Test drive Mercedes Benz ML class w163 2001-2005 SUV

For strong spirit

Mercedes -Benz M -class did not evoke warm feelings in us: simple design, mediocre off -road characteristics, unstable suspension ... However, the test of its charged version - ML 55 AMG - did not leave the former antipathy and trace.
 
Thanks to a completely different way than on ordinary emki, the front bumper and the extensors of the wheel arches, the car looks more aggressive. Plus, other hoods, a head optics, a radiator and wheel (285/50R18 - not wheels, but rollers!) Are installed here. Redeated and the rear of the car.
 
In the cabin of visible differences - only white devices and a huge liquid crystalline monitor at the central console, which allows you to watch television programs, as well as control the operation of the radio, the CD player and navigation system, which, incidentally, regularly calculated our location regarding Germany throughout the test.
 
The skin covered with skin is decorated with wooden inserts. Live by soft matte skin and door panels and armrests. The spare wheel is not under the bottom of the car, but in the luggage compartment. Although it is orthopedic, there are a lot of places - 123 liters.
 
There are much more hidden differences from the base model. First of all, the motor. Using the technology developed in motorsport, AMG engineers dispersed the five-liter engine from the S-class to 5.5 liters. In addition, a crank group was modernized and a new, reinforced camshaft is applied. As a result, the capacity increased to 347 hp, and the maximum torque amounted to 510 nm at 2800-4500 min-1.
 
They did not ignore the suspension. A special AMG set includes stiffer springs and shock absorbers. Thickened front and rear reptile stability stability stability are called upon to fight the rolls. The levers are now attached to the body through reinforced silent blocks, which should reduce the screening of the car on the road.
 
The case is small - to find out how all these changes are manifested on the go.
 
The motor of the car is truly fiery! You slightly deceit the gas pedal, and the tachometer arrow in the blink of an eye is at the red zone - amazing responsiveness. Moreover, it does not matter whether the engine is connected with the transmission or not - in both cases it is extremely easily untwisted.
 
This, with permission to say, the jeep can move at a speed of 235 km/h. Not many cars show such abuse! Acceleration to hundreds of ML 55 AMG takes 6.8 seconds. But his appetite is appropriate: in the city - 20 liters per 100 km. During the test, instant fuel consumption during dynamic driving reached 45 liters.
 
An automatic five -speed gearbox behaves very well. (By the way, the same is installed on the AMGEN ESHKU, only without Power and Economy modes.) It practically does not need time for thought, and the transmission is switched very smoothly. When you want to intervene in the operation of the machine, it will be easy to do it: it is enough to give yourself or from yourself its selector.
 
It is only necessary to take into account that if you blink the moment of switching for the next gear, the machine will not do this, and you, resting in the maximum speed of the engine, feel the whole body how the limiter triggers. We had that. Not fastened, a passenger sitting in the middle of the rear sofa literally buried his forehead into the middle armrest of the front seats. In general, when moving to manual mode, you need to be very attentive to engine turnover.
 
Constant control over the turnover will also be required on off -road. If you have to use a lowering gear, in no case do not exceed 1,500 min-1. What is the matter, it is incomprehensible, however, in the instructions for the operation of this it is written in hefty red letters. Although, what to do such a car on off -road is incomprehensible. The element ML 55 AMG is an asphalt highway, not a tractor track along the pigsty. Of course, if necessary, you can drive there, but carefully - Emki never differed in cross.
 
And what's on the highway? Strange, but the changed suspension practically did not improve the stability of the car. As before, it is scary to squeeze it more than 180 km/h on it. Perhaps if our roads are more fatal, we would have risked, but, alas, we had to be content with what was. After 170, the car begins to swing both longitudinally and transversely. Given the rather high landing, the sensation is not pleasant. However, we will pay tribute, while the car goes clearly along the intended path. Secret - parametric steering: with an increase in speed, the force on the steering wheel increases, and a clear zero appears.
 
Informative brakes (front - disk, ventilated; rear - ventilated) very effectively slow down the car, the total mass of which is more than 2.5 tons. It’s not scary to hang with them on the tail.
 
In general, the ML 55 from AMG is more interesting than their less eminent counterparts. However, he failed to avoid some sores. First of all, this applies to high speed stability. But if you want to get completely non -standard sensations from driving - on an SUV, as in a sports car - you should get acquainted with such Emka. It is a pity, not everyone can afford such a luxury - the car costs $ 84 thousand, and this, consider, the price of an elite apartment in the center of the metropolis, with an underground garage and concierge. We'll have to get together with the spirit ...
 
Mercedes-Benz ml 55 AMG
 
The body is 5 -door, all -metal. o equipment. Mass, kg - 2230 o Full mass, kg - 2750 O dimensions (length/width/height), mm - 4587/1833/1820 O base, mm - 2820 O max. speed, km/h - 235 o acceleration time to 100 km/h, C - 6.8 o Control consumption of fuel, l/100 km: mixed CMKL - 14.4 O engine - V8; working volume, cm3 - 5439; Twisting, NM at MIN -1 - 255/5500; Power system - injection O transmission - 5 -speed, automatic O size of tires - 285/50R18 O Wheel suspension - Independent O brakes: front - disk, ventilated; Rear - disk ohille control - with an amplifier price, $ - 84000.
 
Text: Oleg Kalaushin
 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel