Overview
With such stiff competition (with the Xception of the X-Type, did you see what I did there lol) from the rivals it's a hard choice to make. Both the Audi and the Beemer have outstanding build quality, superb handling and performance, price wise they are also very evenly matched. So my review has to be based on looks (how very shallow, but I am a gay after all). Not such an easy choice, I think they're all great looking cars, so what's a boy to do?
Style
The Merc has it by the bucket load, it's a stunning motor, its sharp lines and big fat 'I'm the prettiest in the playground by far' attitude filled grille mean that all the other cars in the playground have now sent it to Coventry for stealing their boyfriends. Interiors have always been a MB strong point and it would appear that no expense was spared when it came to the new C-Class's. The C220 CDI Sport I tested had seats with a split personality disorder, one minute they were so comfortable I could have slept, the next (upon planting one's foot into the shag pile) they'd transformed into sports seats, hugging tighter than a desperate queen onto the last man in the club. If you actually take time to look long and hard at the C-Class it is actually a design master stroke. It's designed to latch on to those primal instincts within us all, it looks strong, aggressive, sporty but also safe. I absolutely love this new C-class (and god knows I hated the one before it with a passion).
Performance
If you are currently thinking 'diesel and performance' don't exactly go together hand in hand, where have you been, living under a ROCK! The 2.2L lump under the bonnet is outstanding, loads of low down 'I'm the fastest rep in the world' pull-away power. Shed loads of overtaking power (perfect for when you need to get to that 9am sales meeting) and it's as quiet as a hibernating mouse, with the added benefit of some kick-ass noise under more aggressive driving. 0-62mph takes 8.5 seconds but feels much quicker, to be fair though, with the AMG body-kit and wheels pack added on the Sport model, ain't nobody gonna be trying to take you at the lights anyways . The six-speed gear-box that comes as standard when you choose the Sport model is smoother than Angelina Jolie's adoption process.
Economy
Well we we're averaging around 45mpg combined and nearly 60mpg on the motorways, so yep it's economical.
Toys
Not huge on the 'free gadgets' but then it is a Merc, its not that long ago that a steering wheel was considered an optional extra. What you do get, by the arm full, is safety features, ASR (skid control), ABS (anti-lock braking), BAS (braking assist) and ESP (stability program, not the ability to see the future). You will have to butter up ya boss / bank manager if you want toys, I had the excellent COMMAND comm's pack in my test vehicle and its well worth the £2,500 (including adding the LOGIC7 Harmon Kardon surround sound system, which results in a stereo system worthy of a nightclub).
Verdict
Aggressive, bullish, stylish, sexy, quick and with the úber sporty C220 CDI coming in at under 28k, it's a good buy.
Mercedes are good at making big cars, over recent years they've been dogged with reliability issues and build quality problems. However with the recent change back to the masculine bullish square fronts and out and out sports styling, these problems and issues seem to have been addressed. So with all the range restyled and the C-Class selling hand over fist, the E-Class being released as a coupe, with a waiting list longer than Jordan's divorce lawyer, and the SL and SLK recapturing the crowns of King and Queen of drop-top sports cars. Merc were stuck with just one last thorn in its side - the ML. An SUV so pig ugly that regardless of how many spoilers and body kits you fitted to it, the biggest reason to put blacked out windows on one, was so your mates didn't see you driving it.
Sluggish, boxlike, uninspiring, dull, boring and with a gearbox that felt like a spanner being thrown into a toolbox, it drove and sounded like a tractor. Ask a premium SUV driver whether they'd have an X5, Cayenne or ML and the resounding answer was never the ML.
So Merc designers have set about restyling the ML to fit into the rest of it's aggressively and sportily styled range…. Needless to say, they've not only pulled it off, but it's a transformation of epic proportions. The new ML is a stunning motor to behold, it's now the most gangster-esque SUV on the market, the only thing missing is guns behind the headlights!
It's bigger and more aggressive than Jodie Harsh's makeup; it's also morphed into a performance cruiser SUV rather than a trailer-pulling rich farmer's wagon. The 3L turbo-charged engine is powerful and purposeful, 0-62mhp takes 8.6secs, so its not the quickest, but its quick enough to prove a point if needs be. It's also got more torque than Alan Carr and feels capable of pulling small islands out of the sea. The engine isn't the quietest, however it no longer sounds like a tractor. The cabin has been so drastically refined and resigned that inside the cabin the engine noise is non-existent.
