I'm curious about the 400 as well....just want to see what ppl's thoughts and experience are. I think it's a great fit inbetween the miserly 250 and the performance focused v8's. However I must say that I suspect it'll be a dog in the GL....just too much weight to haul around. Hope I'm proven wrong though....

As for the refresh, I saw a few heavily camouflaged vehicles and the shape is pretty much the same. I think the headlights are slightly different and small change to the air damns as well....all-in-all pretty subtle. I can't see Merc being too heavy handed as they're pretty conservative


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I'm curious about the 400 as well....just want to see what ppl's thoughts and experience are. I think it's a great fit inbetween the miserly 250 and the performance focused v8's. However I must say that I suspect it'll be a dog in the GL....just too much weight to haul around. Hope I'm proven wrong though....

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2015 ML400: 329@5250 RPM, Torque Of 354@1600; and,

~Compare~

2003 ML500: 288@5500 RPM, Torque Of 325@2700...

The 500 was for me a German-made mustang engine, two plugs and three valves per cylinder and a Wards pick Top 10 engine in its day. The "400" beats it. Check out that low-end torque: twin-turbos changes everything. But, like the V-8 it replaces, it's expensive because now it's the top of line!

 

Guess it depends which market ur from. The 400 is our base gasser. We still get our choice of v8's up here in Canada (550 and 63) ?


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"400" comes in at 18/22/20 mpg (city/highway/combined) vs. 14/19/16 for the "550." Looking at a 25% increase in combined mpg will definitely help MB avoid paying blood money to Elon Musk in California...

 

I am really hoping to hear from someone who has some experience living with/ owning an ML400 even if the experience has been brief.

 

ML400 Thoughts

Attached you will see a picture of my 12 ML350 and my wifes new ride , her ML400 in the foreground.
Lets leave all the fluff about features etc aside , we all know how the current generation ML drives and how each feature and package works for the most part. The ML400 is no different in my book. The big obvious difference in these units is the motor. Period. And what an obvious difference it is.
I have always been a fan of the current 3.5 motor , good torque curve , excellent rev-out performance and in my opinion , superb gas mileage in this heavy package.
This new twin turbo unit is hell on wheels. It transforms the docile semi-lux commuter into a flat out rocket. The zero to 60 runs are nothing short of episodes that inspire grins and loud giggles in a 47 year old man.
If I can find fault , its got some "airy" noises on startup that are not present at idle on the non turbo motor , which are completely inherent in the design and nothing to be concerned about.
It now has 3500 miles on it and she has averaged 25 mpg in driving that is 70% in town , 30% highway. I'm not really seeing a big difference in her mpg and mine. However , if I were to be the driver , I'm thinking it might be a tad worse. :smile
Again I cannot tell you in words the absolute thrust monster that it turns this suv into. She last owned a GL450 with the 4.7 and she says its no comparison.
Hope that helps!

 

Thanks for the input. The 400 sounds great! I am pleasantly surprised at the fuel economy. I'm getting nowhere near that on my 2007 ML350.

 

A rather lackluster article on the '15 ML400 (complete with a few errors) from Auto review: 2015 Mercedes-Benz ML400 shrinks engine, does little else - Chicago Tribune by a reviewer who apparently would rather be driving a X5.

 

A better "400" review --e.g., ... a twin-turbo V6 engine that has all the power of a V8 with a little less of the guilt. In other words, you could've had a V8, but why exactly would you?


Review: 2015 Mercedes-Benz ML400 | New and Used Car Reviews, Research & Automotive-Industry News & LeftLaneNews

 

V8 because of the sound, feel :devil

V8 super charged for the power :devil

V6 cost/millage :angel

 

If u think about it, the ML400 isn't all that impressive numbers-wise if u compare it to the ML350.....329hp vs 302hp....twin turbo vs NA. Sure it's a full second faster from 0-60 than the 350, but I was kind of expecting more from MB. Although the v8 550 is gone from the US market, it still exists in others....at least for now. It'll be interesting to see what becomes of the v8. If it disappears, it'll essentially leave the BMW X5 v8 with no competition (assuming BMW doesn't scrap the v8 as well). Numbers and performance wise, the ML400 is no match for the X5 v8....that thing is a monster

 

The 2015 Mercedes-Benz M-Class ML400 puts out 354 lb-ft of Torque at just 1600 RPM which is more than a naturally aspirated V8. The future of the "350" (Torque of 273@3500) should be as dim as the low-mpg V8 (that will be AMG's domain) --e.g., who would pick the "350" over the 3L "400" if it weren't for the pricing?