Looking for W166 ML Owners Opinions - Comparison v Range Rover

[Darrell]

I have to agree that RR interiors are on a different level to the Mercedes ML or GLE. They are very lovely things to travel in.
In fact, I bought one in 2015. One of the last L332 models with a 4.4 diesel.
I soon found out the cost of this luxury with 3 x unexpected over £1k bills in repair costs in the first year.
I bought an ML in 2008 and kept it for 6 years. Got a GLE in 2017 and never had a non service bill at all.
The RR lasted just one year.
As an engineer I always tend to put function over form, but the RR of my experience just did not function without expensive intervention.
I'm not the only one to have found this out.View attachment 106906
A great way to travel.....if you are not paying!

But yet a couple of people on here will argue until they’re blue in the face that Range Rovers are good cars.

 

[jdrrco]

After months of looking for a Vito, I've had no luck finding the particular spec/engine so I've started to widen the search to see what else is available.

I've started looking ML's again, particularly 350s CDi with an AMG kit. I like the exterior look but the inside is a little underwhelming in the ML, maybe nicer in the flesh. I've had Range Rovers in the past and started to get tempted looking at very late L322 and early L405s.

I'm looking for some honest reviews of how they compare, the Range Rover seem on a different level interior wise?

The ML interior is still streets ahead of a Vito.

My local MB specialist repeatedly complains that he trained on Mercedes rather than Range Rovers, because "I would have made so much money I could have retired years ago".

I like a nice interior as much as anyone, but if the car ain't moving, there's not much point. An old Rolls/Bentley has a lovely interior and they are very cheap to buy, but I'd never have one, because of issues with reliability and consequent repair costs.

The other thing with Range Rover interiors is that they look smart, but when you actually press buttons etc, the beauty is only skin deep. The quality of construction and engineering just isn't there.

 

[Darrell]

The ML interior is still streets ahead of a Vito.

My local MB specialist repeatedly complains that he trained on Mercedes rather than Range Rovers, because "I would have made so much money I could have retired years ago".

I like a nice interior as much as anyone, but if the car ain't moving, there's not much point. An old Rolls/Bentley has a lovely interior and they are very cheap to buy, but I'd never have one, because of issues with reliability and consequent repair costs.

The other thing with Range Rover interiors is that they look smart, but when you actually press buttons etc, the beauty is only skin deep. The quality of construction and engineering just isn't there.

I noticed the quality (or lack of) of the switchgear on an early Range Rover Sport I had about 14 years ago.

For the record I had a 56 plate RRS at 6 months old.

 

[jimbg]

You would not particularly expect high praise for Range Rovers on a Mercedes forum

I have owned 3 from 2006 up until this year and had no real problems with any of them.
They do need to be maintained properly and are not cheap, a bit like any car really.

I have just changed to an E class estate for our elderly dog who his too heavy to lift into a SUV.
This forum and the other one seem to be pretty full of problems to be solved, so no surprise there!

I will probably go back to a JLR product eventually as the E Class is OK but nothing special.

 

[Darrell]

You would not particularly expect high praise for Range Rovers on a Mercedes forum

Couldn’t be further from the truth.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

You would not particularly expect high praise for Range Rovers on a Mercedes forum

I have owned 3 from 2006 up until this year and had no real problems with any of them.
They do need to be maintained properly and are not cheap, a bit like any car really.

Don’t be coming on here with your own personal experience, much better to regale us with the one your mates brothers aunties son from down the pub told you about...

I will probably go back to a JLR product eventually as the E Class is OK but nothing special.

I think you need to be in at least an S-Class to feel the Mercedes luxury of yore; I bought a year old C220d AMG Line Sport a couple of weeks before Christmas to do a bit of mile munching in and I can see it lasting long before I sell it - the interior switchgear feels cheap (vents in particular are plasticky crap), the seats are uncomfortable with little support and weirdly the door cards too feel cheap. Good on fuel though and I like the infotainment system too but doubt that will save its fate!

 

[Dickster]

Most RR’s tend to get slagged off by people who haven’t owned them but “their pal has”.

On here, @Giantvanman is one who went from a Mercedes to a RR TDV8 Autobiography (iirc) and never looked back, the last of the L322 are fantastic buys £ for £.

With respect, the reliability or lack of, is well documented - although they are sold in great numbers so not surprising that they are lots of storied out there.

are we not allowed to share the experience of close friends?

I have always loved RRs and wanted a sport for years (after a friend had one years ago ). My mother had a couple too. However, a another friend has been leasing them for a number of years now - probably around 10 years. The very first one had to be replaced (brand new) as it kept going into limp mode and breaking down. His latest one just recently decided it wanted a new engine - I don’t know the details, but it made terrible noise and oil was everywhere. RR fitted a new engine. He leases his cars through his business so he’s not bothered about the repairs.

