We leave Mercedes ML pleasure to devour Range Rover Sport

Don't you see yourself as a conqueror of off-road terrain, and your habitat is the city? Then you can skip ordering the On & Offroad package, which the test ML 500 is equipped with. In that case, you'll get permanent all-wheel drive with a free center differential, and the maximum ground clearance won't exceed 255 mm (instead of 285).

Running boards with powerful illumination in the style of Brabus tuning studio are a factory option. The rear-view camera always stays clean because it automatically retracts under a plastic cover.

The car turns into a serious off-roader for an additional fee (exception — this Supercharged version, which initially comes with advanced off-road transmission), and in base trims, the five-door is content with an asymmetric self-locking Torsen differential that sends up to 62% of torque forward and up to 78% rearward. By default, it splits the moment in a 48:52 ratio. No low-range gear, no wheel locks.

Regardless of the air suspension mode, without retractable side steps (option), getting into the cabin is difficult — the floor is too high. But thanks to the developed plastic side trim at the bottom of the doors, the threshold is always clean.

Expensive trim, high build quality, homey comfort, and thoughtful ergonomics — it seems you've just entered the cabin, but it feels like you've spent years here. The steering column-mounted gear selector (on the right side) is a very convenient thing!

The interior design is modern, there's noticeably more front width, and in terms of trim materials and the precision of button and controller effort, the Range Rover Sport even surpasses the Mercedes. But the interior is assembled worse (the lower edge of the central horizontal panel creaks and flexes when pressed with fingers), and using the equipment is not as convenient.

Control buttons for the most sought-after functions in the Mercedes are always at hand and don't require lengthy manipulations. And things like extended settings for the front multicontour seats (adjusting cushion length, side support bolsters, massage) are only available through the colorful and intuitive menu of the Comand Online system. Using it is a pleasure. And the navigation works more promptly than in the Range.

The Range's virtual instrument cluster is more visual than the classic Mercedes instrumentation. Moreover, this solution allows displaying more useful information, including large and clear navigation prompts and alarming messages about various malfunctions (the Mercedes also had plenty of such notifications). But the central touchscreen kills everything alive in us. It's larger than the Mercedes display, but the graphics send greetings from the last century, and the sluggish response to button presses would infuriate even a boa constrictor. The fact that to control some climate functions and seat heating/ventilation you need to dive into the multimedia menu is also displeasing. Only the stereo imaging function slightly sweetens the pill.

Both off-roaders are covered with cameras around the body — they are not only in the tailgate but also in the side mirror housings and the front bumper. But only the Mercedes can render a 'bird's-eye view' picture, while the Range Rover Sport displays images from all cameras in several virtual windows.

The Mercedes' headlights seem borrowed from two different cars, which introduces dissonance into the design. Alloy wheels with 255/50 R19 tires and perforated brake discs on both axles are standard equipment for the V8 version.

From whichever side you look, the Range Rover Sport is executed in a single memorable style. Stunning 22-inch alloy wheels are additional equipment ('in base' — 21-inch wheels). Six-piston Brembo calipers on the front axle are available for V8 cars by default.

The German SUV doesn't look big, but there's enough free space in the cabin for everyone. The seats with many adjustments are friendly to front and rear occupants, but in our Mercedes, second-row passengers will be bored — the only amenities are an armrest with two cupholders and seatback angle adjustment. Although any whim is possible for your money — on request, the car can be equipped with an entertainment system with monitors in the front seat headrests and a separate climate control unit.

The Range's front seats are no less technologically advanced. While they lack a built-in massage function, they hold the body better, and the three-stage heating or ventilation can be activated separately for the cushion and backrest. The luxurious front headrests, which gently embrace the head, are also worth noting. The rear bench is also heated and ventilated, and its backrest angle is adjustable. One thing that puzzles is why, with a wheelbase of nearly three meters, the second row offers cramped legroom.

The cabin of the test Range is a multimedia kingdom! There are two screens in the headrests, wireless headphones in the door pockets, and a remote control for the DVD player and Meridian audio system with 23 speakers and 1700 watts in the center armrest, priced at 228,500 rubles (the Mercedes has a Harman Kardon with 14 speakers and 830 watts). However, it's hard for rear passengers to watch movies on the move—the shaking can cause motion sickness.

The English SUV offers a properly shaped trunk and a full-size spare wheel with a diameter of 22 inches (you might pass out while pulling it out). But the cargo volume is a modest 784–1761 liters. Despite being shorter, narrower, and having a smaller wheelbase, the Mercedes offers from 690 to 2010 liters. The German also has a lower loading height and a slightly wider opening. Both vehicles have a power tailgate.

