Mercedes Benz M-Class

The 2011 Mercedes-Benz M-Class is pricey for its class. Still, if you’re willing to pay for it, reviewers say the M-Class offers a satisfying combination of luxury, technology and prestige.

The 2011 Mercedes-Benz M-Class doesn’t rock the boat. I call it “luxurious, refined, and comfortable.” Of course, reviewers point out that the same description applies to almost every other luxury midsize suv. So why go for the M-Class?

You certainly wouldn’t go for the M-Class because of its price. The base ML 350’s price falls in the middle of the class. And, for the money, you don’t even get things that many reviewers think should be standard on a luxury SUV, like leather seats. You also don’t get great fuel economy ratings. The ML 350 has a V6 engine with adequate power, but fuel economy ratings that are nothing to write home about. All-wheel drive isn’t even standard on the base model.

No, you go for the M-Class for the same reason you go for any other Mercedes: cachet. The M-Class offers many of the same features as others in the class, but adds the Mercedes name and refinement. Though those qualities are largely intangible, reviewers say the M-Class has them in spades.

The M-Class also offers buyers a dizzying array of models to choose from. There’s the base ML 350, diesel 350 BlueTEC, ML 450 Hybrid and ML 550, which has a powerful V8 engine. The M-Class doesn’t aim to be the most practical SUV in the class, but it does take a shot at being the most exclusive. If you’re willing to put status before budget, reviewers say the 2011 Mercedes-Benz M-Class won’t disappoint.

Other Luxury SUVs to Consider

If keeping up with the Kardashians isn’t your first priority, other luxury SUVS will save you money and offer more features than the M-Class does. The Lexus RX Hybrid for example, has an interior that reviewers say is refined and comfortable. It also has standards like leather seating and an iPod interface. Its starting price is lower than the ML 350’s, and it has better fuel economy ratings.

If you really need a German brand, reviewers say that the Porche Cayene, Audi Q7 and BMW X5 are all better performers than most of the M-Class models. They also all start at about the same price. And, if you like the M-Class for its diesel and hybrid options, you can get a diesel Q7, X5 and a hybrid Cayenne.

Details: Mercedes-Benz M-Class

The 2011 Mercedes-Benz M-Class is pretty much the same from 2010. There a few new handy features: Mercedes has upgraded the telematics system so owners can unlock their M-Class SUVs using an iPhone or BlackBerry. You can also use those phones to find the M-Class in a crowded parking lot.

The Mercedes-Benz M-Class is available in several trims: the V6-powered ML350, diesel-powered ML350 BlueTEC, ML450 hybrid, and V8-powered ML550. All trims come standard with Mercedes’ 4MATIC all-wheel drive system except the base ML350. The performance-oriented ML63 is reviewed separately.

• "Aside from around-town ride comfort that could be better, M-Class is highly refined, rock solid, and engaging-to-drive. The diesel ML320 BlueTEC promises smooth, quiet operation with excellent-for-the-class fuel economy. Despite stiff base and option prices, the M-Class is a solid overall pick.
• "While mileage may not matter to shoppers in this price bracket -- we guess the ML450 Hybrid will be in the high-$50,000 to low-$60,000 range -- the green halo may be worth the investment, especially if it can perform as well as other M-Class models.
• "First introduced as a 1998 model, the ML has morphed from a body-on-frame, truck-like SUV to a softer and plusher unit-body vehicle that is more competitive with machines like the Lexus RX.
• "Highly improved and now with a decent record for reliability, the M-Class continues as one of the premium class acts in the SUV world.

M-Class Performance - 7.9 (Good)

While the 2011 Mercedes-Benz M-Class isn’t sporty, reviewers say it’s still satisfying to drive. Power is adequate from the base engine and oozes from the V8. While handling isn’t sharp, the ride is smooth and comfortable.

M-Class Exterior - 8.2 (Very Good)

The Mercedes-Benz M-Class has conservative, upscale styling. While most reviewers don’t mention it.

M-Class Interior - 8.1 (Very Good)

While you’d expect a Mercedes to have a luxurious interior, to get one on the M-Class, you’re going to have to pay for it. Leather seating isn’t standard and other less-expensive SUVs have more standard features. Still, reviewers say that when it’s well-equipped, the M-Class has a nice interior, even though they do complain about the cramped rear seat.

M-Class Safety - 10.0 (Excellent)

While the 2011 M-Class hasn’t been crash tested by the government yet, it’s very similar to the 2010 model, which did very well in federal government crash tests. The M-Class also features a long list of standard safety equipment, including the Pre-Safe system, which helps prepare the vehicle and passengers if it senses an impending crash.

