Taking a road trip gives us the chance to try out any number of vehicles that the manufacturers may have in their press fleets. It allows us to push the envelope in practicality and economy in a real-world setting. This was just the case as we drove through New England this past week in a 2009 Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC. A new direction in diesel-powered vehicles for Mercedes, the ML320 BlueTEC is one the cleanest burning diesels on the planet.

We left New York City on the way to New Hartford, Connecticut, on Friday morning. Our first stop? The workshop of Hamer Guitars is world renown for guitars that play as beautifully as they look. Here we would be meeting resident Guitar Guru, Jol Dantzig, who along with his team of artisans, are responsible for outfitting such diverse players as Grammy winner Keb Mo’, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Felicia Collins of the CBS Orchestra, and Judas Priest’s Glen Tipton. The workshop, located in a sleepy, but beautiful burg tucked into the edges of the Satan’s Kingdom State Recreation Area, is only 125 miles from Manhattan, but it’s a good start for a trip that would show us that Mercedes-Benz is on to something with all this talk of BlueTEC.

What is it?
The now familiar, second-generation, Mercedes M-Class SUV has been around since its redesign in 2006. For 2009, it has been mildly refreshed from front to rear, now incorporating an optional 3-liter diesel powerplant, which, according to Mercedes, features the power of a V8 with the economy of a four-cylinder. Hyperbole or fact? Let’s dig.

What’s it up against?
In addition to the M-Class, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Volkswagen Touareg 2, and Mercedes-Benz GL-Class are the only SUVs offered with diesel engines in the United States and Canada. Traverse across the pond and you’ll find any number of similar vehicles that offer an oil burner underhood. They seem to understand the benefits over there that are curiously overlooked here.

Any breakthroughs?
Where do you want to start? With the BlueTEC system, the diesel Mercedes is now 50-state legal. Accomplished by the use of a water-based urea solution that Mercedes calls AdBlue, the fluid is stored in a seven-gallon tank that needs refilling every 10,000 miles. The urea solution is injected into the exhaust system, releasing ammonia, which converts the nitrogen oxide emissions into harmless nitrogen and water in a catalytic converter.

And, yes, urea is a result of a mammal’s metabolism and is excreted in urine. Better living through chemistry and all that. No, it is not customer “serviceable.”

The Mercedes-Benz PRE-SAFE system is also present, which, when sensing that a crash is imminent, pre-tensions the seat belts, moves the seat into a more survivable position, and closes windows and the sunroof to hopefully allow the passengers to survive a shunt. Thankfully, this feature was never put to the test on our journey.

How does it look?
Amongst the old fashioned structures in New Hartford, the ML320 looked absolutely futuristic. A true five-seater, it is updated with a new faceted front grille area that is more aggressive than its gas burning relatives. With larger under the bumper intakes, and different headlight lenses, the M-Class BlueTEC tries to strike with a more dominant “Alpha-dog” appearance. We think they’ve succeeded. It’s actually more attractive than the snout on the fire-breathing ML63 AMG.

The chiseled fenders and wheel openings continue the aggressive appearance, leading to the signature swept-look of the C-pillar. With blacked out window treatments in the rear glass area, it lends to a more menacing look, that we quite like. More chiseling around the rear flanks ends with a polished skid plate, and twin chrome exhaust tips underneath.

And inside?
If the M-Class suffers anywhere, it would have to be inside. Entirely functional, it still has too much going on. It still does everything that you ask of it and controls are, for the most part, logically placed. Maybe it was the “sissy-grips” on the tranny tunnel, or the two a/c vents that reminded us of the gauge pods on a Smart fortwo. Or the add-on look of the DVD monitors which were mounted on the tops of the front seat backs instead of being incorporated into the back of the headrests. But these were the minor nits.

The driver and passenger seats up front offered great comfort for extended drive times on to our next stop in Mystic and Stonington, Connecticut. An ancient seaport town, Mystic was the inspirational setting for a flick about a mythical pizza parlor that helped to launch the career of an unknown actress named Julia Roberts. (The film was actually made next door in Stonington.) Check out Azu restaurant for a lively dinner and bar scene.

It seems that we always review a car’s interior by starting with the center-stack. We won’t deviate here, as it is still the heart of the vehicle’s inside. The COMAND infotainment system is responsible for both radio and navigational functions and now includes Sirius Satellite and HD radio capabilities. The harman/kardon Logic7 head unit features iPod connectivity and a SD card reader for downloading files for playback.

While the audio system was excellent, the navigation mode had us scratching our heads. While driving, we checked it against our Garmin portable unit, and were disappointed by the M-B’s lack of street names for an upcoming turn, not to mention that in the New York City metropolitan area, it would tell us to prepare for a turn off the expressway, but failed to tell us the turn was going to be on a left-hand exit ramp instead of the more familiar right handed variety. We ended up ignoring the M-Class’s internal unit and relied on the Garmin for the rest of the trip.

The rear seat offered comfort for adults and kids, as well as their own climate controls located in the rear of the center console. Wireless headsets were also on board for quiet driving in case passengers wanted to watch the latest Celine Dion concert DVD. On second thought, it wouldn’t be allowed in the vehicle in the first place. Cargo capacity in the way back were 29.4 cubic feet with the seats up, 72 cubic feet with the passenger seats folded.

But does it go?
When reading the specs during a recent test in the E320 BlueTEC, we noticed 210 horsepower and nearly choked. But then we saw another magic number: 398 lb-ft. of torque. With the same turbo-diesel powerplant residing under the hood of the M-Class, we can say, hell, yeah, it goes! With common-rail direct injection (CDI), the 72-degree V6 with aluminum block and heads puts the power of a V8 to the ground with full time all-wheel-drive and a seven speed 7G-Tronic automatic transmission that we recently fell in love with in a C63 AMG sedan. In an attempt to promote enthusiastic driving, this one is also equipped with paddle shift levers on the steering wheel. We can state unequivocally that it does!

The four-wheel independent suspension helps the 19-inch rubber mounted on five-spoke alloy rims to grip all around using a double wishbone arrangement with gas-charged struts in front and a four-link setup in the rear. The standard Mercedes-Benz rack and pinion system holds sway over the newly (and nicely) designed four-spoke steering wheel. If the excitement gets too out of hand, the four-wheel disc brakes with four channel ABS and brake assist bring things back around. We especially liked the variable spring rates that were adjustable with a toggle switch in the center console that varied from normal to comfort to sport mode. In twisties near the Nobska Point lighthouse outside of Falmouth, Massachusetts, the firm feeling from the sport setting thoroughly changed the character of the SUV for the better, doing its part to minimize body roll, while pushing through the turns.

Through all of this, the best part was the fuel economy of the BlueTEC engine package. Rated at 18-mpg city/ 24-mpg hwy, and despite the ML320’s portly curb weight of 4974 lbs, the engine was still able to achieve 521 miles in combined city/highway driving, with just a little more than 1/8th of a tank of fuel remaining. With that remainder being about 3.5 gallons of diesel, it is easy to see that the BlueTEC would have surpassed 600 miles on a full tank.

Why you would buy it:
You like 398 lb-ft. of grunt, and good fuel mileage, too, in your ‘ute. If you absolutely want and need an SUV, the Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC should be on your short list of candidates.

Why you wouldn’t:
Diesel fuel is still pricier than regular gasoline – and for no good reason.

2009 Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC, $TBA.

Words and Photos by Mark Elias

2009 Mercedes-Benz ML320 Bluetec

Hamer Guitars

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