Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG

Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG

High performance SUVs are here to stay, and thanks to modern technology, they are becoming more and more powerful with every single year. Perhaps knowing this, Mercedes Benz created a car that is going to be competitive in this ever changing segment, and brings something extra to the table too, with their new release: the2012 Mercedes Benz ML63 AMG. To make the ultimate ML, Mercedes Benz has gone to their resident tuner AMG to come up with a super SUV. There are a lot of things that they have done to make this truck go over the top. At first glance, you can see that this car absolutely means business, thanks to its enhanced body styling and the 20 x 9 inch set of AMG wheels, with a 21 x 10 inch set optional. Then AMG proceeds to improve the quality of the interior, with sports seats and other AMG inspired bits and pieces giving the interior some sporty feel. And then, there鈥檚 the dynamic stuff. An updated version of the 6.3 liter twin turbo V8 engine with direct injection produces 525 horsepower, providing a seemingly endless surge of energy to all 4 wheels. And with an AMG Speedshift Plus 7G tronic transmission, it allows both quick response and efficient engine use. The AMG-tuned suspension, handling dynamics are superb. And to top it off, the 2012 Mercedes Benz ML63 AMG is up to 28 percent more fuel efficient than the model that it replaced.

It looks like something you could use to parallel park the USS Enterprise and although it looks relatively interesting compared to some rival systems, it feels over-engineered and overly fussy in use. Both the wheel and touchpad carry out similar functions and you can鈥檛 help but feel all the different processes could be simplified and streamlined. You鈥檒l often find yourself swiping when you should be rotating or vice versa. The pad uses a touch-sensitive surface combined with buttons for navigating the audio and telephone menus and accessing any favourite channels stored on the system. It responds to both single and two-finger gestures. You can swipe up to show menus, and alter volume by spinning two fingers clockwise or anti-clockwise. Bring up the equaliser on the car鈥檚 display and it鈥檚 dressed like the front of a Burmester amp, complete with Burmester logo and a brushed aluminium skin. It鈥檚 sweet, if a little cheesy.

From here you can adjust the treble, 鈥渕idtones鈥?and bass. Besides these general tone controls, the system can also create virtual surround sound from any source. Turn it on and you notice a subtle lift in the soundstage from the top of the dashboard to higher up the windscreen, just past ear height. The soundfield gains greater depth and spaciousness in which instruments and vocals sit. The trade-off is a slight loss of focus and solidity, but we'd happily listen to either, with some tracks actually suiting the extra surround processing. You can also alter the balance of sound in the car depending on the number of people present. The system can be set to spread sound evenly through the car, or can be focused purely on the front or rear. The Burmester system sounds pretty balanced from the off. The majority of in-car systems we鈥檝e listened to tend to require dialling down of the bass, but with this set-up you might actually feel a tweak in the opposite direction is needed. Spin Macklemore and Ryan Lewis鈥?Downtown and the Burmeseter set-up captures the upbeat, feelgood funkiness of the track.

From the moment the piano springs into life and the bassline drops, the Burmester system is on the front foot. The Mercedes system delivers an airy, spacious soundfield, where vocals are heard crystal clear. There鈥檚 a good level of detail throughout - it鈥檚 expressive and not afraid to live on the edge. Some rival systems we鈥檝e heard from Meridian and B&W tend to err on the side of caution, but there鈥檚 a cut and thrust and sense of dynamism with this arrangement that keeps your attention. Compared to the traditional Burmester sound, the in-car system is a little smoother at the top end, but there鈥檚 still more than enough sparkle and bite to keep you interested. Our only disappointment is that bass notes tend to sound a little tubby and they鈥檙e a slightly different character to the highs and mids. Lows are less agile and more ponderous so they have a habit of tripping up the rhythm of the music. In the grand scheme of in-car audio options, ticking the Burmester box makes a lot of sense. It might not represent quite the same level of value as Dynaudio's Excite package for the Volkswagen Golf, but it does come with a host of additional features for the car. It鈥檚 a premium that we'd certainly consider paying.