Overall it's a huge SUV, long and angular, aggressive and sporty. Outside, it is everything, looks wise, you could ever want. Inside it reeks of class and sophistication, it's the posh totty of motoring. Merc have kept the sports feel in the cabin, the model I tested had plenty of aluminium trim throughout. The boot (being 'gangsta' about it) is big enough to fit several kidnapping victims in, and you're fine to go 5-up to the bank job as rear legroom is massive. So what about that god-awful gearbox? Replaced by the superb 7-G-Tronic 7sp automatic box, which in auto mode is fantastic, but in manual, using the steering wheel mounted shift paddles is even better.
Equipment-wise, it's been a while since Mercedes listed a steering wheel as a cost option, but Merc aren't known for its generosity in standard kit. Which is why the standard spec list for the ML320 CDI SE is so surprising, it's a long, very long list! Now for just over 40k you don't get Sat Nav, but you do get a 5" colour display and telephone pad, single disc CD player and iPod connector and management system in the glove box. You also get tinted glass, oval sports exhaust pipes, dark tinted rear lights, Bluetooth, electric tailgate (opens and closes at the touch of a button, for gangsta's cant open their own boots and you cant have your posse with you all the time!), front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, 18" Alloys, enough airbags to suffocate a herd of wildebeest and so many safety systems and off-road systems that there's just too many to list in this review. It's well worth the £2,300 for the COMAND Sat Nav and cockpit management system. My test car also had the exterior wheel carrier with spare wheel, which I'd advise against. Mainly as I think it spoils the lines of the car, although it does make the ML look butch and off-roadish, it totally hampers vision through the rear window as the spare wheel blocks your view. Finally - it weighs a bloody ton and you have to unclip and pull it across, before you can open and close the boot, very impractical with an arm full of shopping and a couple of dogs on leads.
Overall I'm massively impressed with the performance, not so with the economy (it does maximum 35mpg on the motorway and a disappointing 23.3mpg round town), I love the new styling and look. It handles well and you can certainly throw it round at speed and be slightly more adventurous with cornering and bends than in the old ML.
It's also more than capable off-road and for towing, with its new 'outta my face bi-atch' looks and bling-ability, it's the new rapper of the motoring world and I love it. I also think its actually more than reasonably pricing for the amount of kit you get for your wedge. Well worth a look at if your looking at SUV's, and don't rule it out if you brought the old ML and regretted it, the new ML is just that.
Mercedes are good at making big cars, over recent years they've been dogged with reliability issues and build quality problems. However with the recent change back to the masculine bullish square fronts and out and out sports styling, these problems and issues seem to have been addressed. So with all the range restyled and the C-Class selling hand over fist, the E-Class being released as a coupe, with a waiting list longer than Jordan's divorce lawyer, and the SL and SLK recapturing the crowns of King and Queen of drop-top sports cars. Merc were stuck with just one last thorn in its side - the ML. An SUV so pig ugly that regardless of how many spoilers and body kits you fitted to it, the biggest reason to put blacked out windows on one, was so your mates didn't see you driving it.
Sluggish, boxlike, uninspiring, dull, boring and with a gearbox that felt like a spanner being thrown into a toolbox, it drove and sounded like a tractor. Ask a premium SUV driver whether they'd have an X5, Cayenne or ML and the resounding answer was never the ML.
So Merc designers have set about restyling the ML to fit into the rest of it's aggressively and sportily styled range…. Needless to say, they've not only pulled it off, but it's a transformation of epic proportions. The new ML is a stunning motor to behold, it's now the most gangster-esque SUV on the market, the only thing missing is guns behind the headlights!
It's bigger and more aggressive than Jodie Harsh's makeup; it's also morphed into a performance cruiser SUV rather than a trailer-pulling rich farmer's wagon. The 3L turbo-charged engine is powerful and purposeful, 0-62mhp takes 8.6secs, so its not the quickest, but its quick enough to prove a point if needs be. It's also got more torque than Alan Carr and feels capable of pulling small islands out of the sea. The engine isn't the quietest, however it no longer sounds like a tractor. The cabin has been so drastically refined and resigned that inside the cabin the engine noise is non-existent.
Overall it's a huge SUV, long and angular, aggressive and sporty. Outside, it is everything, looks wise, you could ever want. Inside it reeks of class and sophistication, it's the posh totty of motoring. Merc have kept the sports feel in the cabin, the model I tested had plenty of aluminium trim throughout. The boot (being 'gangsta' about it) is big enough to fit several kidnapping victims in, and you're fine to go 5-up to the bank job as rear legroom is massive. So what about that god-awful gearbox? Replaced by the superb 7-G-Tronic 7sp automatic box, which in auto mode is fantastic, but in manual, using the steering wheel mounted shift paddles is even better.
