Mercedes Benz

The first M Class, which was in production from the 1998 model year through 2005, was one of the first midsize luxury SUVs from a prestige brand. Based on a truck chassis, the new SUV premiered as a six-cylinder equipped ML320 and an eight-cylinder ML 430. First built in Austria and later in Alabama, the M-Class vehicle was the first in its class to offer electronic stability control, and with a plethora of airbags, it earned high marks for safety. Unfortunately, it did not win high marks for quality, with many fit and finish problems reported. A diesel version was sold in states where emission standards didn't exclude it.  The second-generation of the M Class, which first appeared during the 2006 model year with ML350 and ML500 nameplates, was an entirely different brand of Benz. Built on a passenger-car-like unitized body/chassis unit, it was both lighter and more rigid. Consequently it was far more nimble on twisty bits of road than the earlier vehicle, and its ride was much imp...