SUV Wins Over Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports, which hasn’t had much nice to say about sport-utility vehicles in the past, positively raves about one in its just-released September issue.

The “highest-rated SUV we’ve ever tested,” the magazine says of Mercedes-Benz’s ML320, also called the M-Class (a 4.3-liter V-8 option changes the designation to ML430, so Mercedes started using “M-Class” to encompass both versions).

CR loved the ride and handling, roomy seating for five and plenitude of cargo space. It dinged Mercedes for letting the M-Class loose with subpar fit and finish (a rattle in the tailgate was the big culprit).

But the Benz got its biggest hand for stuff it doesn’t have: a traditional SUV’s rigid frame and high front bumper.

We quote from a Consumer Reports release about its tests: “The ML320’s clever design places it at the fore of a welcome movement toward safer sport-utility vehicles--SUVs that interact more mercifully in collisions with smaller cars.” It does that by absorbing more of the impact and doing less damage to the smaller vehicles and their occupants.

The problem of SUVs damaging smaller cars in accidents, of course, has been a hot topic of late, and most SUV makers are in the position of defending their vehicles using such arguments as “they are safe to their own occupants” and “why don’t the other guys just buy a bigger car if they’re worried?”

Both Mercedes and Toyota’s Lexus division, which builds the RX300 SUV, have lowered the bumpers and engineered the front crumple zones so their sport-utes don’t act as battering rams in head-on collisions.

The ML320 and RX300 each received “excellent” ratings from Consumer Reports in its review of nine mid-size SUVs. Ford’s V-6-powered Explorer XLT placed third with a rating that was on the line between the high end of the “very good” range and the bottom of the “excellent” range.

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M-Class at a Glance

Style: Four-door sport-utility wagon

Drive: Permanent four-wheel drive

Engines: ML320 has a 3.2-liter V-6 (215 horsepower);

ML430 has a 4.3-liter V-8 (268 horsepower).

Transmission: Five-speed automatic

Brakes: Speed-wheel disc, anti-lock system is standard.

Seating: Five

Cargo Area: 45.5 cubic feet maximum (60 inches by 39.5 inches by 33 inches high)

Base Price: $33,950

Price You’ll Probably Have to Pay Because of Nearly Mandatory “Options”:

$39,000 for V-6

$45,000 for V-8