Skip advert
Advertisement

Mercedes ML350 CDI

Luxury SUV emphasises comfort over sporty driving experience

Mercedes’ M-Class is a perfectly capable and comfortable SUV, with lots of space for five and their luggage. It just doesn’t balance comfort and handling as well as its rivals. Like the Porsche, it doesn’t have the Sport’s premium feel, either.

The all-new Mercedes M-Class was launched early last year, but you’d be forgiven for missing the car on the road, because it has very similar styling to its predecessor. That means an upright look compared to the Range Rover Sport.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Our AMG Sport version has deep bumpers front and rear, but the 19-inch alloys seem a little lost in the wheelarches when compared to the big rims on its rivals. At least the car’s slab sides are broken up by some neat lines.

The interior will look familiar to any Merc owner. The silver-trimmed dials have a colour screen set between them, while the audio and climate controls are the same as those found elsewhere in the range. Another colour screen between the air vents tops the dash off, while there’s also a set of rotary dials on the centre console ahead of the armrest. One controls the COMAND system, while the other two select drive modes, but they’re not intuitive.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Used - available now

GLC

2022 Mercedes

GLC

75,544 milesAutomaticDiesel2.0L

Cash £20,097
View GLC
Grandland X

2018 Vauxhall

Grandland X

41,400 milesAutomaticPetrol1.2L

Cash £11,100
View Grandland X
Mokka

2021 Vauxhall

Mokka

33,983 milesManualPetrol1.2L

Cash £13,100
View Mokka
Arona

2021 SEAT

Arona

21,085 milesManualPetrol1.0L

Cash £12,500
View Arona

Overall, the cabin is well built, but there’s a lot of black plastic around, and when you combine this with our test car’s black seat trim and heavily tinted rear windows, the M-Class starts to feel very oppressive inside.

There’s plenty of space, though. The back seats recline for added comfort, but like the Cayenne, the ML can’t match the Sport for outright room. The standard powered tailgate opens quite slowly, and the 690-litre boot trails the Range Rover’s, but if you flip up the seatbases and drop the backrests, you’ll have up to 2,010 litres to play with.

Under the bonnet, the 254bhp 3.0-litre V6 diesel is 34bhp down on the Range Rover’s engine, yet it has 20Nm more torque, at 620Nm. Combine this with a roughly similar kerbweight to the Sport’s, and the ML350 was just as fast in our acceleration tests. This performance was helped by the fast-shifting seven-speed automatic gearbox – although the transmission doesn’t allow full control of gearchanges like those in rivals. And while the M-Class is fast, it can’t hold a torch to its rivals through corners. Where the Range Rover and Porsche are agile and stable, the big Merc rolls, and although there’s lots of grip, it lapses into understeer more readily.

The Porsche has the measure of the Range Rover for handling, but the Mercedes runs it close for comfort. In Normal mode, the ML is very smooth – on motorways or in cities.

It’s also over £15,000 cheaper to buy than the Range Rover, but like the Porsche, you have to spend big to match the Sport’s kit. Tax costs are high and fuel economy is relatively poor, yet the Merc enjoys strong residuals. Will that allow it to see off its rivals here?

Facts and figures

Skip advert
Advertisement

New & used car deals

Nissan Qashqai

Nissan Qashqai

RRP £27,415Avg. savings £5,924 off RRP*Used from £12,200
Toyota Yaris Cross

Toyota Yaris Cross

RRP £26,495Avg. savings £1,672 off RRP*Used from £15,925
Vauxhall Corsa

Vauxhall Corsa

RRP £19,690Avg. savings £4,685 off RRP*Used from £16,811
Audi A3

Audi A3

RRP £26,295Avg. savings £3,214 off RRP*Used from £10,195
* Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

New MG IM5 has the Tesla Model 3 beaten on price and range
MG IM5 - Goodwood front

New MG IM5 has the Tesla Model 3 beaten on price and range

The all-electric IM5 brings new technology and design to the MG line-up
News
10 Jul 2025
New MG Cyberster Black is a dark sign of things to come for the brand
Cyberster Black - front 3/4

New MG Cyberster Black is a dark sign of things to come for the brand

MG boss thinks special editions like this might be the ticket to keeping up demand for the electric sports car
News
10 Jul 2025
New Mazda CX-5 revealed with fresh looks, more space and far fewer buttons
Mazda CX-5 - front

New Mazda CX-5 revealed with fresh looks, more space and far fewer buttons

The Mazda CX-5 has been revolutionised to take on the Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson
News
10 Jul 2025