Armed with my too small 4Runner and a stressed budget, I set out to research what would accommodate three car seats, side by side in the rear seat. Our kids were too little to make use of a third row. We were about to have three kids, four years of age and under. In 2002, the choices were much more limited than today. Essentially, you had body on frame SUVs of assorted sizes, and minivans. I thought a minivan fit the bill perfectly, but my wife refused to consider them at all, for reasons not entirely clear to me to this day.
Notwithstanding my aversion to anything GM (after the Jimmy situation), my wife wanted to drive a new Tahoe and a Suburban. Those were quickly dismissed as being too long (the Suburban) and too tall (both). Though my wife had always been a “point and shoot” kind of driver who didn’t seem to pay much attention to the fit, finish, or even the make of a vehicle, she also expressed an interest in “that Mercedes thing”. Though she didn’t know the model name, I figured out she was speaking of the first generation ML.
These were pricey, but not overly so. I don’t recall details but my internet looking says the MSRP started under $37,000 in 2002. (that’s right at $50,000 today). The small BMW/Mercedes dealer close to our home (since closed) had only one in stock. It was a leftover 2001 model, and the 2002 models had a nice mid-cycle refresh I really liked. The differences were minor, but the headlights, taillights, front and rear bumpers, side trim, and wheels were all much enhanced in my eyes. The silver lead picture is a 2002 model, and the burgundy one above was a 2001 and prior version.
They offered to get more, of course, from neighboring dealers in larger towns. But by 2002 the internet was turning into a pretty good shopping tool for vehicles. This go round is the first vehicle I clearly recall shopping for, and locating, on the internet.
In my looking, I found a silver 2002 (identical to the lead picture) with grey MB Tex (vinyl) about four hours away down the interstate. We decided to take the 4Runner (for a possible trade) and go look. After leaving the two kids with a grandparent, my (very) pregnant wife and I set out.
Honestly, between being busy at work and having two kids with a third due any day, I don’t recall much about these years. It is funny what one does remember, though. The Mercedes dealer conveniently enough owned the Toyota franchise next door. They were interested in the 4Runner, but very skeptical of why we would be trading already. They pressed us repeatedly about whether it had been wrecked, and even called their body shop guys over to give it a close look.
In the end, the deal was struck, the Toyota dealer bought the 4Runner, and we went home in the new ML320. The three car seats fit side by side just fine (we had taken them with us to be sure). This was the first vehicle we had with factory satellite radio. It came standard with all wheel drive too (2017 ML’s do not), but it wasn’t loaded up. No leather, no V8, no body styling add-ons or upsized wheels as seemed to be so common on these. But it was the nicest car we had experienced by far, with nice real burl trim and very good finishes throughout.
The ML shared a new V6 with the E Class. If I had any reservations, it was with taking possession of one of Mercedes’ first V6 engines. They were known for their straight sixes, but this design was new and untried. It also had a strange (to me) three valve per cylinder design, single overhead cam per bank, and two spark plugs per cylinder. It seemed to me that in many ways, it was different just for the sake of being different.
Perhaps someone else can tell us in the comments why these features were superior to a four valve, twin cam, single plug design. I would note, though, that Mercedes sure enough reverted to a four valve, twin cam, single plug design for the next generation of V layout engines. So whatever benefits this odd design had on paper, must have not been borne out in the real world. The V6 and V8 engines of this generation did prove to be pretty durable overall.
This was also the first car we had that required synthetic oil. I’m sure it would have run fine on dino oil, but the oil change monitoring system needed synthetic (allegedly) to function correctly. The base line oil change interval was 10,000 miles, which seemed awfully long to me at the time. The computer would adjust this up or down based upon your cold starts, length of trips, etc.
This generation of ML did have third row seats, but they were an afterthought. They could be flipped up to either side of the cargo area, as seen above. And when they were in the “use” position, the occupants had nowhere to put their legs. You pretty much were sitting with your knees under your chin. There was also virtually no cargo room left behind them. It was odd, but we didn’t need them or use them. They also could be unlatched and lifted out of the vehicle, so we usually left them out.