Equipment-wise, it's been a while since Mercedes listed a steering wheel as a cost option, but Merc aren't known for its generosity in standard kit. Which is why the standard spec list for the ML320 CDI SE is so surprising, it's a long, very long list! Now for just over 40k you don't get Sat Nav, but you do get a 5" colour display and telephone pad, single disc CD player and iPod connector and management system in the glove box. You also get tinted glass, oval sports exhaust pipes, dark tinted rear lights, Bluetooth, electric tailgate (opens and closes at the touch of a button, for gangsta's cant open their own boots and you cant have your posse with you all the time!), front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, 18" Alloys, enough airbags to suffocate a herd of wildebeest and so many safety systems and off-road systems that there's just too many to list in this review. It's well worth the £2,300 for the COMAND Sat Nav and cockpit management system. My test car also had the exterior wheel carrier with spare wheel, which I'd advise against. Mainly as I think it spoils the lines of the car, although it does make the ML look butch and off-roadish, it totally hampers vision through the rear window as the spare wheel blocks your view. Finally - it weighs a bloody ton and you have to unclip and pull it across, before you can open and close the boot, very impractical with an arm full of shopping and a couple of dogs on leads.
Overall I'm massively impressed with the performance, not so with the economy (it does maximum 35mpg on the motorway and a disappointing 23.3mpg round town), I love the new styling and look. It handles well and you can certainly throw it round at speed and be slightly more adventurous with cornering and bends than in the old ML.
It's also more than capable off-road and for towing, with its new 'outta my face bi-atch' looks and bling-ability, it's the new rapper of the motoring world and I love it. I also think its actually more than reasonably pricing for the amount of kit you get for your wedge. Well worth a look at if your looking at SUV's, and don't rule it out if you brought the old ML and regretted it, the new ML is just that.
With
the sun blazing and temperatures that the UK barely experiences, what a
better way to enjoy the heat than with one of the best selling
convertibles on the market. A convertible that is nearing sales of 1
million units since it was first revealed in 1996, the SLK has forever
been a 'cult' car for Mercedes. Now, with improved styling, engines
and features, the SLK has never looked better.
With the whole Merc range having a facelift and new cars like the E Class Coupe being introduced into the line up, the SLK was in need of an update and Mercedes have certainly done it justice. With the new front bumper taking elements from the SLR, pronouncing a sporty V shape, dropping effortlessly down to a beefy grille and front wing. Add some twin-spoke alloys and you have yourself a beauty even the Beast would be jealous of. The rear reflects the car's new muscular stance with a diffuser look styling, finished off nicely with angular, trapezoidal exhaust pipes, making the overall appearance of the SLK butch yet stunning.
Interior styling has not been left alone either. Mercedes have updated the dashboard with fierce red needles surrounded by chrome bezels, complimented by a choice of black ash, light burr walnut, carbon or sliver trims. Combine all this with a sporty three-spoke steering wheel, bucket seats and the sexy purr from the high-revving engine, and the new SLK is an experience all in itself.
Moving onto power, I tested the 200K, a 1.8 supercharged engine that kicks out a whopping 184bhp, which will be sure to leave your stomach in the boot, when you put your foot down on the motorway. Although a muscle power to the engine can sometimes affect handling, Mercedes have introduced their 'Direct-steer' system into the SLK range, incorporating agility and manoeuvrability on sweeping country lanes, light steering ability when parking and assuring characteristics at high speeds. A fantastic drive, and one that will never fail to excite and invoke the demon within, but will react to cruising down the M4 on those long summer evenings as you head towards the burnt orange sunset.
The SLK starts from £29,445 OTR for the 200K model that I tested. Personally, I think it's a fair price to pay for what you get, although it's worth buying the AIRSCARF neck-level heating system (£343) for those winter months and the faultless COMAND system (£1,953), including satellite navigation and a hi-res 6.5" display. A final 'must have' for visibility, is the clear wind deflector, as with the hood up, rear visibility is reduced a fair amount. Other options include limited edition 'gullwing red' or 'natural beige' leather upholstery, heated seats and steering wheel, rain sensing wipers and even remote operation for the hood using the key.
So why do I sound like a Mercedes dealer? Because there really is not a lot that I can fault the SLK for. It handles superbly (hood up or down), when converted there is little wind inside the cabin and it looks better than Mark Foster in his Speedos. Saying that, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't point out the handbrake and the lack of grip it has when hill-starting. For all the SLK's brilliance, I cant help but feel that this is a little unsafe, but it's certainly something I would deal with from time to time to be able to drive this fantastic car.
The SLK has set very high standards and really come into it's own. Gone is the reputation of being a hairdresser's car of choice, in perfect timing to revel in the true sports car driver status it was built to be. Overall, an icon reborn with an impeccable class and elegance that Mercedes deliver so beautifully through attention to detail, that it's most definitely a triumph for Mercedes, and has everything to boast about. I would buy one tomorrow and not think twice.