2000 Mercedes-Benz M Class - Page 1 Review

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Shopping for a 2000 Mercedes-Benz M Class? MSRP: $35,300 - $64,900

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The newest member of Mercedes-Benz USA’s AMG lineup: the 342-hp ML55. Its mission: to inject unprecedented performance into the company’s SUV while attracting a bit of attention to the vehicle partway through its life cycle.

If attention is what it wanted, Benz has gotten it with the underhood maneuvers. By transplanting a magnificent AMG-tuned 5.5-liter V-8, they’ve fattened the M-Class’ performance profile up to 342 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque. Step onto the gas, and the ML55 feels like a locomotive accelerating a mile-long train of rail cars.

The basis for the engine is the 5.0-liter V-8 that powers the S500, SL500 and CL500. An 8-millimeter increase in stroke gives the AMG engine its extra half-liter of displacement for the train-pulling power. In the ML55, this engine comes mated exclusively to a five-speed automatic transmission — which we found nearly useless because of the abundance of torque in any gear. The transmission also features Touch Shift, a Tiptronic-style gear selector also standard on other 2000 M-Classes, which proved helpful on hilly descents.

The bottom line: under seven seconds

So how fast is it, exactly? The ML55 can reach 60 mph in 6.9 seconds, according to testing conducted by Mercedes-Benz. That makes it the world’s fastest production sport-utility vehicle, surpassing even the lumbering Lamborghini LM2002 of the 1980s. (And, if you ask them privately, the Benz folks say a number closer to 6.5 seconds is more realistic in the real world.)

After sampling the virtues of the ML55 on curvy mountain roads, Mercedes led us to an abnormal venue for an SUV press introduction — a racetrack. A few laps around this road course left a lasting impression. In short, the ML55 presents a level of performance that is second to none when it comes to SUVs.

Around the track, as well as on the road, the ML55 exhibited less body roll and a more accurate steering feel than the ML430 and ML320. Chalk up the handling improvements to 18-inch high-performance tires, better suspension tuning, and a new variable-assist steering rack, which gives better road feel while maintaining an acceptable level of steering effort with its wider tires in tight turns. (The ML430 and ML320 use a constant-ratio steering rack, in case you were wondering.)