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2001 June: The 2002 model year M-Class, due for Australia in late 2001, will have various improvements to keep up with the Joneses.
Left: The 5-litre ML500 V8 (215kW, 440Nm) will replace the 4.3-litre ML430 V8. It is claimed to give 0-100km/h in 7.7 seconds. The 3.2-litre ML320 V6 and 2.7-litre ML270 CDI (5-cyl, turbo diesel) continue as options. The "hot" ML55 will get a silver painted grille (so everyone knows). All get a larger, 83-litre, fuel tank.
Window airbags, about 2-metres × 0.5-metres when inflated, are standard equipment, in addition to the door side airbags (and front airbags). `Head-lamp Assist' is a new (standard) gadget which turns the driving lights on when dusk falls.
The standard climate control air-conditioning system
is said to have been revised and
"also allows the climate in the rear to be
suitably adjusted thanks to an auxiliary fan and
separate ventilation nozzles."
Optional equipment includes bi-xenon headlamps with "a sensor-activated headlamp beam control system and a high-pressure cleaning system". The `Parktronic' aid, which removes the need for park- by- touch, is also an option, as are COMAND operating and display system and a hands free telephone system which will eventually provide a short- message- service (SMS) on the COMAND screen.
The new models will be distinguished by 17" alloy wheels as standard, with 255/60R17 tyres on the ML270 & ML320, 275/55R17 on the ML500, and there are new front and rear bumpers.
The changes will make the M-Class a more comfortable road car but will not improve its four wheel drive capabilities, clearly indicating where Mercedes Benz thinks the main market is.
Mercedes Benz reports that 5,800 M-Class have been sold in Australia since its 1998 introduction, 300,000+ world-wide.
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