MLs

[Hespereus]

Anyone care to comment on reliability and economy of Auto diesel MLs . Really struggling to decide what car to get next and never really considered them before but saw one today and it looked pretty good. Would be thinking of a 2006 model. Thanks

[amokwa]

The general consesus is that MB got their act together with this model. It was facelifted in '08. As to economy we have a C320 CDI which is probably the engine you will get in the ML.

In town it does about 30 mpg so you can put that into perspective.

[SLacKer]

Had a 320CDi sport for nearly 4 years.

It has been reliable throughout that time and has had the following

Steering column rubbing against inner wing guard - fixed under warranty

The air vent into the car was blocked as they had fitted the LHD cover onto the bonnet thereby blocking it. We had the car when it was 8 months old so god knows what the previous owner thought. Fixed under warranty. This is very unusual but to check lift the bonnet and look to the right you will see a grid which is the air intake at the rear of the engine compartment and on the bonnet you will see a plastic moulding running across which has a corresponding hole above the air intake. Ours was flipped over thereby blocking the air intake and making ventilation difficult.

A small area of rust where the tailgat lock mechanism is fitted - Resparyed under 8 year corrosion warranty. It was a small bubble but they resparayed the lot anyway.

None of these issues ever left anyone stranded. On the motorway we can get 37mpg from it on a long run so the fuel economy is not bad for such a big car. Around town it dips to below 30.