M-Class Reliability - 8.0 (Very Good)

The 2011 Mercedes Benz M-Class reliability score shown is the Predicted Reliability rating provided by J.D. Power and Associates. This score is based on trending the past three years of historical initial quality and dependability data from J.D. Power's automotive studies, specifically the Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) and the Initial Quality Study (IQS). The 2011 Mercedes Benz M-Class comes with the Mercedes limited warranty, which runs for 48 months or 50,000 miles.

Acceleration and Power

The ML350 features a 3.5-liter 268-horsepower V6, while the ML550 comes with a 5.5-liter 382-horsepower V8. The ML350 BlueTEC features a 3.0-liter 210-horsepower V6 turbodiesel engine. The new ML450 hybrid comes with a 3.5-liter V6 supplemented by a pair of electric motors. Altogether, its powertrain is rated for a maximum of 335 horsepower. All models come with a seven-speed automatic transmission.

Most reviewers agree that the ML350’s base engine is adequate enough. It can be sluggish on hills, but test drivers don’t recommend opting for the more powerful V8 model unless you plan on towing. They say the hybrid and diesel models also have good power.

Fuel Economy

Fuel economy is a mixed bag for the M-Class. The base model’s ratings are about average for the class. According to the EPA, the ML350 achieves 16/20 mpg city/highway with two-wheel drive and 15/20 with all-wheel drive. The V8-powered ML550, however, is rated at 13/18 mpg, which is quite low for the class.

Opting for the diesel and hybrid models increases fuel economy substantially. The diesel-powered ML350 BlueTEC is rated at 18/25 mpg. The ML450 hybrid gets 20/24. These ratings are among the best in their class, but you can still do better and pay less.

The Lexus RX Hybrid costs more than $12,000 less than the ML450 Hybrid, and it’s rated at 32/28 mpg city/highway. It has less horsepower than the M-Class (295 versus Mercedes’ 335), and the engine can sometimes be sluggish -- but the savings in fuel and money might be worth it.

If you don’t want a hybrid, you can still save money and fuel by considering the Lincoln MKx. It starts more than $7,000 less than the base M-Class and has a higher base fuel economy rating of 19/26 (which incidentally matches the M-Class diesel model’s rating).

Handling and Braking

The Mercedes-Benz M-Class has a smooth, solid feel but its power rack-and-pinion steering receives mixed reviews. A few test drivers find it too numb. Standard on all models except the base ML350 is a 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive system. It costs $2,500 extra on the base model.

Honda Voluntarily Recalls 1.5 Million U.S. Vehicles

Honda is voluntarily recalling about 1.5 million U.S. vehicles to update software that controls the automatic transmission. If you own a 2005 to 2008 Honda Element, 2007 to 2010 Honda CRVor four-cylinder Honda Accordfrom the 2005 to 2010 model year, you may be included in this recall. Honda says in a statement only certain vehicles are affected.

Apparently, the affected vehicles may suffer from a transmission malfunction in certain situations. Cars.com’s Kicking Tires reports, “If the transmission is quickly shifted between Reverse, Neutral and Drive — such as when the driver is trying to dislodge a vehicle stuck in mud or snow — the engine could stall, or it could be difficult to engage the parking gear.”

Honda received “113 claims, including 45 for engine stalls and 11 claims for vehicles moving shifting out of park,” reports The Detroit News.

The automaker says that no injuries have been reported due to transmission software problem. Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by Honda starting at the end of August, and dealers will update the software for free. Honda says owners can also visit www.recalls.honda.com or call 1-800-999-1009 and select option 4 to find out if their vehicle is included in the recall.

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG

Let’s get one thing straight: If you are reading this to figure out if you should purchase this $130,000 automobile, the answer is yes. Everyone should have one, if not two, 500-plus-hp interstate burners parked in the garage.

Base CLS63 AMGs come with a direct-injected, twin-turbo, 5.5-liter V-8 producing an ample 518 hp and 516 lb-ft—more than enough for the average Joe. We, and you, are not average. For people like us—well, people like us but with real money instead of imaginary fortunes—Mercedes offers the AMG Performance package. The $7300 option pack costs about as much as the high-mileage, mid-’90s S-classes that are more within our reach. Unlike those cars, however, the AMG group includes red brake calipers, a sport suspension, a lip spoiler and engine trim fashioned from carbon fiber, and most important, a power bump to 550 hp and 590 lb-ft. The governor gets upped from 155 mph to 186, too. If you can afford the CLS63’s $95,775 starting bid, go for the Performance pack over the old S-class.

Managing all that power is the AMG Speedshift MCT seven-speed transmission, also employed by the C63, E63, SL63, CL63, and S63. It’s similar to the seven-speed auto found in non-AMG Benzes, with the wet-clutch pack—instead of a torque converter—that couples the engine and transmission being the main difference. Driving around town, the MCT delivers smooth starts and seamless shifts like a torque converter. Twist the transmission-mode dial from auto to sport or sport plus, and the MCT snaps off shifts with nearly dual-clutch speed and accompanies downshifts with a blip of the throttle and emphatic exhaust bark.

