HPH

I had the 10K service today; it was uneventful for the car (new oil pressure sensor; ordered a new rear hatch latch assembly to make the light back there work; alignment; the usual 10K stuff) but interesting for me in two ways:

First, I found out that 2002 Porsches are spec'd to have Mobil 1 0W40 at oil changes, so service departments will be stocking it. For folks whose dealers sell both Porsches and Audis, this should make life easier. (I don't mean to revive the oil discussion here; this is just information on hard-to-find oil.) I was told that they'll sell it to me for $4.99 / qt and credit me for the dino they don't use. This will be quite a deal, especially given that I won't have to go out and find the stuff any more.

Second, I came home feeling more smug than ever for being an allroad owner and having had the inspired brilliance to become one. (This forum also deserves credit for influencing me in that regard.)

My dealer (Premier Motors, Albuquerque) carries Audi, Porsche, and Mercedes Benz and they use MB ML320s as their loaners (there's a Lexus dealer right across the street, and I think they're competing hard). I decided to do some errands (out here in the sticks, Albuquerque is a Big City) and so had the chance to drive an ML320 (with about 9K miles) around a bit. It's a "real" SUV, of course, but it's a good one, not based on a truck chassis but designed from the ground up, and, after all, it's a Benz. It's also (with goodies) in about the same price bracket as the allroad. The ML320 is the V6; the ML430 has a V8; and there's a true hot-rod AMG version (I think this is right--at least it's close).

And am I ever glad I got the allroad. As I said, the ML320 is an SUV, so I should have expected to feel like I was driving around sitting on top of a step ladder. But the visibility isn't all that good--the middle headrest in the back blocks a lot of the rear-view mirror, and, when he was unparking it from the lot, the service guy had me stand there and wave my hands around so he wouldn't squash a (really, really beautiful, customized, I mean, droolingly extraordinary) 911 Carerra 4 that was sitting behind the ML320. He simply couldn't see it.

And the drive train is, well, to be polite, sluggish. Part of this is the mile-high elevation suffocating the normally aspirated motor, for sure. But my wife's Subaru Forester feels peppier, here in Santa Fe, 2000 feet higher.

Of course, I didn't have time to get a real feel for the ergonomics, but one strange thing was the transmission. I think this is the "4Matic," sort of Tip-like, except manual shifting is sideways--you nudge it toward you to downshift and away from you to upshift. I'm one of those people of the opinion that the Tip shifts backwards (I think you should push to downshift and pull to upshift), but side-to-side is weird.

So if you're in Santa Fe and see a guy in a silver allroad with a *really* goofy grin, it's me. HPH

JBaumgart

Enjoyed your post! Congrats on your decision to buy the allroad --

My brother who is NOT a car guy just bought a ML320 for his wife. When I see them on Tuesday I'll ask her how she likes it.

uktena

apparently, the Alabama MB has fuel delivery and transmission problems; albeit, several posts here about transmission problems, too. Mine has not so far, touch wood. BTW, I love Santa Fe and surrounding areaLast time I was there I went to Sol y Sombra(sp?) for an evening of food, walks through their incredible gardens and American Indian music. can't wait to come back.

msenske

We traded our 98 ML320 in on an 01 allroad quattro and we couldn't be happier. At approximately 30K miles the transmission in our ML320 started to fail. Mercedes-Benz and the local dealer handled the situation superbly, however, it didn't make me feel all that great about the vehicle. The ML320 has "body on frame" construction, just like a truck, so it is a fairly bumpy ride on uneven pavement despite the independent suspension. It also didn't have quite enough horsepower considering the weight of the vehicle. There was a great deal of road noise due to the stock 255/65/16's and there was also a great deal of wind noise. The allroad is a much more refined automobile, and the fit and finish are far superior. We are very happy with our decision to buy the allroad.