Topic: Test Drive: 2014 Mercedes-Benz ML 350 Bluetec

[Autos_Editor]

The Mercedes-Benz ML 350 came out on top of our recent luxury SUV comparison, and Lesley spent some more time behind the wheel to examine it further.

Read More...

[auto_enthusiast]

This is probably the engine to get if you get an ML - decent fuel economy and tons of torque.

I know the C and E class sedans have migrated to the 2.1 liter four turbo diesel but having a "high performance" diesel using this six would be a nice option too.  The smaller package and lighter weight plus that addictive torque would be a great combination.

[Noto]

Normally I'm big on the diesel bandwagon, but here I'm less convinced.

For one thing, starting at 5.4" of ground clearance, + 60mm (2.36") only gives you 7.8"ish at its highest.  The Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester sit at more than 8.5" each, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee can be anywhere between 7.9" (for easier entry) and 10.8" for getting through puddles.

The ML is truly a soft-roader.  WHICH IS OK!  ...but 11.1L/100km really doesn't spell out fuel savings to me - especially with the requirement for Ad-Blue.  My RX400h in the dead of winter does better than that for both highway and city.  My buddy's RX350 also seems to get around there or a bit less (maybe not in full city driving).  I'm not saying the ML diesel used a lot of gas, but comparatively it didn't offer the usual savings one would expect in a diesel.  Lesley, was it purely city driving for you to get 11.1L/100km?

...or did you wear your lead shoes this week?

[Benz64]

I am a proud owner of a 2014 ML350 Bluetec. The author of the article should double check the  gas consumption figures. According to Mercedes Canada, the Bluetec gas consumption is 10.4L/100KM for highway, and 7.1L for local. My car has round 8000KM on it and average is 10.1/100KM. And most driving was in the winter, with new snow tires. The best I got in the past winter was on 401 cruise, 7.3L/100KM for over 200KM cruise and 8.3L/100KM for a round trip from Burlington to Kingston through a winter storm.

[Fobroader]

After Sailors tragic lover story with one of these....nope....

[tpl]

After Sailors tragic lover story with one of these....nope....

Although I got rid of the B250...which wasn't 'right' for me I would have no problem at all with an ML and having a few odd things going wrong with it.   Just the price of owning an FGC.   But it will never happen. Too big, too expensive, I don't do enough miles to get the benefit of diesel power and, most importantly, I did not like our local dealer ( I wouldn't want to have to go any farther for service tho' and the next nearest is Hamilton way)

[EV-Light]

so would you pay:

1) $72k for the ML350? http://www.autos.ca/car-test-drives/test-drive-2014-mercedes-benz-ml-350-bluetec/?all=1
2) or $70.5k for a Jeep Grand Cherokee? http://www.autos.ca/car-test-drives/day-day-review-2014-jeep-grand-cherokee-diesel/?all=1

I will start by saying...the interior of the JGC looks cheap compared to the ML.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

so would you pay:

1) $72k for the ML350? http://www.autos.ca/car-test-drives/test-drive-2014-mercedes-benz-ml-350-bluetec/?all=1
2) or $70.5k for a Jeep Grand Cherokee? http://www.autos.ca/car-test-drives/day-day-review-2014-jeep-grand-cherokee-diesel/?all=1

Jeep. I wouldn't think twice about it.

[blotter]

Just the price of owning an FGC.

you're not the first to state this, but seriously.... why should there even be a "price" of owning a german car. (MB ect...)   You pay enough as it is, since when and why the heck does anyone feel FGC issues are "acceptable"  ??

maybe some of these brands think this way and therefore don't feel the need to fix FGC quality issues.

[tpl]

ML.  It would never occur to me to go to a Chrysler/Jeep  dealership or that a Jeep of any flavour was a candidate for a new car purchase.

[tpl]

Just the price of owning an FGC.

you're not the first to state this, but seriously.... why should there even be a "price" of owning a german car. (MB ect...)   You pay enough as it is, since when and why the heck does anyone feel FGC issues are "acceptable"  ??

maybe some of these brands think this way and therefore don't feel the need to fix FGC quality issues.

Why indeed. In fact the several FGCs I have owned, none have ever let me down or even gone into limp mode.   Actually not quite. The '87 GTI's battery expired one cold February day in 1995.  But I assume that if most FGC owners get the odd CEL or electrical weirdness that I am not immune, just lucky so far.

I suspect that some of the FGC 'problems' are caused by the manufacturers stretching the service intervals and minimizing the required servicing  as much as possible combined with Canadian weather which is mostly a bit worse than Germany and the other EU countries.    IIRC Sailor said the greasy bits of his ML did not fail in any way, just the electronic bling.

[blotter]

I suspect that some of the FGC 'problems' are caused by the manufacturers stretching the service intervals and minimizing the required servicing  as much as possible combined with Canadian weather which is mostly a bit worse than Germany and the other EU countries.    IIRC Sailor said the greasy bits of his ML did not fail in any way, just the electronic bling.

fair enough but if the majority of FGC problems are electrical, how does regular servicing really come into play?   Volvo's are known for some electronic issues as well right?   As say Swedish winters would be on par with Canada's?

