Styling

Like the ML350, the silver ML550 I tested had a big, bold grille with a large three-pointed star in it. This predominant feature lets everyone on the road know some money was spent on this SUV. I'm not sure if that was the intended effect, but if you want status, the M-Class has it displayed right out front.

The emblem doesn't detract from the overall styling, though; everything about this SUV is big and bold. Unlike the middle-of-the-road previous generation, the current M-Class can stand out on the road. Small details like carved taillights and numerous creases along the body show that Mercedes spent some time on the design. Silver is, of course, the most boring of car colors, but matched with the large exhaust outlets, the metal-topped sideboards and that grille, it looked great. During the 10 days I had this car, I passed a number of models in black, white and dark red that were all equally striking.

Inside, the cabin is dark and elegant — dark because the black leather in our test car covered every inch of interior space. There's little room left for the dark wood accents, which I thought were too subtle in this color scheme. Gray and tan leather are also available, as is aluminum trim.

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    Important safety notes
    WARNING For safety reasons, switch off the windshield wipers and remove the key from the ignition lock before changing the wiper blades (vehicles with KEYLESS-GO: make sure that the on-boar ...

    Fastening seat belts
    WARNING According to accident statistics, children are safer when properly restrained on the rear seats than on the front-passenger seat. Thus, we strongly recommend that children be placed ...

    Setting the interior/exterior lighting delayed switch-off time
    Interior lighting: you can set whether and for how long you wish the interior lighting to remain on in the dark after you have removed the SmartKey from the ignition lock. Exterior light: you c ...