Are all MBs like wine?

[l5foye]

On getting the ML, I was disappointed with the performance ( 6th gear -yes, it is a rare manual one- was next to useless). I was considering a tuning kit when my MB technician friend said to wait to 2.5 -3k miles ; he also said it would only start to go at 12-13k miles. Well , at 3k miles it had improved a lot. I have now reached 13k miles, and yes, it is going even better with less revs needed for a given mph. It will pick up speed quite quickly from 40mph in 6th gear. Unfortunately it is not just as quick as a BMW M5 I recently had the loan of! Still all and all, the ML is improving with age. Has anyone a similiar experience?

 

[Brian WH]

On getting the ML, I was disappointed with the performance ( 6th gear -yes, it is a rare manual one- was next to useless). I was considering a tuning kit when my MB technician friend said to wait to 2.5 -3k miles ; he also said it would only start to go at 12-13k miles. Well , at 3k miles it had improved a lot. I have now reached 13k miles, and yes, it is going even better with less revs needed for a given mph. It will pick up speed quite quickly from 40mph in 6th gear. Unfortunately it is not just as quick as a BMW M5 I recently had the loan of! Still all and all, the ML is improving with age. Has anyone a similiar experience?

All my mercs have improved with age. The first 15000 miles being the slowest. This one has now done 20000 miles and is just loosening up nicely. :bannana:

 

[Howard]

Do you mean BMW X5 as opposed to M5 ?

It wouldn't surprise me that a ML270 CDI isn't as quick as one of those !!

 

[Satch]

Even if properly run in per instructions, some modern diesel engines can take maybe 15k miles to reach their peak. Certainly the improvement with time is something I have experienced on two turbo diesels now.

 

[tone]

I hope you guys are right about improving with age as i have a E270 Cdi with 2,000 miles on the clock and right now if i had to compare to a wine i would have to say...

Buckfast

 

[glojo]

I hope you guys are right about improving with age as i have a E270 Cdi with 2,000 miles on the clock and right now if i had to compare to a wine i would have to say...

Buckfast

Buckfast Abbey make an excellent tonic winw with the kick of a mule. So I take it you are over the moon with tye performance of your vehicle.

I accept that diesels do have a reputation for being a 'bit stiff' when new and need a running in period. I wonder though if after driving the car for a number of months driving styles might adapt, or expectations on performance might mellow?

Regards,
John

 

[Benzowner]

87000 miles on my E300 TD now, its running great, probably just about run in Yes, diesels do take a little longer to "loosen" up, so don't loose heart just yet

 

[Richard W]

I know it wasn't a diesel, but my experience with an ML just went sour......