Paddle Harder

In any of these modes, there’s almost no reason to use the CLS’s paddle shifters. Sport plus will hold gears until the last possible moment, but the trans will still upshift and downshift automatically to keep the revs in the fat part of the power band. For complete gear control, turn the knob one more detent to manual mode. In this setting, the engine holds gears unless the driver signals a change, bouncing off the 6400-rpm redline until the gas tank runs dry.

The fifth, and arguably the most important, mode is race start, labeled “RS” on the dial. This is launch control, and it unlocks maximum accelerative capability. Unleashing maximum thrust requires six steps: Set the stability control to sport mode, left foot on the brake, turn the trans dial clockwise to RS, confirm that you want RS with a tug of the upshift paddle, mash the accelerator with your right foot, release your left foot. Like the Corvette ZR1, the CLS63 AMG uses the wheel-speed sensors to determine how much traction the tires have and dials back the engine’s power to match available grip. It works quite well and has the advantage of being suited to any surface versus the dedicated-rpm engagements that many manufacturers use for launch control. Despite the lines of fancy code, however, we managed to beat it.

Pedal Smarter

With stability control turned all the way off and using our right foot to manage wheelspin, the CLS63 ripped to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, 100 in 8.5, and 150 in 19.5. Add 0.1 second to those times if launch control is used. The quarter-mile is 12.0 seconds away, at which point you’ll be going 121 mph. The 4275-pound, four-door CLS63 will dust a Corvette Grand Sport and hang close to a Z06. Pedestrians seeing a CLS63 picking up groceries would never know. They’ll notice the car, though; the styling ensures that. Because the engine is turbocharged, a lot of that V-8 howl is subdued—but not always. It’s quiet when you want serenity, a screamer when you’re feeling a little freaky. Stomp on the gas, and an orchestra composed of 32 valves and eight cylinders sings forth from the quad-tip dual exhaust.

One more straight-line feat while we’re at it: It takes less than one mile for this car to reach 170 mph. Although we didn’t attempt an ABS stop from this speed, a car equipped like ours can scrub felonious speeds down to mere misdemeanors with ease, thanks to the optional carbon-ceramic brakes. These pizza-pie rotors (15.8 inches in front, 14.2 in the rear) completely fill the 19-inch forged wheels. The giant calipers (six pistons up front, four out back) that come with the carbon brake package aren’t red—they’re painted gold. It’s a constant reminder that their $12,625 price might be roughly equivalent to their weight—roughly 40 percent less than the stock stoppers—in precious metal. These brakes, in combination with Continental ContiSportContact 5P rubber, brought the beast to a halt from 70 mph in a sports-car-like 159 feet and never exhibited even a hint of fade. Ceramic brakes can be grabby, but these are smooth and feel reassuringly firm underfoot. They ought to. For the cost of the wheels and brakes, you could get an ’86 560SL convertible. We’ll take the shoes and stoppers.

Despite the CLS’s stop/start system, which shuts the engine down when the car is stopped, we only averaged 16 mpg. That ties the EPA’s city-cycle score and falls 9 mpg short of the highway rating. The stop/start process can be a little slow, with some hesitation on initial step-in, especially if you try to make haste, say, when turning left across three lanes of traffic. Thankfully, tapping the eco button on the dash disables the system.

We happened to rent a racetrack while the CLS was with us and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to lap Mercedes-Benz’s so-called “four-door coupe” alongside a bunch of pure-bred sports cars. The CLS is not a track monster. It pushed more than it had when it was on the skidpad—where it posted a 0.91-g score—and generally felt too heavy. In spite of its determined understeer, this AMG’s steering is natural in hand, although a little heavy at times. The car tracks straight with an on-center sense we wish every car possessed.

Optional Give and Take

Inside, among the greatest improvements over the last-gen CLS are the enlarged rear quarters. The back seat is not as compromised now, both in space and entry and exit, although as in that last CLS, it has only two seatbelts. Avoiding optional interior décor usually is an easy way to keep costs in check, but the CLS63’s $2850 carbon-fiber package qualifies as a must-have. Besides the usual door and console trim, the pricey bundle includes a multicurve instrument surround that is one of the more artistic shapes we’ve seen crafted from the woven fibers. An ’89 190E costs about the same as this option and could easily be converted to a taxi, but the carbon bits look better.

Aside from those options mentioned above, the car tested here came with another $9810 in add-ons. Night vision, adaptive cruise control, a rearview camera, rear side airbags—the list goes on. To keep that $9810 in our hypothetical pockets, we might buy a 100,000-mile S420, in case we need room for a fifth person at some point. Otherwise, the CLS63 AMG is all the Benz we need.

