Scoop: 2012 Mercedes M-Class!

These first ever photos of the 2012 Mercedes M-class were snagged in Europe right before the Mercedes engineers made a hasty retreat!

Judging from these photos, the new ML's wheelbase seems largely unchanged. In fact, the new M-class might be a few centimeters shorter than today’s ML. Whatever the dimensions will be, for efficiency reasons weight is definitely going to be reduced. This chassis will also be shared with the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the 2011 Dodge Durango.


While heavy camouflage hides a lot of the details, we can still see some of the changes. The doors have new sculpting, with 2 bold character lines visible. We can also see new door mirrors. A large angular grill with at least 3 chrome cross bars can be seen under the camo panels as well. We're pretty sure that LED daytime running lights are also lurking somewhere under the camo.

Under the hood, we expect a similar range of engines powering today’s car, including the 3.5 V6, 5.5L V8 and the 6.2L V8 for the AMG model. A 3.0L turbo diesel should also continue on in the lineup. We've also heard that Mercedes may offer the new ML with a standard or plug-in hybrid right from the start.

This next-gen ML class should make it to dealers before the second half of 2011.