Mercedes Benz ML 350/550/63 AMG 2007
January 1, 2007
With its second-generation ML-class, Mercedes has now made amends for most of the first ML’s missteps. A bold, tri-louver grille, projector-beam headlamps, and a muscular rear wedge shape go a long way toward eradicating the previous minivan-like styling. The low-rent cabin has given way to a proper Mercedes interior with a handsome instrument panel, quality trim, and better ergonomics. Advances in chassis engineering help the new ML drive and feel like a Mercedes should. Increases in length and width translate to more room for both passengers and cargo, but the ML sticks with only two rows of seats, leaving the GL-class and R-class to haul more than five people. The ML500 rocks on with its older, single-overhead-cam V-8, which is not such a bad thing, but if you want to tease the owners of Porsche Cayenne Turbos, the new ML63 is one of five models in which Mercedes is offering the all-new, ridiculously powerful AMG V-8 for 2007.
PRICE: $43,455 (ML350); $49,975 (ML500); $86,275 (ML63 AMG)
ENGINE: 3.5-liter V-6 (ML350); 5.0-liter V-8 (ML500); 6.2-liter V-8 (ML63 AMG)TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic
POWER: 268 hp at 6,000 rpm (ML350); 302 hp at 5,600 rpm (ML500); 503 hp at 6,800 rpm (ML63 AMG)
TORQUE: 258 ft lbs at 2400 rpm (ML350); 339 ft lbs at 2,700 rpm
(ML500); 465 ft lbs at 5,200 rpm (ML63 AMG)
CURB WEIGHT: 4,705 pounds (ML350); 4,795 pounds (ML500); 5,093 pounds (ML63 AMG)
0-60 MPH: 7.9 seconds (ML350); 6.7 seconds (ML500); 4.8 seconds (ML63)
TOP SPEED: 131 mph (ML350/ML500); 155 mph (ML63)
PROS: Looks as good now as it always should have
CONS: Almost lost in the crowd
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