Buying a new car can be a dividing experience. You’re going around the showrooms and are impressed by the might and presence of an SUV, but then you come across a luxury saloon, and are swayed by its comfort, internal features and the feeling you get sitting inside.
The third generation of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class combines the best of these worlds: the much-coveted SUV not only boasts a strong off-road vehicle heritage, but its passengers also benefit from levels of comfort comparable to those of a premium saloon. Turned aluminium or high-quality wood, finely detailed switches and highlights as well as exciting surfaces and powerful, harmonious lines help to create a high-quality sense of wellbeing in the interior for both the driver and passengers. Just the kind of car we at bazaar love to take out for a spin!
Sure we spend a lot of time cruising the highways, but when we want to bust off the roads and do some exploring, the M-Class has you covered. This is the desert after all! The optional ON & OFFROAD package for the new M-Class has six driving modes for optimizing driving dynamics and handling safety, as the optimum drive system control is provided for an extremely wide range of on-road and off-road operating conditions. This means at the flick of a switch you can optimize the drive experience, no matter where you are.
This is a seriously good-looking car. The new generation is instantly recognizable as an M-Class by its characteristic body design with the hallmark C-pillar shape. It combines high levels of design, appeal and ease of use to create a powerful presence. The front of the vehicle is dominated by the powerfully self-confident design of the radiator grille with its centrally positioned Mercedes star, giving it that typical M-Class look. Seen from the side, the elongated lines give formal emphasis to the on-road credentials of this vehicle, whose compact proportions are defined by a large wheelbase and short overhangs. The rear bumper, which features an integrated chrome-effect load sill guard in a new “wing design”, defines the characteristic appearance of the SUV’s rear end.
Think of all of the above as what everybody else will experience as you cruise on by. We got more than our fair share of rubberneckers driving the roads of Kuwait. But when you’re the driver you also don’t want to miss out on the aesthetic experience. Thankfully, the interior design concept clearly combines an authentic SUV experience with a sense of wellbeing that is usually the reserve of top-class Mercedes-Benz saloons. While an expressive dome shape embodies the power of an SUV, the gently sloping contours of the dashboard in the front passenger area afford an outstanding sense of space, thereby highlighting the vehicle’s suitability for long journeys. The spacious, bright interior offers substantially more elbow room than its predecessor, thus enhancing spaciousness. Eye-catching features on the dashboard include a large trim element that matches the trim used for the doors and therefore creates a harmonious wrap-around effect. The seats in the new M-Class have been designed to offer high long-distance comfort and optimum lateral support. All of the key settings can be adjusted electrically.
We at bazaar love gadgets and couldn’t wait to get our hands on the cool features. The new M-Class comes as standard with the Audio 20 CD system, which comprises a radio with twin-tuner, a color display with a 14.7 cm screen diagonal, an MP3/WMA/AAC-compatible CD player, a USB interface with CD Cover Art display (if saved on the storage medium), an AUX-IN socket in the centre armrest and a telephone keypad. The Bluetooth interface also allows hands-free telephony and Audio Streaming for the transfer of music. We opted for a little bit of rebel rock for our journey, and the sound system blasted The Clash’s The Guns of Brixton with impressive clarity and bass. The COMAND Online multimedia system with a high-resolution 17.8 cm color display provides internet access in the M-Class for the first time. Customers can either browse freely when the vehicle is at a standstill or use a Mercedes-Benz App with pages that load extremely quickly and are also easy to use when the vehicle is on the move.
In line with the Mercedes-Benz brand philosophy, the new M-Class represents the embodiment of the Mercedes-Benz holistic safety concept of REAL LIFE SAFETY, which is derived primarily from what happens in a real accident situation. Good to know on the highways of Kuwait!
Parking at bazaar HQ is not always the easiest task, so we were more than happy to utilize the Active Park Assist and the reversing camera as we rolled back in from driving the Mercedes-Benz M-Class – a car that delivers everything you need from an SUV, with everything you want from a luxury saloon.
The new M-Class has been available in Kuwait from Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Co. since March 2012.
For more information on M-Class or any other Mercedes-Benz product and service in Kuwait, please visit mercedes-benz.com.kw or become a friend on Facebook: MercedesBenzKuwait. You can also download the iPhone application for Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Company by searching for ‘MBKuwait‘ in the Apple app store.