Like the Range Rover Sport, the Mercedes ML 500 is equipped with adaptive cruise control with stop & go function. Both systems work imperfectly, but the Mercedes one makes you more nervous due to late and harsh braking.

The Mercedes holds the high-speed straight better due to less sensitive steering, soft suspension, and indifference to worn ruts in the asphalt. Perhaps the ML would be more composed if the chassis were supplemented with optional Active Curve stabilizers for 222,000 rubles.

The British SUV is more eager to tackle winding roads than its opponent, and the weight distribution is almost ideal (the ML 500 has nearly 60% of its mass on the front axle).

Under throttle, the Range Rover Sport, without wasting much time on understeer, quickly transitions to carving into the corner, and if you let emotions run wild, it can even slide (and not always smoothly). In the same conditions, the Mercedes behaves more restrained—it understeers with a larger radius in a four-wheel drift.

Both SUVs have similar base ground clearance—200 mm for the Range and 202 mm for the Mercedes. But the German model has more forced air suspension modes, including a sport mode available at any speed that lowers the clearance to 180 mm. The English car, however, has an access mode (clearance of 150 mm), lowers or raises the body faster, and off-road with electronics, the ground clearance can be increased to 300 or even 335 mm (the Mercedes ML 500 with the On & Offroad package has a maximum of 285 mm).

The British claim that the Range Rover Sport has suspensions with the most impressive travel. The German lifted the rear wheel quickly, but with the 'Brit' we had to fiddle longer. However, both handle diagonal wheel articulation perfectly using only the stability control system. The approach and departure angles for the Mercedes and Range are 31 and 29 degrees versus 33 and 31 degrees, respectively.

A paradise for beginners! You select the off-road system mode and calmly set off to conquer nature—the car does everything for you. And the Mercedes is even more convenient in this regard—it offers fewer settings to choose from. You can display clear images on the screen showing the wheels, air suspension operation, and differential locks.

During the tests, both cars didn't complain about poor appetite: in normal driving modes with a predominance of city use, the Range Rover Sport consumed 20.4 liters of gasoline per 100 km, while the Mercedes ML 500 consumed 17.9 liters. Those who like to frequently press the gas pedal are to be pitied—fuel disappears from the tank almost as quickly as it enters.

Over the past year, Russians bought 5,427 Mercedes ML SUVs (of which 132 were the "500" models). Sales of the Range Rover Sport began in late August 2013, and by the end of the year, 1,448 vehicles were sold, including 511 five-door versions with the 510-horsepower engine. And we are not surprised by the popularity of the most powerful modification.

The British laugh: lightening a car is the cheapest kind of tuning. Not when you spend hundreds of millions of pounds sterling on developing an innovative aluminum platform. And you build a new factory for the lightweight cars of the new generation. The body is 25% stiffer in torsion and 30% lighter than the steel structure of the previous Sport. The stiffness values for both modern Ranges are the same, although only the floor is identical, not counting the overhangs, which are shorter on the Sport. By the way, I admit that the new Discovery will also be built on the same base. Unification is the motto of the Jaguar Land Rover concern these days.

Adapting the common Range Rover platform for the needs of the Sport, the developers were guided by the principle "more Range Rover, more sport." As a result, the Sport turned out to be 75% different from the big Range. Most of the parts for the Sport have their own identification code. The chassis is full of unique parts: front suspension arms and steering knuckles, rear arms and silent blocks, stabilizers, shock absorbers, and air springs... Everything marked in green on the demonstration units.

Even the steering mechanism with progressive rack teeth is different, with a 10% increased gear ratio. The damping elements on the Sport are 10% stiffer than on the big Range, passive stabilizers are 15% stiffer, active ones (in highway mode) are all 30%. All electronic active safety systems are configured in a new way.

The five-liter gasoline engine LR-V8 is familiar from the previous generation model, where it first appeared in 2009. The unit is produced in two versions — naturally aspirated and supercharged. Design features: compact aluminum cylinder block, variable valve timing on intake and exhaust, direct fuel injection, and on the naturally aspirated version also a variable-length intake manifold. Interestingly, this engine is a variation of the AJ133 engine found on several modern Jaguars. Only for the SUV did engineers make the oil pan deeper to ensure oil supply at large tilt angles, and also improved waterproof insulation of a number of important components such as the alternator or air conditioning pump.