The ML turned out to meet our needs pretty well. The three car seats of course fit, but the cargo room was adequate as well in daily life. Longer trips, like to the beach, called for the use of a roof container. My in-laws had one we borrowed a few times. We had snow where we lived, so the all wheel drive came into play as well.
I don’t recall a single problem we had at all. But by 2005, the kids were 7, 5 and 3 and bouncing off the walls! A little more room to spread out would be nice. Our oldest was now old enough to make use of a third row, she could get herself into and out of a car seat and buckle herself up. My parents had caught the camping bug again (they had a VW camper when I was born) and had bought a camper trailer. My sister in law’s kids were close in age to ours, at ages 10 and 6. We began to think that it would be fun for the two (or three) families to camp together. My parents in law, unfortunately, could not join in due to health problems.
The go-to towing vehicle for a camper trailer, then and now, was a pickup truck. My parents bought a new F350 for the task (they still have it, jeez what a creampuff). I wasn’t interested in, and didn’t have the budget for, owing a truck just to use a week or two a year. And, I didn’t want a full size truck for my everyday vehicle either.
My sister in law and her husband compromised with a used Ford Excursion, to serve as a family vehicle and to pull a camper trailer when called upon. However, she quickly tired of it in everyday driving. They bought a used Plymouth Voyager to serve as her everyday car, and the Excursion did the camper and extended trip duties.
So, life once again intervened to reorder our priorities. While we were happy with the ML, and it had been trouble free, it was apparent there were things we wanted to experience as a family that it was not suited for. It didn’t have the towing capacity for the trailers with a kids’ “bunkhouse” we were interested in, though I’m sure it could have handled a small one for a couple just fine.
While these thoughts and discussions about camping and tow vehicles were taking place, a friend asked me about the ML. She wanted to know how we liked it, was it reliable, was it expensive to service, and the like. Her realtor mother wanted one just like it. I told her that we might be thinking of selling or trading, and long story short, her mother bought the ML from us. And, she still has it to this day! She lives a few blocks away, and I see it all the time. It was rear ended (and fixed) shortly after she bought it, and she pulled out in front of someone and got whacked pretty good a few years after that. But it still looks great, actually, after all these years.
So, the easy sale of the ML put us on a path to find something suitable to be a family vehicle and a tow vehicle. My wife, by this time, decided she cared a little more than she realized about trim, fit and finish, and the hard to define concept of the “brand experience”. She had liked the ML and the attendant ownership experience, and really wasn’t interested in seeing it go, but something a little bigger and good for towing was on the radar.
What’s the easiest or (most unintended) sale or disposal of a car you have experienced?
I had a 1962 Peugeot 404, much loved, but become impracticable in modern traffic (circa 1995). It was, by sale day, a worn unit. It was an undelightful shade of pink, a colour which dutifully belongs on a ’59 Cadillac, or any motoring thing chromed and overcooked. On an austerely-styled ’60’s French middle-class commuter, despite the relief of considerable fading, it looked ridiculous. Pre-internet, I advertised it with a sheepish expectation of great disinterest. Instead of which, the (landline, natch) phone began ringing as the first editions of the Saturday paper were purchased by what were clearly nutters from all corners, and the calls did not stop. The first to arrive snatched it up for the price asked. The second, arriving near-simultaneously, actually bid higher. (No, I didn’t. First in, and all that). Several callers suggested my price should have been double. For sure, I saw it advertised about 3 years later for 2.5 times the price I’d asked (advertised as being the colour “Moulin Rouge”, the clever bastards). It was easy, it was unexpected and unintended. I didn’t even have a replacement in mind, let alone at hand. Lots of walking and bussing thus ensued.
Sigh. Never happened since.
