Mercedes-Benz ML 350 review: the last M-Class before it became the GLE
3.6/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
An ML 350 bought today is a car that has finished depreciating hard and still drives like a proper Mercedes SUV: comfortable air-suspension-equipped ride on higher grades, a torquey V6, and 4MATIC all-wheel drive that never asks to be noticed. It lacks the badge cachet of the GLE that replaced it, which is precisely why it is better value. Insist on full service history — the air suspension and the various sensors on this generation are expensive to fix if neglected, and a discounted price with no paperwork usually means someone else already avoided that bill by selling the car.
Pros
- Torquey, smooth 3.5L V6 with standard 4MATIC all-wheel drive
- Comfortable ride, especially on cars with the optional air suspension
- Already past its heaviest depreciation, so pricing is realistic
- Mechanically and technologically the same car as the early GLE
Cons
- Air suspension faults are expensive if a car has been neglected
- No third-row seating option, unlike the larger GL
- Lacks the resale cachet of the current GLE badge
- Independent specialist servicing is essential; skipped history is a red flag
The W166 M-Class arrived in 2011 as a genuine step forward from the W164 it replaced — lighter, more efficient and considerably better built inside. Mercedes kept the ML name for this generation's entire run before folding it into the GLE nomenclature in 2016, which means a used W166 today is mechanically and technologically the same car as an early GLE, just without the badge premium.
The ML 350's 3.5-litre V6 makes a healthy 302 hp and pulls cleanly from low revs, which suits Bahrain's stop-start city driving as well as it suits a highway cruise to the causeway. 4MATIC all-wheel drive was standard on this engine and adds a reassuring sense of security in the rare rain or on a sandy verge, without ever intruding on the day-to-day drive.
Comfort first
This was always a comfort-focused SUV rather than a sporting one, and cars fitted with the optional air suspension ride noticeably better over Bahrain's patched secondary roads than the standard steel-sprung cars. That same air suspension is also the single biggest thing to check before buying — a failed compressor or leaking air spring is a real repair bill, and a pre-purchase inspection at an independent Mercedes specialist will catch it before you do.
Cabin space is genuinely useful for a family of five, with a proper five-seat layout (no third row was offered on the ML, unlike the larger GL) and a boot that swallows normal Bahrain-sized luggage without complaint.
Buying one now
With the nameplate discontinued and the GLE having taken over, the W166 ML sits in a sensible depreciation sweet spot: old enough to be affordable, recent enough to still feel like a modern Mercedes inside. Service history is everything on this generation — buy the paperwork as much as the car.