"M" class Mercedes

Almost. I tow a 1860kg caravan with a R320 diesel ..... same floor pan & drive system as a M Class .... as much as I'd have liked a R500, I couldn't justify the mpg of a 5 litre V8. It tows effortlessly. MPG is about 20 when towing

We bought an ML320 cdi last year to tow our new (to us) Unicorn Barcelona , twin axle . its the perfect outfit , love it to bits . wife uses the car as her daily drive .

 

the only down side is running cost but you are not going to tow a twin axle with a cheap to run car!

 

just paid £950 at a specialist for service , gearbox service , wing mirror motor replacement. bit of a shock but hey!!

 

 

wing mirror motor replacement.

I had to do that too ..... an R Class is quite wide. 

That was still an expensive  service  

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I've paid for my car's servicing as I've gone on .... no way will I pay main dealer labour rates for an oil change & someone with a tick list. My car was bought from a MB main dealer at around 42000 miles & when I asked if it'd had an ATF change, the reply was a vague 'it should have had'  so I paid  an independant  to do it for me. It was nothing like £800 😊

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You didn't mention if you were buying new. If you do, make sure you specify the Mercedes tow pack as it includes the additional cooling equipment that may affect warranty later down the line if you use the car in a very hot/high altitude condition.

I have an E350 diesel towing 1500+ single axle with no problem. mechanical components are very similar to M class. Real difference is that I only have 85Kg nose weight capability, I believe the M class is around 140Kg. I am led to believe that the M class is more stable at 65mph+ speeds where of course this is permissible.

I will be changing my van to a heavier one. If it is twin axle, I will probably keep the current car. If it is single and 1800Kg+ I will get the M class or VW Touareg - subject to the deal on the tow pack.

Applause,

 

Yes I have an ML300CDI which I have used to tow my Coachman 565/4 Pastiche.  I bought it new in March 2011 and she has now done 71K. In nearly 40 years of Caravanning the ML 300 is probably by a very long margin the best tow car that I have ever owned. And that includes a Shogun, a Toyota Colorado, and 3 Toyota Landcruisers.

The Secret of the M series is that in V6 form it has a fantastic and pretty unburstable engine. But it also has a road wheell at each corner with very little rear overhang. That means it is very stable when towing, and has very little sway even when towing a heavy caravan. I get 35,000 per set of tyres and the same per set of brake pads. I have just fitted new discs at 70,000. Those have been my only heavy expenditure. Fuel consumption (solo) on the Blue Efficiency model like mine is averaging over 30 and often well over that, she tows a heavy van at 24 mpg.  As I said the best car I have had.

Sadly I am now  in failing health, and I think I will have to give up caravanning as I can no longer manage the setting up. So she will soon have to go. But I doubt  that I will find a better one.

 

TF

I must be doing something wrong with my R Class. I get 20mpg at best while towing my Coachman 620/4 

I think that you will find that the "Blue Efficiency"   M class models are significantly better on fuel than the earlier models.  They were built after fuel prices had rocketed and fuel consumption had become an issue.  Mine cruises on the motorway at 35 mpg and lightly loaded has even recorded 40 mpg on a couple occasions.  I never get less than 500 miles on a tankful and usually about 530 -540.  Certainly I have never gone as low as 20 mpg towing. Its always 23/24.

I'm fanatical about record keeping and my log book records every tenth of a litre of fuel that has passed through her since the day that I took delivery and all incidents etc like wiper changes or a bulb failure.

With the Blue efficiency models it is important to stick to original equipment tyres when changing, OR to ensure that you fit low rolling resistance tyres, they do make at least 3-4 mpg difference as I found out on my first tyre change at 35,000 miles. the dealer fitted the wrong ones and my fuel consumption went up markedly. I complained and the tyres were changed back to original spec.   Fuel consumption returned to the previous level.

TF