"Night" and "day" is a good way to describe the new interior accommodations. The 2006 M-Class is roomier for five with everything you touch either smooth or soft. With aluminum trim made from, yes, real aluminum, fit and finish is well above what you'll find in a Land Rover LR3, if not up to VW/Audi standards. The front chairs are supremely supportive and comfortable, with lots of elbowroom, and the front dash sweeps away to provide a real sense of space.
Equipped with two-stage adaptive airbags for the driver and front seat passenger, curtain side airbags and adaptive belt tensioners and belt force limiters for all seating positions, plus a rollover sensor that can activate the belt tensioner and curtain airbags if the vehicle senses an imminent rollover, Mercedes claims that the new M-Class is the safest SUV is its class.
By the end of the first day, we had driven over 400 kilometres, passing through cottage towns north of Toronto such as Bobcageon, Fenelon Falls, and Gravenhurst, finally ending our day at The Inn at Christie Mills in Port Severn, Ontario. With the new M-Class thoroughly flogged on-road, day two involved a light off-roading course surrounding the Mount St. Louis Ski Resort area.
One of the reasons you might buy an M-Class is the ability to take the vehicle off-road where an E-Class wagon might fear to tread. To this end, each new M-Class comes equipped with a permanent four-wheel-drive system Mercedes tags 4ETS. Like other manufacturer's systems, 4ETS is transparent to the driver, sensing wheel slippage electronically and braking the slipping wheels, which transfers torque to those tires with the most grip.
For those who use their cars for more rugged activities than the drive-through at Second Cup, and directly targeted at some of the more hardcore competitors (aka Land Rover), the M-Class comes standard with a trio of features that allow all kinds of off-road party tricks.
First, at speeds below 32 kilometres per hour, hitting the Off-Road button found on the M-Class' centre stack adjusts the ABS to purposely lock the wheels and dig into loose surfaces. It also allows more slippage on the Traction Control to improve grip in gravel or sand; raises the shift points in the transmission so that the correct gear is held in place longer, and; finally, opens the electronic throttle valve more slowly when the accelerator pedal is depressed, allowing the vehicle speed to be controlled more easily.
When you are at the top off that precipitous ski hill that you and your M-Class have so bravely ascended, Start-Off assist will keep your car from rolling backwards. Brake pressure is released automatically when the driver accelerates, helping the vehicle to start up steep grades. The start-off assist is also active on sharp descents.
Dream of entering your M-Class in the Baja 1000?
An Off-road Pro-engineered package will be available for'07 models that will consist of a two-speed transfer case, an air suspension providing five ride heights, electronic controls to aid climbing and descending, two locking differentials, and a video screen indicating which way the front tires are pointing.
The fact Mercedes needs to offer such a package is also an indication of the wide range of capabilities customers now demand in this upper-class of SUV, something the original ML 320 gleefully avoided.
These vehicles now must deliver on-the-road sports car performance, luxury sedan amenities and build quality, airport van cargo space, and Rubicon Trail-like off-roading capabilities.
From the base 2006 ML 350 starting at $55,750, to the range-topping ML 500 starting at $72,500 (plus a myriad of options ranging from directional bi-xenon headlamps to DVD navigation to an iPod interface kit), Mercedes certainly now has the contestants to vie for all of the podium spots in the ever-escalating mid-sized-luxury SUV race.
- John LeBlanc is an automotove critic and publisher of www.straight-six.com
photo:John LeBlanc
Equipped with two-stage adaptive airbags for the driver and front seat passenger, curtain side airbags and adaptive belt tensioners and belt force limiters for all seating positions, plus a rollover sensor that can activate the belt tensioner and curtain airbags if the vehicle senses an imminent rollover, Mercedes claims that the new M-Class is the safest SUV is its class.
By the end of the first day, we had driven over 400 kilometres, passing through cottage towns north of Toronto such as Bobcageon, Fenelon Falls, and Gravenhurst, finally ending our day at The Inn at Christie Mills in Port Severn, Ontario. With the new M-Class thoroughly flogged on-road, day two involved a light off-roading course surrounding the Mount St. Louis Ski Resort area.
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| 2006 Mercedes-Benz M-Class (photo: John Leblanc, straight-six.com) |
For those who use their cars for more rugged activities than the drive-through at Second Cup, and directly targeted at some of the more hardcore competitors (aka Land Rover), the M-Class comes standard with a trio of features that allow all kinds of off-road party tricks.
First, at speeds below 32 kilometres per hour, hitting the Off-Road button found on the M-Class' centre stack adjusts the ABS to purposely lock the wheels and dig into loose surfaces. It also allows more slippage on the Traction Control to improve grip in gravel or sand; raises the shift points in the transmission so that the correct gear is held in place longer, and; finally, opens the electronic throttle valve more slowly when the accelerator pedal is depressed, allowing the vehicle speed to be controlled more easily.
When you are at the top off that precipitous ski hill that you and your M-Class have so bravely ascended, Start-Off assist will keep your car from rolling backwards. Brake pressure is released automatically when the driver accelerates, helping the vehicle to start up steep grades. The start-off assist is also active on sharp descents.
Dream of entering your M-Class in the Baja 1000?
An Off-road Pro-engineered package will be available for'07 models that will consist of a two-speed transfer case, an air suspension providing five ride heights, electronic controls to aid climbing and descending, two locking differentials, and a video screen indicating which way the front tires are pointing.
The fact Mercedes needs to offer such a package is also an indication of the wide range of capabilities customers now demand in this upper-class of SUV, something the original ML 320 gleefully avoided.
These vehicles now must deliver on-the-road sports car performance, luxury sedan amenities and build quality, airport van cargo space, and Rubicon Trail-like off-roading capabilities.
From the base 2006 ML 350 starting at $55,750, to the range-topping ML 500 starting at $72,500 (plus a myriad of options ranging from directional bi-xenon headlamps to DVD navigation to an iPod interface kit), Mercedes certainly now has the contestants to vie for all of the podium spots in the ever-escalating mid-sized-luxury SUV race.
- John LeBlanc is an automotove critic and publisher of www.straight-six.com
photo:John LeBlanc
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