling of openness for passengers. That sloping roofline I mentioned also provided plenty of headroom from the front row back to the utility area. With interior room at a premium, it is smart for the engineers to take roominess and give it the perception of being even larger.
I found front seat legroom to be better than average and second-row passengers had no complaints whatsoever about comfort. There definitely is room for five passengers, and while three adults in the back will be a bit tighter, it is not as strained as others in the class.
Another expectation Mercedes-Benz has set in the marketplace is for its safety. The list of safety features is about as long and as impressive as any I've seen. The ML550 has received top ratings for safety since the redesign in 2006 and it remains one of the top in the class.
Safety begins with structure, and the steel reinforced cabin with front and rear crumple zones is a great start. Other features include: three-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners; rear child-seat anchors; front dual-stage airbags with front knee bolsters; front and rear side airbags; front and rear curtain airbags; crash active head restraints; and the list goes on.
Interior features are (again) what you would expect from a Mercedes-Benz. A wonderfully warm interior space greets you when you slide into the front seat. High quality materials, soft edges, glowing (not glaring) gauges, fine leather and precise instrumentation all suggest luxury.
You know the saying: A true show of class is being somewhere unfamiliar but being capable of pretending like you've been there before. Believe me, once you extract the luxury and quality driving experience from this SUV, it will not be something you soon forget.
My tester had an amazing harman/kardon sound system with Sirius Satellite Radio. A rear entertainment system kept the kids at bay on several longer trips, while a hands-free communication system allowed for voice-activated dialing with memory.
Performance is important to mention for the ML550. Starting with the 5.5-liter V-8, there is power on demand for everyday driving as well as the highway navigation for long hauls. I found my tester to be capable and exceeding most expectations in every circumstance. Like most SUV owners, I never got my ML550 off the pavement, so I cannot comment on off-road prowess.
The ML550 has a butter-smooth seven-speed automatic transmission. Most of the mid-size category sports a five-speed with many just sniffing the six-speed range. Remember those subtle details I mentioned earlier regarding the exterior style; well consider the extra gears in the seven-speed just an extra effort to smooth out any wrinkles in the 600-thread-count sheets. |
