4wd MercML's any good?

[coolpot]

Hi all,

My dad is looking for a replacement for his unreliable landrover discovery!

I heard some bad things about the ML being based on the chrysler thing, being unreliable and poorly built...is any of this true?
Are they any good? (particually for towing caravan)
Any common things to look out for?

Thanks in advance, Steve.

 

[psmart]

Do a search on the forum, a lot of people have been asking this question recently.

Heres one for you: http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=23129

ML's are great, all depends on how you assess a car. Best bet, find one you like and let your father drive it (for a weekend if possible). There great machines.

On the caravan front, I originally bought mine with Caravans in mind, specifically a Swift twin-axled Spectrum, gvw of ~1700-1800kg. I upgraded shortly afterwards to a full motorhome, but not before trying out towing, to which it was well suited, better than my earlier Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd, you will forget the caravan is there, quite literally.

 

[eric242340]

Hi all,

My dad is looking for a replacement for his unreliable landrover discovery!

I heard some bad things about the ML being based on the chrysler thing, being unreliable and poorly built...is any of this true?
Are they any good? (particually for towing caravan)
Any common things to look out for?

Thanks in advance, Steve.

I agree with the Land Rover Discovery bit. The ML 270 CDI is perfect for caravan work. It has the perfect torque level and im sure owners of these models will agree its great off road capability is not in question. So moving a caravan even in bad weather on slippery surfaces is no problem.

 

[Andy Wr]

Yes the ML270cdi is excellent, go for a face lift version with lux pack, low mileage and FMBSH and you wont go wrong, ignore horror stories of things going wrong and being expensive to put right.

 

[PRM1]

Agree, look for face lift (02 onwards I think) with lux pack.

I bought my first ml270 02 in Dec 06 and read lots of forums for tips. (some of the forums like Tyre smoke seem to be anti Merc M class but I realised that most postings hadn't even been in one If I'd listened to that site I would have ended up with an Audi A3 as a few salesmen on the site trying to push their over priced cars)

After driving it for a few months I must say that it the best car purchased to date. Plenty of low down power for towing, pretty quick for a large 4x4 and the fuel economy is pretty good. (it uses less fuel than my old Saab 9-5 2.0 petrol)

Here is link to a good report with lots of info -http://www.motorbar.co.uk/ml270.htm#

This is one of the better forums for honest sensible feedback.

Good luck. If you find one send us the details.

 

[coolpot]

thanks to all for your help ill update if he gets one

 

[Uncle Benz]

ML was not my immediate choice, but after driving one, I loved it!! One year on, 14k miles and I still think it is great. Agree with advice to go for 2002 on facelift model. Compared to a disco, it drives like a car. I even managed to pass a Fiat Barchetta at the Nurburgring!! Will return 30 mpg on my commute - better than my previous 1.2 corsa, which did 27 ish for the same journey!!