Category: Sporting 4x4s 
Price Range: £30,280 to £75,823
Sport trim's aggressive new look, new kit, great engine range.
Rivals are sportier and all-round better to drive.
Not quite a sporting SUV, but a decent alternative nonetheless.
Despite reducing emissions by 8g/km, even the entry-level ML280 CDi only manages 30.1mpg and 246g/km of carbon dioxide. This lands it smack-bang in the middle of the costliest VED Band G for road tax, while those driving the ML as a company car will pay the maximum 35 per cent BIK tax obligation.
The ML320 CDi increases fuel consumption to 26.6mpg, while the diesel V8 averages 23.3mpg and 279g/km of carbon dioxide.
Following the axing of the slow-selling ML350, the most economical petrol becomes the ML500. Quite how 'economical' and '5.5-litre V8' can appear in the same sentence we're not sure, but the ML500 averages 22.1mpg and emits 304g/km of carbon dioxide.
We're reviewing the ML63 AMG separately, but if you're curious it covers 17.1 miles for every gallon of unleaded burnt while generating 304g/km of carbon dioxide.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes E-Class Coupe
wrote on 27 05 2006