SPECIFICATIONS:

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED: $129,360 (base price: $95,775)

ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 333 cu in, 5461 cc
Power (SAE net): 550 hp @ 5750 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 590 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 113.2 in Length: 196.7 in
Width: 74.1 in Height: 55.4 in
Curb weight: 4275 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.8 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 8.5 sec
Zero to 150 mph: 19.5 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 4.4 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.4 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 2.8 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.0 sec @ 121 mph
Top speed (governor limited, mfr’s claim): 186 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 159 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.91 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 16/25 mpg
C/D observed: 16 mpg

Acura MDX

The 2011 Acura MDX ranks 1 out of 17 Luxury Midsize SUVs. This ranking is based on our analysis of 83 published reviews and test drives of the Acura MDX, and our analysis of reliability and safety data.

The Acura MDX performs admirably for a seven-seat SUV and includes a luxurious and high-tech interior. In addition to this performance, the MDX is still a family vehicle - the back seat has room for three car seats, including LATCH connectors.

The Acura MDX should appeal to a wide range of people. It has a powerful engine and nimble performance, making it a good SUV for driving enthusiasts who need extra passenger and cargo space. Its luxurious interior is stuffed with cutting-edge features that will have no problem keeping technophiles happy. And, with its seating for seven and space for three car seats, the MDX makes a strong case for itself as a family vehicle. Consumer Guide says the MDX “has contemporary styling and thoughtful features. MDX has a highly desirable blend of luxury, performance, and convenience.” Most car reviewers wholeheartedly second that take.

On the road, the Acura MDX shines with its powerful V6 engine. While its fuel economy isn’t the best in the class, the power is so good that you may think it’s worth the tradeoff. Handling is also good, even in tight spaces like parking lots. Acrua’s Super-Handling All-Wheel drive system is standard, and the MDX does well in crash tests.

Inside, reviewers like the MDX’s comfortable first and second row seats. While the MDX is full of high-tech features, a few reviewers complain that because of all the bells and whistles, the dash is cluttered and confusing. Still, no one complains about the standard leather seats. Though the Acura MDX has a standard third row seat, reviewers point out that it’s best-suited for kids – adults will find it too cramped. The MDX checks off its family car requirements by having three sets of LATCH connecters for car seats in the second row. If you have three little kids and need a little luxury in your life (and with three kids, who doesn’t?) the MDX is the car for you.

Other Luxury SUVs to Consider

The MDX is a great luxury midsize SUV, but if you don’t need a third row, you can save on price and gas mileage by looking at other options. The Lexus Rx is a perennial reviewer favorite because, like the MDX, it has an upscale, high-tech cabin. It starts at about $5,000 less than the MDX does and gets better gas mileage, but it doesn’t have all-wheel drive standard. If you absolutely need all-wheel drive, you can get it on the RX. Just know that all-wheel drive RXs only undercut the MDX by about $3,000.

If you need that third row, consider the Volvo XC90. It has a standard third row seat and a lower price tag than the MDX. However, the XC90 is dated compared to the MDX, and many reviewers say it’s time for the XC90 to get a refresh. The XC90 is one of the least expensive options in the class, and you’ll feel it in its lack of refinement and somewhat dated optional features.

MDX Performance - 8.7 (Very Good)

If you think SUVs aren’t any fun to drive, you haven’t driven the Acura MDX. Reviewers say that it’s light on its feet, with a powerful motor and smoothly responsive six-speed automatic transmission. Standard all-wheel drive and performance options like an adaptive suspension are icing on the cake.

MDX Exterior - 7.5 (Good)

The Acura MDX doesn’t win a lot of points for its unconventional looks. Reviewers tend to see it as the Sarah Jessica Parker of the automotive world: they either think it’s unconventionally beautiful or just plain ugly. Despite updates in 2010, Car and Driver says “the end result is just as funky as most other Acuras.

MDX Interior - 8.4 (Very Good)

Reviewers love that the 2011 Acura MDX has two rows of comfortable seats and tons of high-tech features. The downside to all that technology, however, is a dashboard that some may find tough to figure out. Consumer Guide points out that “the vast array of similarly sized and shaped controls is confusing.

MDX Safety - 10.0 (Excellent)

The 2010 Acura MDX does very well in federal government and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests. The Advance package comes with several innovative safety systems.

MDX Reliability - 8.0 (Very Good)

The 2011 Acura MDX reliability score shown is the Predicted Reliability rating provided by J.D. Power and Associates.This score is based on trending the past three years of historical initial quality and dependability data from J.D. Power's automotive studies, specifically the Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) and the Initial Quality Study (IQS). The 2011 Acura MDX comes with a four-year/50,000-mile limited warranty