Most cars have their own known issues. I had a 2003 Grand Cherokee for 10 years. Great car, but build quality was crap and it suffered all usual issues. Even the great Mercedes engine suffered from the well known Black Death. It got sold for parts at just 80k miles, after it developed a gear box problem.


jmho of course.

ps I should add that the first friend had the Sport as a company car. He loved it so much that he bought it off the company for his wife after it was due to be replaced.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

With respect, the reliability or lack of, is well documented - although they are sold in great numbers so not surprising that they are lots of storied out there.
are we not allowed to share the experience of close friends?

I would never deny the issues they’ve had over the years - the 3.6 TDV8 turbos as an example - just gets a little tiring hearing third hand stories as though Mercedes are a bastion of reliability when they’re patently not - certainly not over the last 25 years anyway.

I mean, just look at the rust buckets they have built over the years or timing chain failures on the newer 4cyl or the leaking oil cooler on the OM642 or the engine issues with the 6.2 & 5.5 AMG engines or the radiator/gearbox fault on the early noughties....the list goes on... but as only the rust has affected me personally over the years, that’s the only one I’d bring up...

I have always loved RRs and wanted a sport for years (after a friend had one years ago ). My mother had a couple too. However, a another friend has been leasing them for a number of years now - probably around 10 years. The very first one had to be replaced (brand new) as it kept going into limp mode and breaking down. His latest one just recently decided it wanted a new engine - I don’t know the details, but it made terrible noise and oil was everywhere. RR fitted a new engine. He leases his cars through his business so he’s not bothered about the repairs.

What catches a lot of owners out is “cost of repairs” yet what attracts them to LR is what costs the most to maintain!

 

[jimbg]

Yes, I have learnt a lot about Mercedes issues since I have been on these forums, more than I expected. Ha! Ha!

If any one is seriously considering a Sport I would spend some time on rrsport.co.uk to learn about the issues to watch for , particularly in the older models.

 

[DGAMG63S]

After months of looking for a Vito, I've had no luck finding the particular spec/engine so I've started to widen the search to see what else is available.

I've started looking ML's again, particularly 350s CDi with an AMG kit. I like the exterior look but the inside is a little underwhelming in the ML, maybe nicer in the flesh. I've had Range Rovers in the past and started to get tempted looking at very late L322 and early L405s.

I'm looking for some honest reviews of how they compare, the Range Rover seem on a different level interior wise?

ML

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2012 RR

2013+ RR

I’ve owned GLS, GLE 63’s and the last of the W166 ML before the name change, an ML550 (lovely car, but not in the UK). I’ve come soooo close to RR and looked at them really closely because of the interior (which is, IMO, on a higher level than the ML) and the AWD/off road capability, but the stories regarding issues amongst close friends who have run them always put me off, particularly fairly significant stuff like drivetrain and suspension, even on new cars.

I know friends experiences aren’t the same as an owners view but I was the one with a brand new RR left for dead on his drive by visitors in the middle of winter and had to get the owner to their home (in a GL). It wasn’t a one-off either.

For me, RR’s sit in the same space as something like an Aston. Beautifully made but I’d always wonder what might happen. As someone said, try the cars and see what works for you.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Yes, I have learnt a lot about Mercedes issues since I have been on these forums, more than I expected. Ha! Ha!

Issues on a car forum will always be more magnified than in the real world, 95% (if not more) of all car owners simply get in their car and drive.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Internet forums are not the best place to go for a realistic view of owning a car. The only people who really post are people with an issue seeking help (or wishing to vent) or those who are passionate the brand/model (or wishing to reconfirm their own choices. What's absent is the very large and silent middle ground, which is where the majority or cars/owners sit.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Internet forums are not the best place to go for a realistic view of owning a car. The only people who really post are people with an issue seeking help (or wishing to vent) or those who are passionate the brand/model (or wishing to reconfirm their own choices. What's absent is the very large and silent middle ground, which is where the majority or cars/owners sit.

100% this.

If every potential car owner spent 30 minutes on a car forum before buying we’d all be riding bicycles!

 

[91dm]

After many months of searching and not finding what I was looking for, I allowed the prices of what I was looking at sky rocket! I looked at so many jeeps that had some fairly major issues; bad repair damage, mechanically bad or poorly cared for in general. I had no intention of buying this but this is where I ended up! This should be fun!... (comes with 3 year warranty)









No rust or crash damage in sight!

 

[Piff]

Interesting choice.
Will like to hear of your experiences over the next 3 years

 

[Mactech]

After many months of searching and not finding what I was looking for, I allowed the prices of what I was looking at sky rocket! I looked at so many jeeps that had some fairly major issues; bad repair damage, mechanically bad or poorly cared for in general. I had no intention of buying this but this is where I ended up! This should be fun!... (comes with 3 year warranty)









No rust or crash damage in sight!

Nice!
I too own a Defender but it shares absolutely nothing other than the name with that car. Mine is 25 year old shed on wheels which has all the refinement of a noisy horse and cart! It's one redeeming feature is that it is currently appreciating.
I have already had my Range Rover experience (post 20), but I hope this one is whole new animal and you can enjoy a trouble free experience.