Ride & Handling

One of the best aspects of the R350 Bluetec is its comfortable ride. It can feel floaty on undulating roads and exhibits noticeable body roll when cornering, but the suspension tuning's emphasis on comfort is the right choice for a people-mover like this.

On the highway, the R350 settles down nicely. It feels planted and would be an easy-driving steed on a family road trip.

Classic Mercedes steering tuning yields limited feedback, which isn't out of the ordinary for a luxury-oriented family-hauler. The wheel itself spins smoothly, and the moderate amount of effort required to turn it feels appropriate.

    See also:

    Parking the vehicle for a long period
    If you leave the vehicle parked for longer than four weeks, the battery may be damaged by exhaustive discharge. •► Connect a trickle charger. You can obtain information about trickle cha ...

    Deactivating/activating PARKTRONIC
    Deactivating/activating PARKTRONIC 1 Indicator lamp 2 To deactivate/activate PARKTRONIC If indicator lamp 1 lights up, PARKTRONIC is deactivated. Parking Guidance is also deactivated. PARKT ...

    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' ...