As the entry level trim of the Mercedes ML- Class – composed of its bigger brothers the ML500 and ever sought after AMG M55 – the 2006 Mercedes ML320 holds up quite alright on its own. Powered by a 215 horsepower V6 engine, the 2006 Mercedes GL320 possesses enough horsepower to get out of its own way, and then some. While the 2006 Mercedes ML320 was not the first to enter the luxury SUV market, it has definitely stood out once there. So how far has the 2006 Mercedes ML320 fared since its inception?
For starters, the ML350 is six inches longer than its predecessor, gaining 73 extra cubic feet of storage. This time around Benz built the ML350 on a uni body chassis that was built, designed, and tested to be lighter and stiffer, while being every bit as resilient as the traditional steel uni body they had used. Powering this new svelte body down the road is a3.5 liter V6 making 268 horsepower at the wheels. If that is not enough, you can always enjoy the ML500 and its 5.0 liter based V8 which puts down an impressive 302 ponies, and is backed by a seven speed automatic transmission that sends power to all 4 wheels via Mercedes 4Matic suspension setup.
On the inside, things are much unchanged for 2006 in the ML350. It has a light, open feeling lost in the older ‘stuck in a closet’ feeling you could get when closing the previous generations doors. Material selection and use provides a drastically noticeably increase in the overall ‘feel’ of the cabin, with leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob cover, accents trimmed in leather and dark cherry walnut, and subtle use of brushed aluminum abound. Standard fare on the 2006 Mercedes GL350 is rather light, with leather, traction control, stability control, four wheel anti lock disc brakes, and side impact airbags accompanied by dual head length air curtains. Benz posted a perfect – 5 Star – out of their crash testing, which is impressive in any vehicle, especially a top heavy SUV.
2006 Mercedes ML350
While we have stayed largely away form the options list for this review of the ML350, it is important to note that current used value on a 2006 Mercedes Benz SUV is MSRP 19k used and its bigger brother only being 2k more, we suspect that most buyers will be willing to give up the 2 highway and 1 city mpg the Mercedes GL350 holds over the GL550 in eschange for more power and better options lists.
