motoring
Island Life - June/July 2010
Serious pleasure with the
Mercedes ML350
LET’S not mess about. You don’t buy
engine roar, and you get the enormity
cross-country yomping, flanked by two
a car like this for its looks and its
of the achievement which is the new
grab-handles for off-road rock and
gadgets. You buy it after carefully
Mercedes ML350.
rolling.
weighing it up against equivalent
For such a weighty vehicle, a 4 x 4 and
Most cars these days have good
high-end 4x4s, because you want a
a diesel to boot, the quietness of the
audio systems, but as well as sounding
seriously comfo rtable ride and complete
engine is striking. The start is far from
great the 350M’s COMMAND system
freedom to take it properly off-road.
skippy, but once away it will swing and
is user friendly, with bold 6.5-inch
And I’m not just talking about the grass
turn and zap with remarkable alacrity.
touch-screen display. SatNav, MP3
verge.
But to describe the drive as fun deeply
accessibility, BlueTooth hands-free.
Its understated good looks are merely
undermines the integrity of this car.
There are some things that you
what you have a right to expect. No
There is nothing frivolous about it. It
instinctively know are right. The
‘look at me’ neons here; no pumped-up
takes its pleasures very seriously.
Mercedes ML350 is one of them.
front or stare-you-out headlights.
So let it take you off-road. Ask it to
The Mercedes doesn’t have to try to
climb and descend, get mired in mud
Test drive at Esplanade,
impress.
and slip in slurry. It won’t play with
Medina Avenue, Newport.
you, it will perform, with sure-footed
Tel: 01983 523232
A fine beast indeed. So masterful that
rather than driving the road seems to
dexterity. It is deeply, deeply
roll beneath you. It eats those miles
satisfying.
while you sit in absolute comfort, in a
Of a lesser car you might say it’s
cockpit fitted out with just-so materials
got lots of toys. In this M-Class,
and perfect visibility.
we have to call them innovations.
No less than you might expect, you
The most striking is the lack of
may think. The Germans are good at
gear shift column. Shift instead by
this sort of thing. But compare this to a
a neat lever, as unobtrusive as the
much earlier incarnation which pitched
indicator, which it sits opposite. The
unpleasantly, even on London roads,
space freed-up is taken by groovy
while treating you to a semi-agricultural
extra-grippy cup holders for the
98
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