SOHC does for a narrower engine, which may have required to be fitted in an engine box originally designed for an I-6. 3 valves per cylinder would help it breathe better and the twin plugs are probably because their combustion chamber design did not allow meeting emissions with a single plug. I will also add that the engine was probably cheaper.
Whether it is superior or not to a DOHC 4V design comes down to it meeting its targets.
These look positively old nowadays, same with the first X5. None of them have aged gracefully.
I had an ML350 of this generation. Of the 9 MB’s I’ve owned since a wreck in my first one convinced me they are the safest cars in the world, this was the only one I disliked, mostly because it didn’t feel very Mercedes like. Also it was a seven year old car that ended up being less reliable and more expensive to maintain than the 17 year old car it replaced as my daily driver. I replaced it last year with a 2016 Metris which is, by contrast, very Mercedes like and reminds me fondly of my simple spartan 240Ds.
The ML was easy one to rid myself of. An imbecile who thought he was putting one over on me due to his plans to flip it bought it on an eBay auction for $3500- $3000 more than the dealer offered- and more than the oil leaking, busted sprung, rusty heap of junk was worth. He was so busy conning me on it being a personal purchase, he didn’t realize he was buying a dog, despite noticing several symptoms.
Hey, I’d love to hear more about the Metris! Maybe you could write up a review for this site……
These seemed to have acquired a reputation for unreliability so it’s nice to hear yours was trouble-free.
Can’t say I was ever a huge fan although I see the appeal. The first BMW X5, on the other hand–now that was a SUV! Definitely more car-like and more fun to drive. So maybe I should say “now that was a car!” instead.
Wiki reveals Mercedes originally wanted to tie-up with Mitsubishi for a joint-venture Montero/ML in the early 1990s. Interesting! Given the Gelandewagen’s lengthy run, Mercedes approached the original ML as a new four-wheel-drive offering, not as any kind of crossover. BMW, without that 4×4 history, took a different tack. But Mercedes did beat BMW to the market by 2 years.
There was a Mitsubishi SUV, I forget what it was called, that for 2 or 3 years (before it was withdrawn from the U.S. market) that I always thought looked like a prototype for a Mercedes-Benz SUV like the ML series.
(Wish I could remember the name of that SUV.)
It was THE top-of-the-range model….had bulging fenders, lots of features, unfortunately Mitsubishi names all their SUVs the same.
The top of the line Mitsu SUV was called the Montero. Still available elsewhere as mainly the Pajero. It generally had/has an excellent reputation and at various times over several generations was a very credible alternative to a Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Patrol and Isuzu Trooper. Not to be confused with the Montero Sport which I know next to nothing about except that it used a similar name but was otherwise unrelated.
Nice COAL, thank you. 11 years ago, I seriously considered buying a used first generation ML320 . I found they were surprisingly cheap, a 6 or 7 year old 320 were being advertised at 10% of their purchase price.
I thought 90% depreciation was odd, and I was put-off by the devastatingly bad owner reviews these got on line. The 320 simply received the worst reviews of any used car I was considering. Many owners were furious about the poor reliability, expensive service and depreciation. That spooked me.
In retrospect, the refreshed model likely was more reliable so I’m happy to see that some people had a positive experience here.
In my foggy memory I first saw a Mercedes M class in the second Jurassic Park movie. It was shown as a sneak peek of what would be available to all of us after InGen got some first.
I recall the movie M series furiously spinning all four wheels, in reverse, in the mud, at the end of a cable, trying to pull that hanging trailer off the cliff. Spoiler alert – it did not succeed.
A friend who got one of the first M models was sufficiently disappointed with its reliability to trade it in for a Jeep after the M’s warranty was up.
The window bars option did not have a big take rate, at least not in my neighborhood.
“The Mercedes dealer conveniently enough owned the Toyota franchise next door. They were interested in the 4Runner, but very skeptical of why we would be trading already. They pressed us repeatedly about whether it had been wrecked, and even called their body shop guys over to give it a close look.”
