1. Autos

2006 Mercedes-Benz M-Class Test Drive

From Colin Hefferon

5 of 5

Journey's End, a Final Look at the Mercedes-Benz M-Class
2006 Mercedes-Benz M-Class

2006 Mercedes-Benz M-Class

photo by Colin Hefferon
A next generation 3.2L commonrail diesel is coming in 2006. It produces 201hp and 369lb-ft of torque. Acceleration from 0 - 60mph is 9.4 seconds. Real life fuel economy should be 40 - 50% better than the V-6 gas. This engine recently set world speed and endurance records for production diesel engines - 100,000 miles at an average speed of over 134 mph. Once you've gone diesel you'll never go back to gasoline. The torque and mid-range performance will completely win you over.

Mercedes-Benz is justifiably proud of its new baby and of the wonders the engineers have wrought. While they seem to have hit the size, performance, luxury features and price points bang on, the M-Class is still not perfect. A vehicle this capable needs headlight washers. Muddy puddles left the headlights completely obscured. It should also have HID headlights as standard equipment even on the base model. Avoid the beige color dash at all costs. It creates a reflection in the windshield, which is off-putting at best and potentially dangerous.

Apart from those not-so-small cavils, I can't think of a single thing I didn't like about this new model. It's exceedingly capable in all road conditions and it's got tremendous presence.

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