Orlando Sentinel's view

You can drop $60,000 on a Range Rover, $55,000 on a Lexus LX450 and about $45,000 on a Lincoln Navigator.

But you can’t buy a sport-utility vehicle that has more safety features and that rides better than the new Mercedes-Benz ML320, which starts at $34,000 and comes fully loaded for about $40,000.

Rarely does a new vehicle come along that shakes up an entire segment of the market. We saw that happen in 1989 with the Lexus LS400 luxury car, which rewrote the rules for refinement, quality and value, and influenced the entire industry.

The mid-size ML320 could do the same thing for sport-utilities. Consider this: For the price of a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition or Chevy Tahoe, you can have a Mercedes-Benz that offers best-in-class everything.

There is no other sport-utility that packs as much value, prestige, performance, safety and quality as the ML320 for anywhere near $34,000.

PERFORMANCE, HANDLING

For now, the ML320 comes with a 215-horsepower, 3.2-liter, overhead-cam V-6 engine. Mercedes plans to offer the ML with a 4.3-liter V-8, probably in the 1999 model year.

But you could drive the ML320 now and never know it doesn’t already have eight cylinders under the hood. Mercedes uses a novel 3-valves-per-cylinder setup that delivers a strong, steady stream of power. The engine pulls hard, and acceleration is exceptional at all speeds. Mercedes says the ML320 can reach 60 mph in 9 seconds – not bad for a 4,200-pound four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The 3.2-liter, by the way, is the first V-6 engine Mercedes has made and one of a new family of engines that include three valves and two spark plugs per cylinder.

Off the road, the V-6 has ample low-speed power, and it gives you the confidence to take the ML320 just about anywhere. A small button on the dash controls the full-time four-wheel-drive system. You press the button to shift into low range, and press it again to shift out of it. That’s it. Mercedes says theML320 can tow up to 5,000 pounds, which means it’ll haul a good-sized boat or a horse trailer.

When configured for normal driving, the drivetrain sends 50 percent of its power to the front wheels and 50 percent to the rear. But when you encounter bad road conditions and any of the wheels lose traction, a computerized system automatically applies the brake to the wheel or wheels that slip. The wheels with the most grip get the most power. This excellent system is just one reason why the ML320 can lay claim to being the best sport-utility on the market for any price.

There’s only one transmission available – a five-speed automatic. It shifted somewhat roughly when first starting out in the morning. But after the vehicle warmed up, the shifts were smooth and well-timed.

The ML320’s suspension system is just as advanced as the drivetrain. In fact, I liked the ML’s ride more than anything else about the vehicle. The four-whe el, independent suspension system – highly unusual for a four-wheel-drive vehicle – delivers the best ride you can buy in a sport-utility.

Somehow Mercedes engineers designed a suspension system that betters the handling performance of the Range Rover, which uses complex, expensive air-powered suspension. Mercedes has proved a serious off-road vehicle doesn’t need all the pricey high-tech stuff to provide an exceptionally smooth, compliant, quiet, carlike ride on the road as well as to deliver the ruggedness needed for trailblazing.

The heart of the ML320 is its rugged steel frame, which Mercedes says doesn’t flex. The superstiff frame allowed engineers to develop the ML’s excellent suspension system. Onto that frame are mounted separate sub-frames that contain the suspension components. And 10 rubber body mounts are used to attach the chassis to the frame. All these things make for a very solid-feeling, smooth and quiet vehicle.

As with other Mercedes, a powerf l anti-lockfour-wheel disc brake system is standard. A power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering system allows the vehicle to make sharp turns.

The overall feel of the ML320’s acceleration and handling is nothing short of superb.

FIT AND FINISH

The ML320 is the first vehicle to come out of the new Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance, Ala. But you would never know it wasn’t built in Germany. Mercedes has spent a lot of time and money training the inexperienced workforce to build high-quality vehicles. In fact, Mercedes probably could have launched the ML320 much sooner had it not placed so high a priority on quality.

Except for the drivetrain, which is assembled in Germany and shipped to Vance, the ML320 is American-made. More than 60 outside suppliers set up shop near the Mercedes factory to manufacture parts for the ML320, which is considered a domestic vehicle because the majority of its parts are made here.

Our test vehicle, a preproduction unit, proved that Mercedes’ efforts have paid off. There were no flaws of any kind. The paint was as smooth as wet glass, and the body panels and interior trim fit together tightly. Beyond that, the ML320 continues to build upon the more youthful styling Mercedes-Benz has pioneered in its recent new vehicles, such as the SLK roadster and the E-Class.

You can look at the ML320 and know in an instant that it is a Mercedes, but you don’t get the feeling that it is a heavy, stuffy, stodgy vehicle for older folks.

The interior is much like a Mercedes sedan. It is outfitted with a firm but comfortable set of bucket seats up front and a three-passenger bench seat in the rear.

Speaking of the rear, the tailgate is much like that of a minivan. That is, it opens up, not down. Loading and unloading is fairly easy, though the back end is somewhat higher from the ground than a car’s. The rear seats are divided into three sections, and each can be folded forward and made nearly flat. The rear seats alsoare adjustable; they can slide forward and backward.

The spare tire is stored underneath the vehicle, not inside or on the tailgate. So you don’t have the unsightly spare hanging out the back, blocking vision or robbing the cargo area of storage room.

The analog instruments and switch gear appear nearly identical to those in a Mercedes C- or E-Class sedan. The light switch, however, is not on the dash; it is on a rotating switch on the left stalk, behind the steering wheel. Three easy-to-use rotating knobs control the air conditioner, which blows extremely cold air when turned low.

The ML320 comes with a generous amount of standard equipment. You could buy the least expensive version and get a vehicle that has just about everything you want. About the only options are leather upholstery, sunroof and CD changer.

Standard items include air conditioning with a dust and pollen filter, power windows, mirrors and remote-control door locks, cruis e control, tilt steering wheel, alloy wheels, 80-watt cassette stereo and much more.

As usual, Mercedes engineers placed safety high in the ML320s design. The vehicle comes with front and side air bags in the two front doors, side-impact protection in the form of reinforced beams in the doors, and front and rear energy-absorbing crumple zones.

If you want an ML320, be prepared to wait. Mercedes can build 65,000 ML320s at its U.S. plant per year. Current plans call for Mercedes to export about 30,000 of those vehicles each year. Mercedes dealers have orders for more vehicles than the factory can build, and you might wait as long as four or five months to take delivery.

But the wait will be worth it. Not only will you get what may be the best sport-utility on the market, you’ll get it for a price that makes the ML320 an astounding, outstanding value.

Specifications:

1998 Mercedes-Benz ML320

LENGTH Overall 180.6

FRONT COMPARTMENT Hea room 39.8 Legroom 40.3

REAR COMPARTMENT Headroom 39.7 Legroom 38.0

WARRANTY Four-year, 50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper, which includes tires, batteries and all adjustments and 24-hour roadside assistance.

MECHANICAL Drivetrain layout: Front-mounted engine and transmission, four-wheel drive. Brakes: Power-assisted four-wheel disc with ABS. Engine: 3.2-liter, overhead-cam V-6 with three valves per cylinder. Transmission: Five-speed automatic.

OTHER MODELS N/A

Truett’s tip: The new ML320 from Mercedes-Benz is perhaps the best sport-utility you can buy at any price. The refined ride, superb performance and outstanding value make the vehicle the one to beat.