Mercedes-Benz M-Class is a 5-door SUV with light off-road capability, first offered in 1997, and built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It marked a shift at Mercedes-Benz in becoming a global player: while it had plants outside Germany before, they built facsimiles of German models. The M-class was built with the United States in mind at an American factory.
Initial quality was poor. A road test on the British programme Top Gear revealed that the presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, could put his fingers into the gap below the rear lights and above the rear bumper. This improved over the years, especially after a mild facelift for 2002. However, owners are often unhappy with the car's quality - for example, the car was placed last out of 142 cars in the Top Gear Motoring Survey 2004.
Major model variants have included the ML320, ML350, ML430, ML500 and ML55. The ML55, or ML55 AMG, featured a supercharged V8 engine made by AMG, modified body-work, and other performance features. Prices initially were around US$35,000 for the base model in the late 1990s. The ML350 replaced the ML320 as the base model a few years after its introduction by Mercedes-Benz.
The M-Class was Motor Trend magazine's Truck of the Year for 1998.
2005
A redesigned M-class (code name W164) will be introduced to the public in April, 2005 after showing at the North American International Motor Show in January. It is almost entirely new, with a more sporting, aerodynamic look—the drag co-efficient is down to 0,34. Mercedes-Benz has also made the new M-class larger, measuring 150 mm longer than the first model.
The platform is shared with the new R-Class and G-Class, and is a unibody type rather than the body-on-frame used by the M and G today.
New features in the 2005 M-class include a seven-speed automatic gearbox.
4-valve engines will replace the current 3-valve SOHC V6 and V8:
- ML350 - 3.5 L 4-valve V6, 272 hp (203 kW) and 258 ft.lbf (350 Nm)
- ML500 - 5.0 L 3-valve V8, 292 hp (218 kW) and 336 ft.lbf (455 Nm)
- ML460 - 4.6 L 4-valve V8, 325 hp (242 kW) and 370 ft.lbf (500 Nm)
- ML550 - 5.5 L 4-valve V8, 410 hp (306 kW) and 405 ft.lbf (550 Nm)
- ML63 AMG - 6.3 L 4-valve V8, 465 hp (347 kW)
- ML280 CDI - 3.0 L V6, 188 hp (140 kW) and 325 ft.lbf (441 Nm)
- ML320 CDI - 3.0 L V6, 221 hp (165 kW) and 376 ft.lbf (510 Nm)
- ML400 CDI - 4.0 L BiTurbo V8, 315 hp (235 kW) and 516 ft.lbf (700 Nm)
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