Powering the ML320 is the company's first V6 engine, an sohc 18-valve.  The seeming lack of one cam per bank and one exhaust valve per cylinder were actually intended to reduce the V6's emissions.  Ditto the engine's dual spark plugs that fire sequentially to help burn all the fuel in each cylinder.  The single exhaust valve design allows the engine to warm up more quickly, while the single cam lessens frictional losses.  It is no way deficient, though, compared to the now-defunct Merc inline-6s.  Horsepower is slightly increased, while peak torque has been significantly improved and is now delivered at a lower rpm.   Fuel economy too is much better than its inline-6 and V8 powered rivals.

Complementing the engine is a 5-speed automatic transmission.  There's no "Sport Shift" override mode here, but the auto responds well even to slight prods of the throttle.  The V6 and 5-speed allow the ML to reach 100 km/h in less than 10 seconds, quite fast for a 4x4. 

The M is quite suitable for the city but its off-road capabilities are also quite formidable.  To save weight, Mercedes opted not to put any locking differentials on the front, rear or center axles.  Instead, in a clever use of the vehicle's ABS system, the vehicle's computers can detect when a wheel is spinning too fast and then activates the brake at that corner, thus sending the torque to the wheels which have grip.  Theoretically the M can keep moving forward even if only one wheel has grip.  I'd love to try out this system with one wheel on solid ground and the others in a pool of quicksand.  Maybe that's not what the Merc designers intended.

Despite its mini-4x4 appearance, the M is not a unit-body chassis like the CR-V or RAV4.  It employs a body on frame structure, with a sturdy ladder frame forming the vehicle's backbone. All independent double-wishbone suspension probably limits the vehicle's off-road capabilities when compared to the likes of a Land Rover Defender, but does give a smooth ride and surprisingly agile handling on-road.

The Merc may have been targeting merely the lower-priced 4x4s with its US$40,000 price tag, but its quick acceleration, tenacious grip and comfortable interior soon enabled it to reach above its market and compete with the Range Rover, too.  Above all, it had that large three-pointed star attached to its grille.   4 x 4 as status symbol?  You got it.

Huge fat tires give the ML320 a slight advantage on track handling tests such as braking and cornering.
The interior of the ML320 is huge and spacious with lots of pockets and little boxes to store stuff. However, being one of the biggest Merc at the lowest price, the ML320 suffers a bit on control switch feel and fit and finish that isn't up to Mercedes-Benz standard.
Though the styling and proportions say "can't do off-road", the ML320 can easily match the "tougher" looking SUVs such as the Ford Expedition.