If it was me, I would have told them that it was none of their damn business why I wanted to trade it in. I would not have put up with repeated questions on my reasons after I told them. I would have walked out. I am very sure they (and lots of other Toyota Dealers) lost out on more then one 4Runner sales because the customer had 3 kids and it was to dang narrow for mandated car seats.
As for the 2 plugs per cylinder, This was most likely for emissions purposes. Two plugs will more cleanly burn the fuel in the cylinder then one in a non hemispherical cylinder head set up.
Ford, Nissan and a few other companies did this same thing in the 1980’s-1990’s.
Have you asked your wife why she did not want a mini van? i have never figured out the stigma of mini vans.
I can’t wait to read the next installment
Man people in first world countries are under a lot of pressure.Down here a family with 5 kids drive a corolla and they are greatfull.overthere you got to change your wheels every time you have new child.seperate vehicles for camping.that ford excursion here you can put 20 people in it and use it to make money as private taxi.
LOL
Yeah mate, 1st world problems suck.
In some 3rd world places, there are no regulations regarding having the kids restrained in a car. Or if there are, they are not enforced. That’s how you can get away with “a family with 5 kids drive a corolla” 😉
I can’t agree more my friend. I saw a compact car last week with 8 adults in the car.4 on back seat,2 on front passenger seat and one person on left side of driver.people are also thinner than first world countries.law enforcement is non existent in many cases and they are very corrupted.
These were all over the Bay Area at the time and extremely popular. I rarely see them in Colorado nowadays (the first generation I mean), I looked at them and considered them a few times myself but thought that the Americans and Japanese built a better SUV (if not with the same interior style, fit, and finish). Still, it helped MB establish their Alabama factory and certainly added a lot of coin to their coffers. Built to a price they usually served their first owners well (who at least were insulated by a good warranty) but as they trickled down to their next few owners the usual fate befell them, i.e. cheap to buy, but not cheap to maintain/repair.
I had totally forgotten that a third row was available in these, it has to be a fairly rare option. Like the X5’s (and current 4Runner’s) it’s fairly useless and mainly takes up space. The forthcoming Mercedes GL solved that issue for MB with the longer body and real(er) third row. But I happily concede that a Minivan is still better suited for that role in most daily use cases.
The original, pre-facelift M-Class had terrible fit-and-finish. It wasn’t until the facelift that it got a lot better.
Sorry, I was unclear, I meant in relation to something like a TrailBlazer, Explorer, or even some of the Japanese. Material quality was a step up (as it should be at the price) and while perhaps not up to the assembly quality of many other MB’s, was certainly better than some of the other brands.
I think even the face lifted version of this model was also abysmal in fit and finish- in comparison yo prior Mercedes models.
Agreed. It wasn’t up to Mercedes-Benz standards and couldn’t hold a candle to its unibody-based competition (especially the RX, MDX and XC90), but it was better than any of the Detroit BOF SUVs.
I think the second-gen (2006-2012) W164 M-Class kicked it up a notch—and was also the first Mercedes-Benz model to use the monostatic / electronic column-mounted shifter—but I still think the E70 (2007-2013) X5 was superior in fit-and-finish, although the Mercedes-Benz probably had more robust mechanicals. Now both in their third generations, the W166 M-Class / GLE-Class and the F15 X5 are on-par in that regard. Until recently, you could get a two-speed transfer case with low-range gearing in the M-Class, whereas the X5 never had it in any guise. But if the X5 is like the Cayenne and Touareg, its eight-speed may have a low enough first gear for crawling.
I’ve had several ML320’s(2000, 2003), and although there is much to be said for them, all of the reliability horror stories are true. They seem to be fairly decent for the first owners but just self- destruct in a number of unexpected ways for all subsequent owners. The electronics are the worst and there is plenty to go wrong. I still find them appealing but these MLs are what made me go back to Japanese vehicles.
