...I take the new Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI BlueTec for a spin in the US.
America’s got the blues. No, it’s nothing to do with the genre of music which I think is America’s greatest contribution to the world along with jazz, but the depression that you get from rising fuel prices.
I have heard that this country, with less than five per cent of the world’s population, consumes 25 per cent of the world’s energy resources. No wonder they are feeling the pinch. Big car and truck sales are slowing down while small and hybrid cars are virtually flying out of showrooms.
In June, the Honda Civic displaced the 26-year record of the Ford F-150 as the biggest selling automobile in the States. Imagine, they consider the Civic fuel efficient. What happens when the Yankees try out the Alto or the Logan?
The situation is so grim that car ads on radio stations talk mostly about fuel efficiency, while radio jockeys give tips on fuel efficient driving. I heard this for example: “Did you know that UPS saved over three million litres of fuel last year by simply asking their drivers to avoid left turns?”
The jockey explained that the courier company’s drivers would wait a long time for the signal to turn left. Instead of that, UPS simply asked them to keep driving and go through an alternative route, thus avoid idling the engine unnecessarily and wasting fuel. I swear, I heard this with my own ears.
But you know, all this comes to nought when you see a monster F-350 effortlessly lugging a trailer with six new Hyundai Accents on board. Or the various Silverados, Titans, Tundras and Suburbans going about their duties on American roads. In this larger-than-life country, these larger-than-life machines are integral to the landscape.
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So what the hell do you do? Well, Mercedes-Benz has a solution of sorts. And it’s diesel. Well, fuel efficient diesel engines that are the cleanest oil-burners in the world too, all thanks to a technology called BlueTec.
| TRUE BLUE Mercedes-Benz claims that with BlueTec technology, their diesel engines are the cleanest in the world. So how does this miracle work? While BlueTec is used post-combustion, the 3000cc V6 had to go through some modifications to make combustion clean and efficient. |
The piston crowns were revised for better mixture formation, the compression ratio was reduced while the VNT turbocharger and the engine control unit were reconfigured. The next step was efficient exhaust gas aftertreatment. The objective in front of Mercedes-Benz was to cut down nitrogen oxide emissions, as the nature of diesel combustion means this is the only exhaust component that exceeds those of petrol engines.
So to do just that, in the E 320 BlueTec, Mercedes combined an oxidation catalytic converter and a particulate filter with an advanced, durable NOX storage-type catalytic converter plus a special Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) converter.
This whole combo essentially takes care of even the NOX emissions in the diesel engines. But for larger, heavier vehicles like the ML-, GL- and R-Class, this was not enough. So Mercedes-Benz had an innovative idea. Here, AdBlue — an aqueous urea solution — is injected into the stream of exhaust gases. This releases ammonia, which in the SCR catalytic converter reduces up to 80 per cent of the NOX to nitrogen and water, both of which are plentifully provided for by Mother Nature.
If you want to know, the AdBlue comes in an auxiliary tank and the engine control system modulates the injection of the solution. AdBlue constitutes about one to three per cent of the fuel consumed, so the storage capacity of the tank has been designed in such a way that it gets refilled every time the car is sent to the workshop for scheduled maintenance.
Mercedes-Benz has also gone one step ahead of BlueTec, a BlueTec Hybrid is being developed for the near future. Seen above is the concept, the Vision GLK, which will have this even eco-friendlier powerplant.
Actually, it has been around for almost two years in the US, when Mercedes-Benz introduced the E 320 BlueTec in October 2006. The launch was timed to coincide with the introduction of low-sulphur diesel in the US.
But this time around, Mercedes-Benz has gone on the offensive. That’s because they have the technology that not only meets America’s extra-strict standards for diesel vehicles, but are the first to be allowed to register diesel SUVs in all 50 US states. What’s more, the BlueTec Mercs now get the same tax credits as hybrids. Now that is something to boast about.
Okay, sorry for that long-winded preface, but I just had to give you all that perspective before telling you what the updated ML-Class is all about. Especially when the talking point of this SUV is that it uses BlueTec.
Now Vermont is very beautiful, but it’s another thing that I didn’t know a state called Vermont actually existed in the US — it’s one of those low profile states. But it is so green, picturesque and sensitive that you imagine that flowers and grass will wilt if a Hummer passed by.
Sitting in the driver’s seat of the facelifted ML 320 CDI BlueTec, the gorgeous landscape unwinds around me. That too, rather slowly. It’s not that because the Merc uses BlueTec, it saps power from the engine — far from it.
It’s because speed limits are pretty ridiculous in the US, and here in Vermont, a 65 mph limit on the Interstate — a whisker over 100 kph — is all that you are legally permitted to do. Such a pity actually, as the ML’s torquey diesel motor will allow it to easily attain speeds well in excess of 200 kph, while it can do the 0-96 kph dash in just 8.5 seconds.
