One should be forgiven for thinking that this is a car!

That Mercedes has tried to give the M-class handling characteristics of a car is well known; how far they have succeeded one can believe only after driving the car. At low speeds the M-class exhibits a lot of body roll and one expects it to get worse as it picks up speed. But it is in fact the other way round. As the car picks up speed, it gets taut and flows into corners. If there were corners that the vehicle couldn't handle, I couldn't spot them, as the complex electronic systems take over and get to work; all I got to see were a few blips of the orange triangle that lights up when the ESP goes to work.

The ride quality is great, to say the least. The huge tyres dismiss ruts and surface abrasions without a twitch while the high profile tyres provide excellent cushioning. With the wheels being upgraded from the current 6.5Jx16 to 8Jx17, and tyres being changed from 225/75 R 16 all-terrain types to 255/60 R 17 all-season ones, the handling of the ML320 is going to get even better.

Though Mercedes-Benz persisted with the conventional chassis for an off-road vehicle, it had no hesitation in switching to a rack and pinion steering system. With a very impressive 11.9m turning circle the steering is so well weighted that the M-class is a joy to drive. Its precision came to light during overtaking on tight curves at 175kmph plus speeds. The steering with shock absorbers or dampers as you might like to call them, is one of the strongest points of the M-class driving experience.

The excellent suspension set-up also helps in maintaining the bulky SUV's poise under severe braking. With 301mm dia and 26mm thick internally ventilated discs doing duty upfront and 12mm thick and 285mm dia solid discs at the rear, there was never any doubt that the M-class carries solid stopping power, more so with all the electronic gadgetry it comes equipped with like ABS and brake assist. But what took us by surprise was the car's poise under severe braking as it rigidly stuck to its line, not wavering an inch, coming to a stop in 52.41m from 100kmph and in 31.68m from 80kmph. Given the way most UVs are prone to behave under severe braking, I must say that this vehicle's poise is exemplary.