any thoughts on |Merc 2002 ish ML 2.7, are they crap or not?

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Looking at 4x4s the ML around 2003 seems a good buy....however i seem to remember them getting slated back in the day by TG etc and suffering terribly with the old JD power surveys. Was that just because of awful Merc dealers during that time when ownership of the dealers was changing each week.

Has anyone owned one? Good points, bad points. Im not that fussed by its amazing off road prowess. I know Landys etc would be better for that. But for a large load lugger with seven seats when needed, to occasionally tow a boat but mainly bumble around for work. Any thoughts?

[HUMBER P4VWL]

or would jeep grand cherokee overland be better? Less room, same engine, less seats but better off road. Perhaps not for me.

[Richard B]

I've never had experience of the ML, but I've had fairly poor experience of Merc dealers, specifically Pentagon in Southampton, and one of my colleagues is similarly disenchanted with Tony Purslow in Guildford. However, the old dealership in Salisbury was pretty good (moved now), so they do vary quite a bit. You might want to check out your local one first!
And if you think Merc dealers are potentially dodgy, the reputation of some Chrysler/Jeep dealers is in another league. Another colleague took his 300C in for a service, they damaged the wheels and cross-threaded the oil filler leaving quite a mess. Again,do your research!
I do know someone who had both an MercML270 and a BMWX5 at the same time (this was in 2002 iirc) and he rated the X5 much, much better than the ML.

[Leaderscharter]

Hi Paul,
I have a fair bit of experience with a ml270 from 2002.
It is a very comfortable car to travel in and has far better fuel economy than most jeeps.
It tows well and can handle itself well on most of the launching areas you will come across.
The only bad thing I have to say would be that it is a little slow to take off from stopped.
Coming from a LR3 you have to be very careful when pulling out into traffic.
hope this helps.
Aaron

[Roy Smith]

i have had both ML and X5
the ML is easy to live with much bigger in the boot
heavy on brake pads at £100 a pair
The X5 is in a differant leaugh if you can get the 04 model with the uprated engine it has better leather and the quility is much better, but for a big car there is a pittyfull small boot space
if i had the choice i would have an X5 every time hardy any differance in MPG at about (in the real world) 25/27 mpg
As for service i have found both Petagon and Snows to be Bad
conpair them to Toyota and you wounder why you pay so much. my farther had his 200.000 mile Land Cruiser serviced at WKB portmouth and you would have thought he was there best customer fantasic service

[Tino]

I had a 2004 ML 270cdi. I towed lots of heavy boats, dragons etchells big ribs trailers etc over long distances. It was a great towing car and really comfortable. It was also pretty good offload.... It has an electronic switch on the dashboard for a crawler gear which is great for recovering boats on a slip or towing heavy loads up hill.
I did however have only one problem with it... the electric heated seat had a fault that burned my arse!OUCH!!! Merc replaced the seat FOC but the Merc dealer locally was absolutely DREADFUL!
Super car i would recommend it and would buy my old one back!

[HUMBER P4VWL]

It appears the ml was ok, just the dealers then.

Not as good as X5, but they are £4k cheaper it would appear

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

It appears the ml was ok, just the dealers then.

I'd put a 3.2 DID Shogun or a Landcruiser Colorado fairly well ahead of an ML for similar money. The original ML was and exercise in 'Badge Engineering', a very average product with a prestige badge applied.

[Tino]

Originally Posted by Mollers

I'd put a 3.2 DID Shogun or a Landcruiser Colorado fairly well ahead of an ML for similar money. The original ML was and exercise in 'Badge Engineering', a very average product with a prestige badge applied.

Having had a ML 270cdi and A Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2DID at the same time I can confirm that I would choose the Ml for comfort and driving experience any day. The ML corners like a car. The mitsubishi drives like a truck and is built like a truck...a lot tougher than the merc but In my opinion unless you are a farmer or engineer the Merc wins.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Tino

Having had a ML 270cdi and A Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2DID at the same time I can confirm that I would choose the Ml for comfort and driving experience any day. The ML corners like a car. The mitsubishi drives like a truck and is built like a truck...a lot tougher than the merc but In my opinion unless you are a farmer or engineer the Merc wins.

Having had an ML 270 an X5 a Shogun 3.2 and a Disco D3, I'd personally shove the ML firmly at the bottom of the pile. I found the ML useless offroad (where a Shogun is good) and noisy and gutless on road, yeah it did corner a little better than a Shogun.

Only my opinion.