[sailor723]

I think this would be an interesting option at 3 years old with 50-60K or so on the clock.....CPO'd with 3 yrs 100K+ of warranty for something around 40K ..... Hmmmmm

Drive it for 3 years and end up with a cost of something like 600/month + tax....not bad for a luxury SUV

[Lesley]

Yeah, the fuel mileage is high, did a lot of inner city, stop-and-go traffic, and the car was also used for our two-day comparo flog.
It's entirely possible to get better mileage (returning the car, I managed to get just under 8.0L on the highway) and if I'd had it longer, I have no doubt it would be lower.

[jyarkony]

I am a proud owner of a 2014 ML350 Bluetec. The author of the article should double check the  gas consumption figures. According to Mercedes Canada, the Bluetec gas consumption is 10.4L/100KM for highway, and 7.1L for local. My car has round 8000KM on it and average is 10.1/100KM. And most driving was in the winter, with new snow tires. The best I got in the past winter was on 401 cruise, 7.3L/100KM for over 200KM cruise and 8.3L/100KM for a round trip from Burlington to Kingston through a winter storm.

Welcome to the forums!

However, perhaps you should check your numbers - I'm pretty sure you meant 10.4 city/7.1 highway 

Lesley is citing the EPA ratings at 11.8 L/100 km city and 8.4 L/100 km highway. EPA combined rating is 10.2. We find the EPA ratings a more reasonable predicted of average real-world use. Canadian ratings for 2015 models will switch to the same testing method as EPA, then we'll all agree again.

But yeah, you should see lower consumption through the summer... Wouldn't you have switched to the summer tires by now?

[See3PeeO]

My 2008 ML diesel averaged 9.6 L/100km over 16,000 kms of mixed driving (tracked on Fuelly) and best tank was 8.17 and 1,142 kms of rural road driving.

Zero problems.

[Benz64]

I am a proud owner of a 2014 ML350 Bluetec. The author of the article should double check the  gas consumption figures. According to Mercedes Canada, the Bluetec gas consumption is 10.4L/100KM for highway, and 7.1L for local. My car has round 8000KM on it and average is 10.1/100KM. And most driving was in the winter, with new snow tires. The best I got in the past winter was on 401 cruise, 7.3L/100KM for over 200KM cruise and 8.3L/100KM for a round trip from Burlington to Kingston through a winter storm.

Welcome to the forums!

However, perhaps you should check your numbers - I'm pretty sure you meant 19.4 city/7.1 highway 

Lesley is citing the EPA ratings at 11.8 L/100 km city and 8.4 L/100 km highway. EPA combined rating is 10.2. We find the EPA ratings a more reasonable predicted of average real-world use. Canadian ratings for 2015 models will switch to the same testing method as EPA, then we'll all agree again.

But yeah, you should see lower consumption through the summer... Wouldn't you have switched to the summer tires by now?

no, my numbers are more accurate, unfortunately,  ;DI don't know where you get the EPA ratings, but the vehicle can easily get 7.xL/100KM on highway. 8.4L is far from close to real world number.

[Guy]

After Sailors tragic lover story with one of these....nope....

You can add my Brother in Law disaster story with his 08. Nope for me too, and when I drove his, I found the suspension very soft and handling imprecise. Nice vehicle but not for me..

[Guy]

I suspect that some of the FGC 'problems' are caused by the manufacturers stretching the service intervals and minimizing the required servicing  as much as possible combined with Canadian weather which is mostly a bit worse than Germany and the other EU countries.    IIRC Sailor said the greasy bits of his ML did not fail in any way, just the electronic bling.

fair enough but if the majority of FGC problems are electrical, how does regular servicing really come into play?   Volvo's are known for some electronic issues as well right?   As say Swedish winters would be on par with Canada's?

What electronic issues on Volvo??? I've owned a number of them since the 80's and I have had 0 electronic issues in over 750,000 kms in Volvo's. The XC70 which I leased for 4 years, 97,000 kms have been dead reliable, even had the original discs and brake pads when I brought it back at lease end. Current XC60, no issue whatsoever. The 04 XC90 had wheel bearing issues, all handled under warranty. That's it..

[EV-Light]

I am a proud owner of a 2014 ML350 Bluetec. The author of the article should double check the  gas consumption figures. According to Mercedes Canada, the Bluetec gas consumption is 10.4L/100KM for highway, and 7.1L for local. My car has round 8000KM on it and average is 10.1/100KM. And most driving was in the winter, with new snow tires. The best I got in the past winter was on 401 cruise, 7.3L/100KM for over 200KM cruise and 8.3L/100KM for a round trip from Burlington to Kingston through a winter storm.

Welcome to the forums!

However, perhaps you should check your numbers - I'm pretty sure you meant 19.4 city/7.1 highway 

Lesley is citing the EPA ratings at 11.8 L/100 km city and 8.4 L/100 km highway. EPA combined rating is 10.2. We find the EPA ratings a more reasonable predicted of average real-world use. Canadian ratings for 2015 models will switch to the same testing method as EPA, then we'll all agree again.

But yeah, you should see lower consumption through the summer... Wouldn't you have switched to the summer tires by now?

no, my numbers are more accurate, unfortunately,  ;DI don't know where you get the EPA ratings, but the vehicle can easily get 7.xL/100KM on highway. 8.4L is far from close to real world number.

Benz you provided the opposite figures 10.4L/100KM for highway, and 7.1L for local. I believe you meant 7.1 HWY and 10.4 CITY