MERCEDES-BENZ ML280 Review

Summary:

What we like: Styling, On-road handling

What we don't like: Tyre compromise.

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MERCEDES-BENZ ML280 review in detail:

Built primarily for the American market, the M-Class has also had plenty of international input, including some from Australia, so it works pretty well in our conditions.

The M-Class is principally intended to be used as a people mover and spend virtually all of its life on sealed roads, like many in its class.

But it can cope with just about any road surface, no matter how rough and unmade, as the body is a tough one with plenty of underfloor strengthening.

For the driver who wants to get really serious, there's even a special model with an Off-Road Pro-Engineering Package. The package adds height-adjustable air suspension and a two-speed transfer case. The former can give as much as 290mm ground clearance, way over that of even the most dedicated of 'real' 4WDs.

The M-Class is reasonably fuel efficient for its class, though quite large, and there's a turbo-diesel that has plenty of torque with good fuel economy. It's almost as smooth and quiet as the petrol units and is the engine of choice with an increasing number of Australian buyers.