Mercedes (US) - M Class (W163) - Product Training Video - The M-Class Takes the High Road (1997)

[@RichardVac]

I have a 2001 ML320, it has been nothing but reliable, done many cross country off road trails and parks, truly impressive vehicle, it's ETS 4 wheel drive, also excellent low gearing can do level 5 offroad with ease. My ML at 130k mills is still running strong

[@E39ENTHUSIAST90]

Still owning my beautiful ML320 and drives great!

[@Johnathan_Waters]

I absolutely am a die hard W163 fan, and I own and drive a pristine ML55 AMG... but even I think this video is a LITTLE bit biased! The funny thing is that, even though it is biased like crazy, it is still 100% true! haha...

[@laureanolatorre4340]

You have no idea how much I love this channel :))

[@rovr]

We do now! Thanks for the comment 😊

[@fredaydaybae8450]

Same

[@patokaa93]

No way! I just saw your new ML-post in instagram, and I came to see this video. Then of course you have been here as well!

[@laureanolatorre4340]

@@patokaa93 omg hiiii

[@Johnathan_Waters]

Thanks so much for posting this valuable historical content! If you have ANY more W163/ML related videos...post them please!!!

[@simonsafi7589]

The w163 is a legend , I wish Mercedes continued the w164 and w166 and newer model like that. Remember the w163 is the replacement of the G class. Anwy thanks for the video very interesting channel

[@berendoldenburger]

I have an ML270 CDI with 380,000km and it's still going strong with no rust or anything. Pretty amazing for a car with a garbage interior.

[@ramonbs6075]

From which year? I’m looking for the 270 version, but I’m concerned of the rust situation.

[@berendoldenburger]

@@ramonbs6075 ML270 were all the same and produced from 1997 to 2005. The 2.7 diesel model wasn't avaliable in any other M class generation

[@samuelsamsam7189]

I still drive one

[@legionnaires]

really good video thumbs up

[@fb3824]

330 000 km, and still going like the tank it is!

[@FantomLightning]

Still the best looking M Class IMO such a shame the reliability, build quality and rust were such an issue.

[@berendoldenburger]

I mean, our family has two ML430's and I have an ML270 CDI and they all have at least 280,000km on the clock and are all going strong and with no rust.

[@gx455]

@@berendoldenburger no rust?? Lol look underneath the paint and you'll freak out, it happened in every ML from this era sadly. I always loved this car, sadly it's one of the worst Mercedes ever made in terms on quality. No surprise since it was after all an American car built under US standards which you know... it's always been low, very low

[@berendoldenburger]

@@gx455 Every ML we have is rust free since we live in New Zealand where salt isn't used on the roads in winter. We keep good care of our ML's since they are strong work cars. Even W203 C Classes have been known for rust issues but not here in New Zealand since we have 3 in our fleet. Only Alfa's and Fiat's seems to have corrosion issues in this part of the world.

[@eljos1]

I live in vegas. My 320 has no rust at all lol

[@pnwadventures2955]

Rust free ML430 334000km over here. Bolts in the suspension come out as if it rolled off the factory line yesterday. Reliability?? I have no check engine light, no stored codes AT ALL (yes, with star system), and on top of it, it has not broken down in the last 100.000km since I owned it. That is right: Stranded zero times. I have offroaded this car substantially in the Olympic national park, it's my winter "beater" and it won't stay in the garage when it snows and freezes. These cars need maintenance on the regular, and keep away from these cheap non-oem parts, but you get what you pay for!

[@uniqu3xperience965]

I have a e320 4matic from 2002 Wagon. And it has similar traction control and all wheel drive system like the ML i bought this car to my wife maybe 5 to 6 years ago. And it has been super reliable and she totally adores the car she says is the only car she would drive in the snow is a total tank. Is now about 170k miles and it has no signs of slowing down even when she says she will drive it till the tires fall off i always see this cars reaching well over 250k miles.

[@Hennessey_and_smoke]

The infamous massive panel gap @4:15

[@Niver55]

У нас не такое на ml делают👍👍👍

[@cobrallapi6323]

W 163 best car ever

[@donaldrigged1368]

I love mecedez, and it has no old one

[@nickywong767]

I remember when this came out when I was in primary school , almost begged my dad to buy one 😂

[@digitalrailroader]

I wonder how many of those pre production MLs got modified for Jurassic Park?

[@rayalford7434]

Six

[@digitalrailroader]

@@rayalford7434 one of which is probably now sitting on the 4th floor of the Mercedes Benz museum in Stuttgart!

[@rayalford7434]

@@digitalrailroader There is also one in the Mercedes factory museum at Tuscaloosa.

