2009 is a refresh year for the Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV. It starts with a modest restyling of the exterior and interior of all the M-Class models, and moves closer to a fresh-air world with the new ML320 BlueTec diesel.The outdated cliché about diesels is they are noisy, dirty and slow. Back in 2007, the Mercedes-Benz E320 BlueTec sedan felled those notions quite well, and now the 2009 ML320 BlueTec busts the dirty-diesel myth even further. With the latest BlueTec SUV models – the M-Class BlueTec is joined by the 2009 R320 BlueTec and GL320 BlueTec – Mercedes has created a class of diesel SUVs that run as clean as or even cleaner than their gasoline-burning counterparts in the car, truck and SUV world.ML320’s engine is a turbocharged, double-overhead cam, four-valves-per-cylinder 3.0-liter V-6. It peaks at about 215 horsepower but makes nearly 400 pound-feet of torque from 1,600 to 2,400 rpm. This helps give the ML320 CDI a towing capacity of up to almost 8,000 pounds.
The engine is coupled to a seven-speed automatic transmission. The 4Matic all-wheel-drive system splits power between the front and rear axles. For those few who take the five-seat ML320 further off the highway than an unpaved soccer-field parking lot, Mercedes-Benz has simplified the off-road programming. A push of a single button recalibrates all systems—traction control, anti-lock brakes and more—for off-highway driving. Like all MLs, the 320 employs an electronic traction system that uses individual brakes as a substitute for conventional limited slip and locking differentials.