Regarding the dino oil vs synthetic with an oil monitor: The oil monitor is not able to test the oil to see what it is, it assumes that the proper oil is in the crankcase. So if you used dino oil you would have to change it more often, perhaps every 3000 miles and even then you may end up with sludge. Oil coats the cylinder walls and during the combustion phase some of that oil will burn. Dino oil burns leaving behind a certain amount of ash. Synthetic oil also burns, but leaves behind much less ash, which is also far less dirty, so the oil’s additives last far longer. GM’s dexos1 oil is a blend, which means that the worst of dino oil is there, so the oil change interval is far less than it would be for pure synthetic.
I could never understand the mini van hate. I am a hands on car and bike guy, preferred big luxury or sporting cars or Harleys but was never ashamed to drive my minivans. With three kids I loved their utility. My Wife had no problem with driving one either. My SIL had the hate. They can’t be used for towing but for hauling kids and cargo are just the best.
I agree…..we recently bought a 2004 Chrysler handicapped van for transporting an elderly relative who became wheelchair bound. We used it about every other weekend for two years until she passed away. My wife realized the minivans weren’t so bad after all, and of course they have progressed leaps and bounds since that one was built. I’d drive one now for myself except they are so dang expensive! Lots of other cars I’d have to consider before buying a loaded up new one….
Ive never had a play in one of these but I’m reliably informed they handle quite well for a Benz, my sister got invited to a Mercedes display sales/drive day at Manfield raceway in Fielding when these ML cars were first released here, apparently they can be flung around quite safely under controlled conditions on a race track sis was quite impressed but bought a Vectra anyway just as fast (155mph limiter) but sleeker and only 50k instead of the 150k or so Benz demanded.
I have a 2003 ML350 and still in use daily. I got it as a gift in 2006 from my sister in LA. For years it serves us well not without problems. Its latest problem is AC stops working few weeks ago, i have not decided whether to fix or not. This vehicle ages well, it still feels very solid after 14 years. Mine is now close 135k miles, neighbor has a 2000 ML and still uses it daily, his milage is over 200k. This product cames out the dark age of Mercedes, but with proper care, it is acceptable to own for long term. It is our first and only Mercedes, the wife likes its false sense of security, she believes its brakes, special equipped with Mercedes pads and rotors, are much better than Japanese products. Its offroad capabilities are amazing, I saw a same generation of ML got down a deep ditch in farm, the vehicle came out with easy grace. The close comparison to this ML is Lexus GS470,. Like ML, it has low speed transfer case for offroad, it does not have automatic all wheel drive and had solid axel rear suspensions, but for routine driving, both are the same altought Lexus with V8 feels much stronger. Its interior is quite luxury compared with ML, and has more wood trims. Sister had one since yr2008 until its alternator died with mieage only 77k and followed right after with check engine light due to catalystic converter failure. She reset the codes and sold to Car Max for $17k.
Bought one for my wife in 1999 which I believe was the second year in production. Fit and finish were ok albeit not up to “real” Mercedes standards. It drove and rode extremely well as one would expect of a vehicle with such a pedigree. The problems that developed over time, however, completely ruined the ownership experience for us. Initially, problems began with the intermittent illumination of warning lights for various electronic systems which defied attempts at diagnosis by the dealer. Fuel pump failed around 40K which then was post warranty. Around 50K miles, the crankshaft pulley sheared off the crankshaft damaging the oil pan and radiator. Repairs ran somewhere in the $3K range. Overall, in terms of catastrophic failures and persistent minor issues, this was the worst vehicle I have ever owned. They remained problematic for years according to Consumer Reports.
I’ve been searching for MONTHS looking for a US-built M-class but they’re few and far between here in the NW… I still want one as they’re the first Mercedes built in the States since the 1920’s. It’d be a hoot to have one with my 1969 Plymouth Sport Fury convertible. and I’d go for one in either Silver or Red!
From a couple of friends’ experiences, I’d say 2002 was still in Mercedes “dark era” for quality so it’s good that yours defied the expectations. I was never in love with the styling but it successfully predicted the direction CUV’s would take, along with the 1st-gen Lexus RX and Acura MDX.