[@andrewhigdon8346]

Some serious irony here, as Daimler-Benz openly intended to buy Chrysler with the singular intention of owning the Grand Cherokee, the darling of the American SUV market, and maybe not the gross sales leader of the Explorer, it was the owner loyalty and the formula of its making that they wanted. They knew they had the superior vehicle in the ML, but they wanted the nuances of the GC to gain that sizable and long term market share, confident that the GC would be around indefinitely while the Explorer may or may not be around to compete for the same customers. And here they compare the GC in a quite unfavorable way, yet they bought one of America’s Big Three simply to own this inferior product. Irony. And it keeps going. Apparently, the Jeep Quadra-Track was designed with the Mercedes AWD system as a reference. Those are the only two vehicles I’ve ever seen with that tech. And more irony. I think it was from the 2011 model year that the GC were based on the previous gen ML chassis. Wow. And from 2005 on the Jeeps which used a 5 speed automatic got the Mercedes one, in America known as the NAG1. Buy your competition, it seems to work. The ML chassis is indeed superior, as it’s not really a unibody, as it has frame rails, proper and robust, where the GC is just like a unibody car but with solid axles, rear AND front. Now that’s ancient tech. Until 2004 the GC used a solid front axle, technology straight out of the future of 1940. Hey, at least the ONLY alignment adjustment was toe-in. I loved the GC. It was cushy and comfortable, but the ML was a quality vehicle and that shows well in the 2002 I still have. Everything works and works well, zero rust, extremely low engine wear, drives like new. Good stuff.

[@cesartoledo5621]

Rod Hall , you Rock!!

[@straightpipediesel]

This is pretty hilarious... nobody who was in the market for an Explorer, Grand Cherokee or Blazer (absent for some reason) was considering a Mercedes. Germans completely missing the US market. At minimum, they should have tried to target the Japanese buyer (4Runner, Pathfinder, Rodeo).

[@Johnathan_Waters]

I had very similar thoughts. The 163 was still a sales success however... the numbers don't lie! I'm not even sure some of the spectators in this video knew what kind of car was competing with the "the mercedes"... one guy said "that other one didn't do so well" lmao

[@NaderAlsaqqaf]

The Best or Nothing

[@mcmcolm]

This falls into the “nothing” category

[@marinelifer1752]

I have 2 Mercedes sedan. For offroad I defer to my Land Rover. It goes places where the M-class cannot.

[@joivilla2039]

Saludos me podría decir cual L.Rover tiene y si ha tenido problemas de confiabilidad es que me están vendiendo un Range Rover del 93 y no se si debo comprarlo por la mala fiabilidad que se habla gracias y abrazos

[@highlightedcomment]

buy the ml​@@joivilla2039

[@ivanrmz8624]

I dont think the Explorer can be competition of an Ml or even of a Cherokee... Obviously the real competition is on a Bmw X5, range rover and Ml and grand cherokee.

[@porsche928s4]

Most those weren't out in 1997 except the range Rover

[@BLACKOMAMBO]

There is none real life situation on gravel/rough road that I could go trough in a fwd small car (Fiesta St), all those promotionnal video are BS. Suv where made for people that dont know how to drive and shouldnt be driving in the first place

[@Timico1000]

Ironically the original ML was one of the worst cars that Mercedes has ever produced.

[@Johnathan_Waters]

Relative to other Benz models, perhaps. Compared to the competition? Quite a bit better in a lot of ways!

[@Timico1000]

@@Johnathan_Waters Back then, in late 1997 (or was it early 1998?) i went to a job interview at my local Mercedes dealer and it was just before the weekend the car had to be revealed to the customers. I had the chance to have a look at the ML and was truly shocked by the cheap materials on the interior. That thing didn't feel like a Mercedes at all, more like a cheap 90s korean knock off. Maybe it was better than its american rivals, but to bad compared to japanese offroaders.

[@Johnathan_Waters]

@@Timico1000 I have to agree, the 1998 & 1999 model year ML's were actually REALLY bad on the inside. In 2000, they wised up and gave the interior the attention it deserved. I hadn't seen the first year ML interior in person until I saw one in the salvage yard... and yea, it really was that bad!

[@sirot5561]

@@Timico1000 yeah I agree. My mom had a 98’ and I was always so shocked at how sparse the interior was. All hard plastic that rattled. VERYYY Uncomfortable hard seats and overall just felt cheap and not like a Mercedes at all. She didn’t keep it very long. The ride was also loud and rough. My fam was very disappointed with it. We loved how it looked but not with the quality overall 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@highlightedcomment]

Mine is awesome. The Ford exploder died from head gasket & the Cherokee rusted out...

[@highlightedcomment]

My 2000 ml 320 is awesome, only 168.558 km on it to. Best $700 Canadian i ever spent...