Right now, the speeds are slow enough for me to dwell on the interiors of the car. The updated ML has got itself newly designed seats and various upgrades in lining and trim.
What has significantly changed on the inside is a new four-spoke steering wheel with paddles. It is now better to hold, while feedback was never an issue in the first place — it is well-weighted, while the degree of tightness when speeds increase is just right.
The other big change on the inside is a new Comand system, which is now more intuitive and friendly to use, and it has been fitted with some smart new features as well. I had tuned in to satellite radio and had a constant stream of classic ’80s music emerging from the fancy Harman Kardon stereo. Brilliant. Even more so because there is no indication that there is an oil-burner outside.
These common-rail motors are now so much better that Noise-Vibration-Harshness seem to be a thing of the past; they are much more refined and sophisticated, without losing out on output. The 24-valve 2987cc V6 that does duty here develops 210 bhp at 3400 revs and a staggering 54.4 kgm arriving at just 1600 rpm.
The engine of course is paired with the 7G-Tronic automatic transmission. The powertrain is really fantastic, as it gives you tremendous driving flexibility.
For instance, I am on a very pretty two-lane country road, and a slow-moving farmer’s pickup is blocking my path entirely. Because the road is narrow, the yellow line in the centre says no overtaking. Yeah, try telling that to a brown Indian (as opposed to red). I can’t wait no more, I see that the coast is clear and simply stomp on the pedal. Whoosh. I am through without any effort, no downshifting required.
But what surprised me was that the transmission didn’t feel like it downshifted anyway. It just accelerated like a locomotive or like an electric car, without pausing to collect its breath. Amazing. The same gearbox in a different application — like in the E-Class back home for instance — behaves differently.
That, plus the tremendous torque on offer means the ML 320 CDI is an immensely driveable machine.
More proof. Mercedes-Benz laid out a small offroad course for us to sample. Now this ML was a Euro-spec version, which means it had options of locking the differentials and shifting to low ratios.
Across the rather difficult conditions, I had no reason again to use the paddles or shift manually. The engine/gearbox combo did all the thinking, whether I was descending a very steep incline, negotiating a thick chocolatey sludge-like stream or threading through trees.
Finally, unlike the first generation ML, the new one is really a capable off-roader. Ground clearance issues, approach and departure angles are all sorted and form now follows function. It may have a monocoque structure, but the ML now means business both on- and off-road.
The exterior design has been through a tiny makeover as well. The ML now gets a fresh front visage with a redesigned grille, new headlamps, bigger exterior mirrors, a fresh rear bumper and updated tail lamps. The ML was always a good-looking SUV and now it looks the part of being a serious one too. Before you ask, yes, the new ML-Class will be on sale in India very soon now.
When it comes to dynamics, the ML’s ride is surprisingly not as pliant as I expected an American-spec SUV to be. I would say it’s more BMW X5-ish rather than the cosseting feeling you get in a Mercedes-Benz... you know, the star’s promise that it will separate you from the vagaries of the road. This despite the option of choosing sport, comfort and automatic settings. In fact I tried all three on a rocky stretch of road, and felt that the auto mode was best.
But for good, smooth stretches, I would keep it in comfort mode rather than sport. The monocoque construction also means the handling is now vastly better than the first generation ML, which utilised body-on-chassis construction. The ML has never been so nimble and confident on corners and was wonderfully poised on the curvy roads that Vermont had to offer.
Behind the wheel, I was so comfortable that I was half-tempted to get onto Route 66. Los Angeles, here I come. Okay, maybe not today, but someday. And with BlueTec, it’s no problem to go across the various states and no issue with fuel consumption either!
Oh, and one more thing. BlueTec will take a long time coming to India. The fuel quality and adulteration is something it cannot handle just as yet; maybe Mercedes-Benz will develop BlackTec for us in the interim. You may be surprised to know that Mercedes developed this technology for commercial vehicles first in Europe, and only then was it used in diesel passenger vehicles.
But in the US, it may be difficult to sell the concept, as I think Americans use gasoline for even their french fries. One, diesel is expensive — in this New England area, the price for petrol is around $4.14 a gallon while diesel’s at $4.86 (that translates to approximately Rs 40.50 for a litre of petrol and Rs 47.50 for the sticky fuel). Then, diesel is usually at the dirty section of fuel pumps — imagine taking your Merc there. So it has to call for a massive change in attitude by the Americans. The tax credits should help.
But the way I see it, diesel engines’ inherent strength of better torque at low rpm should convince the Americans that you need not sacrifice your lumbering monsters. Keep your F-350s and Suburbans, just run them on diesel. A little injection of AdBlue should do the trick, no?
The author was invited by Mercedes-Benz to test-drive their new range of BlueTec SUVs in the US