Details of Cars

Mercedes-Benz M-Class: the SUV built in Alabama

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Mercedes-Benz GLE W167
The later Mercedes-Benz GLE (W167). Photo by Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Mercedes-Benz M-Class, now called GLE, is a mid-size luxury SUV produced since 1997. It sits between the GLC and the GLS and was the company’s first mainstream SUV.

Mercedes-Benz M-Class at a glance

Mercedes-Benz M-Class key facts
Produced since 1997
Later name GLE, from 2015
First generation W163, 1997–2004
Second generation W164, from 2004
Third generation W166, from 2011
First plant Vance, Alabama
European assembly Magna Steyr in Graz, 1999–2002
First-generation layout body on frame, five or seven seats
Drive permanent 4MATIC four-wheel drive
Launch 19 February 1997 in the United States
Badging ML, after an objection by BMW
Renamed GLE with the facelifted W166 in 2015

This article is based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the GLE, which covers the M-Class.

History of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class

The M-Class began as an attempt to replace the G-Class, which had been in production for eleven years. In early 1991 Mercedes-Benz agreed with Mitsubishi Motors to develop a sport-utility vehicle together, possibly on the Montero/Pajero platform, but the plan was dropped in May 1992 because of technical problems, and Mercedes-Benz continued on its own from January 1993. A site for a new American plant was chosen in Alabama in September 1993, construction started in 1994 and the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plant was finished in July 1996. The first production car came off the line in the week of 9 February 1997.

Mercedes-Benz GLE W167, rear view
GLE (W167) from the rear. Photo by Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The W163 was launched on 19 February 1997 in the United States for the 1998 model year, with sales from that September. It was a body-on-frame SUV with seating for five, or seven with an optional third row, permanent 4MATIC four-wheel drive and a two-speed dual-range transfer box. The third-row version was discontinued after 2005 because access was difficult and the seats suited only children; its place was taken by the larger GL-Class. Between 1999 and 2002 the W163 was also assembled by Magna Steyr in Graz for Europe.

BMW, which sells M models such as the M3, objected to Mercedes-Benz badging a car M 320, so the cars were marketed as ML 320 under the M-Class name. The second generation, W164, moved to a unibody platform shared with the GL-Class. The third generation, W166, was built in Stuttgart for Europe and Australia from 2011 to 2015 before production moved entirely to Alabama. With the facelifted W166 shown in New York in April 2015, the M-Class was renamed GLE, following the new scheme in which the letter after GL links the SUV to the corresponding saloon class.

Design and features

  • First mainstream SUV: the company’s move from the G-Class into the growing SUV market.
  • Alabama production: built at Vance since 1997.
  • 4MATIC: permanent four-wheel drive in the first generation.
  • ML badging: the M name was changed to ML after BMW complained.

Mercedes-Benz M-Class versions

  • W163 (1997–2004): body-on-frame, five or seven seats.
  • W164 (2004): unibody second generation.
  • W166 (2011): third generation.
  • GLE (2015): the renamed facelifted W166.

The M-Class sits below the GL-Class and above the GLK, and followed the G-Class into the SUV market. More in the Mercedes-Benz collection.

Video: 2002 Mercedes-Benz ML 320 (W163)

Video by YouTube on YouTube.

Sources

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