2002 Mercedes-Benz M-Class; With more than 1000 changes, the M-Class marks its territory.(Mercedes-Benz 's second-generation M-Class)(International Pages)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)

Sporting two three-pointed stars on its front end, the M-Class makes a bold statement, just as you'd expect from a Mercedes-Benz product. When it debuted in 1998, it cracked the market for German-make luxury trucks. BMW's sweet X5 came on board a year later and now, with Porsche and VW-branded SUVs on the way, the race between German truckmakers, not to mention Acura, with its 2001 North American Truck of the Year MDX, heats up. Mercedes still moves more trucks than BMW, but the trend looks to be reversing. Claiming 1100 improvements to its 2002 M-Class, Mercedes means to hold its rank.

From the outside, the second-generation M-Class doesn't look much different from its predecessor, though several changes were indeed made. To counter the charge that its SUV's appearance was too minivan-like, Mercedes reshaped its front and rear bumpers for a more aggressive look. A new tailgate panel was added, along with new crystalline-look headlights and new taillights. Turn signal repeaters are integrated into sideview mirrors, which have fresh casings.

Interior refinements include a leather steering wheel and gearshift knob. Buttons marked ``3'' on the dash open the new rear quarter-windows on the M-Class, which continues to offer seating for five and an optional third row that increases seating capacity to seven.

Both the ML320 and the ML500 get new 17-inch alloy wheels with all-season tires and a larger-capacity fuel tank for 2002. Off-roadability is improved through the addition last year of a downhill traction control system and crawling mode, though we're pretty sure most M-Class buyers won't choose this truck for its utility potential.

We found the 215-hp V6 in the base model we drove still strains to get the ML320's 4786-pound girth moving. Once up to speed, the truck tends to lean in corners; perhaps a bit stiffer ...