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.

The Quest Begins...The Mercedes-Benz E230T Classic W210 1996-97

Back in 2005 I met my much adored car mad husband- he had owned over 100 cars when we met. I didn't drive. I was a nervous driver whose lessons had made little or no difference to the fact I had panic attacks nearly every time I got behind the wheel. I am no longer this person and now we own a car hire business and I have driven more cars now than most people have in their lifetimes, I have had my full licence for nearly one year now so I hope I can bring unique perspective to the cars I review.  I find most car reviews useless, they simply don't tell me what I want to know as a mother getting from A to B and back again with a minimum of fuss (from me- the children behave like posessed baboons in the car). I have also found that most reviewers want to be cleverer than Jeremy Clarkson and often they are not which leads to rather prolix writeups in which the messages are totally lost on me..

 I only review used cars. I don't buy new cars so I am not interested in what a paid reviewer who has spent a couple of hours in a press car has to say. I want to know what the owner of an older model experiences day to day, what the fuel economy is REALLY like (official figures rarely match up with reality) and what bizarre or expensive problems could arise. 

  Review sites are good but what is a great ride to someone could be horrendous for the next person so I thought it would be good to have a site where one person reviews...

I haven't been able to find just what I want so I guess I am just going to have to do it myself like everything else around here! (Except the chores my husband does- kudos to him on convincing the sons that washing up and laundry are "men's jobs").

When my long suffering husband and I met we knew we would get married and have a family almost immediately (six months after meeting we were married, six months after that our first son was born) so it was clear his small collection of cars didn't have anything suitable... The Porsche Boxster although scarily smart and airtight only had two seats, as did the Beautiful blue BMW Z3 roadster and the lovely white unassuming but very useful Ford Falcon XR6 ute.... sigh.

So we started our quest for the ultimate family car and quickly secured ourselves the relatively rare Mercedes-Benz E230T Classic 7 seater station wagon/ Estate.

 These cars look the part- they have lovely round double headlights (made of plastic and need repolishing every six months...) the ubiquitous three point star, a smattering of woodgrain inside and the resilient MBtex seat upholstery which is almost but not quite leather but very easy to clean. They should look the part, they retailed at AUD$96,900 new and have been plummetting in value at a truly breathtaking rate ever since

 There are two extra seats in the boot for midgets or children who like to face the wrong way but I wouldn't really call it a 7 seater, not by today's standards anyway. I wouldn't want to use the two "dicky seats" every day personally.

The car is solid, at 2140kg (yes- over two tonnes) the 4 cylinder engine is what I would call barely adequate but it does feel safe, even if you couldn't get out of the way of the traffic you would probably survive a smack to any side. The power is just too sluggish to enjoy driving it. 110KW @ 5400 rpm is just that bit too underpowered and it is slow to get off at the traffic lights. This would be a nightmare for school runs! The accelerator really needs you to stomp on it to get off but the lights may have changed by the time the power kicks in, seriously. This kind of accelerator feel seems to be a Mercedes-Benz trait but it is heightened by the small motor/large car combination.The power doesn't kick in at all until the bottom of the pedal which is pretty frustrating, no room for subtle power increases, if you try to be subtle it will be perpetually "off the boil" and the gears of the auto box won't kick down.THe first third of the pedal movement does absolutely nothing. Safety in a smash and the Mercedes "prestige" would be the top points of this car but considering the age of it now I really think that saving some pennies and buying a Ford Falcon wagon (AUD$3500 for a great one of the same Vintage as our old Merc.) would give you more driving pleasure. You could even get some dicky seats installed. 

We never had anything go wrong with our Wagon (and we drove it for a record 18mths!) but we do know the airconditioning had been replaced before we bought it- they all go wrong and a decent second hand Mercedes Benz compressor is worth a small fortune if you can find one! The replacement aircon was just like the orginal- rather substandard.

Overall: Reliable, safe and sturdy but underpowered, sluggish and boring to drive-too expensive for what it is.

Rating:6/10

Value:3/10 Buy an EL Falcon, or a Commodore if you are Holden type of 
 person

Fuel economy:7/10 surprisingly good considering the weight of the car

Style: 6/10 rather austere- like a robot tried to make a luxurious car rather than a person- Teutonic and plain.