Mercedes Benz ML320 1998-2003

The Mercedes Benz ML320 sounded good on paper, strong, luxurious, prestigious, "command position" driving due to it's 4wd. It cost a fortune to buy new so picking one up for $8000 as we did, you couldn't go wrong could you?

The ML320 has the dubious honour of being the only car that has made me motion sick when I was driving, the handling was so awful, I couldn't navigate around a small round about and remain on the correct side of the road on exit. The fuel economy was not as good as the official figures of 11.1L/100km mostly due to the amount of energy required to get such a hefty body (2870kg) going once stopped at the traffic lights. The on board computer allowed us to see we were getting a combined average of around 14L/100km. Like most  Mercedes products I have driven it just misses the mark as far as feeling like the luxury it should exude. The wood grain is there, the leather is there, the overly complicated climate control and on board computers are there and yet the seats are stern and unforgiving, the handling in like driving a shopping cart with life preservers for wheels and the styling is pretty ordinary. It is supposed to be a competitor to the BMW X5 (which was released two years after the first ML Benz) but the BMW could not possibly have been so poorly executed (here's hoping, I am searching for one for our next family car- maybe it will be the perfect one?). I have heard tell that the suspension of the M Class ( there are several variations with various motors) is set up for American tastes but the lurching, rolling and wallowing made the car almost unbearable. I have noticed a disturbing number of M Class Benzes at the Wreckers yards showing the classic sign of having rolled onto the passenger side probably due to this dreadful handling.

The ABS light came on and it was diagnosed as needing a new ABS module but the reality was that our car, like many M class Benzes of the same age, had incomplete or dry circuits in the module and merely needed a wee bit of solder, great if you are a bit handy with that sort of thing, a minimum of $1800 for a second hand part if you are not.

Overall Rating:4/10: I can't believe this car cost $74,900 new, I would give you $3000, better yet, you give me $3000 and I might drive one again!

Value:2/10:Cheap on the second hand market but is such a poorly executed car that paying any money for it makes for terrible value.

Fuel economy:4/10We do an even mix of around town and highway work and averaged 14L/100KM which is higher than the official figures- generally I do better than official figures for the same journey.

Style:5/10 point for using wood and leather, deduct points for such a bland body and such uncomfortable seats.

Toyota CamrySXV20R Station wagon 1998-2002

Toyota promotional shot

Ah Toyotas, so very reliable and I don't know what else you can say about them really! The Camry is NOT loaded with luxury, it is not renowned for it's excellent handling around corners, it is not exciting but is is very suitable for a budget conscious family who require a good boot space.

 The engine has adequate power for the car size (95kw @ 5200rpm but the gears would change up before you reached 5200rpm) but I would have expected more for a 2.2L engine but then what do I know? The official figures put fuel at combined urban and extra urban average of 8.3/100l, respectable but doesn't compare to the BMW I reviewed earlier. I found handling a little clumsy and I couldn't park it for nuts- my parking can be a bit here and there at the best of times but I found I had no control over where this car wanted to go especially for the dreaded reverse park. 

 Toyotas have a reputation for reliability which in some ways is well deserved but no car is without it's Achilles heel (errm well OK I don't think cars have heels) and the auto transmission can fail once the mileage starts creeping up we had one car that had well in excess of 200,000kms and the transmission was fine (the whole car was a little tired, but the gears were fine!) and two others with lower KMs where the gear box was either losing it or just plain finished.

Overall: It is a car with room for a family, cheap, reasonably economical to run, parts are OK to source. Not at all exciting.

Rating:6/10

Value:7/10:Cheap to get these days, I would probably get something stranger and just as cheap like an old SAAB or Volvo but then I like to be weird for the sake of it and a Camry is just not at all weird.

Fuel economy:7/10 The BMW has spoiled me completely for economy and if something is going to be as free of personality as the Camry it better be cheap to run!

Style:6/10:Mleh. If you like grey you will be happy. Even the Vienta which is the fancy version (with bigger engine) came with a fancier grey interior.