The base transmission of the Sport uses an asymmetric self-locking Torsen differential. It can transfer up to 62% of traction forward and up to 78% backward, and by default splits torque in a 48:52 ratio in favor of the rear axle. The transmission, devoid of a low range and center lock, is 18 kg lighter. A more advanced scheme with a symmetric electronically controlled center differential and a two-speed transfer case (low gear ratio — 2.93:1) is standard only on the five-liter "supercharged" version. Others — for an extra charge. The rear active differential (also standard equipment for V8 SC) uses a stepper motor to control locking for faster operation along with ABS, simulating a torque vectoring system by braking the inner wheels in corners.

The body of the latest generation Mercedes ML has become stiffer where needed, more pliable in other places, and overall safer. The share of high-strength steels has increased. To save weight, the hood and front fenders are made of aluminum, and the cross member installed between the front pillars is die-cast from a magnesium alloy.

The Germans did a lot of work to ensure acoustic comfort of the body, using a variety of tricks. From active hydraulic engine mounts (top left) to soundproofing spray in the area of the bulkhead or trunk floor. In critical places, like wheel arches, among other things, "patches" are used that are applied by robots to a carefully calculated position. Although it looks as if the place for the sticker was chosen randomly.

The chassis architecture has not changed: double wishbones at the front and multi-link at the rear. However, all arms, steering knuckles, and hubs are now aluminum. The base suspension is still spring-based, but now it is equipped by default with passive shock absorbers with variable damping characteristics. The front air struts offered for an extra charge (in the illustration) have been changed: their design includes a new load-bearing joint that reduces the load on the air chamber housing. Adaptive shock absorbers ADS II with four-position stiffness adjustment are equipped with more reliable seals. All elements of the air system are better protected.

The main chassis innovations of the M-Class are the ZF electric power steering, almost like on the CLS sedan (shown by the red arrow) and active stabilizers with hydraulic locks (front shown by the green arrow), powered by a hydraulic system with pressure up to 180 bar. The ESP unit adjusts the angular stiffness of the suspensions to minimize understeer or prevent skidding at an early stage, before the brakes come into play.

The V8 4.7 engine (M278) with two turbochargers and third-generation direct fuel injection weighs 220 kg and resembles in architecture the naturally aspirated engine with index M273 KE46, which was previously installed, in particular, on the (340 hp): the cylinder bank angle is 90°, the cylinder pitch (distance between axes) is 109 mm with a cylinder diameter of 92.9 mm and a piston stroke of 86 mm. The compression ratio is 10.5:1. The block is cast from an aluminum alloy, and the liners are made of silicon-aluminum. The valvetrain is driven by three silent chains. Phase shifters are on both intake and exhaust.

The upgraded seven-speed "hydromechanics" 7G-Tronic Plus is adapted for the start/stop system and is equipped with a new torsional vibration damper with a centrifugal pendulum to reduce vibrations at low speeds of diesel engines. The all-wheel drive transmission features a free center differential and low-inertia drives that distribute torque to the axles in equal proportions. A more advanced version with the On & Offroad package is equipped with a two-speed transfer case with a low range (2.93:1) and center locking via an electronically controlled multi-disc clutch. However, the imitation of inter-wheel locks is the responsibility of the stability control system and brake mechanisms.

The Range Rover Sport SUV is a younger model than the Mercedes ML. The first generation of the British five-door was released in 2005, and it was based on a platform with a body-integrated frame and independent suspensions from the Land Rover Discovery 3 (McPherson at the front and double wishbone at the rear). The length of the then-new model reached 4737 mm, and the wheelbase was 2745 mm. The body was steel, but due to less metal, the curb weight was reduced by 100 kg compared to the regular Range Rover. But still, the Range Rover Sport turned out to be heavy — depending on the version, the weight varied from 2480 to 2798 kg. And there were enough modifications: before the restyling, the SUV was equipped with a naturally aspirated V8 4.4 (300 hp) and a supercharged V8 4.2 (390), as well as turbo diesels V6 2.7 (190) and V8 3.6 (272). All engines were paired with the only available six-speed automatics, and the fastest versions could accelerate to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds and reach up to 225 km/h (the slowest — 12.3 seconds and 193 km/h). The SUV also received permanent all-wheel drive with locking center and rear differentials, a low range, and the Terrain Response system, which allowed selecting one of several off-road driving algorithms. As options, customers were offered air suspension, increasing ground clearance to 227 mm.

In April 2009, the updated Range Rover Sport was shown at the New York Auto Show. Designers retouched the exterior, and the interior finally matched the model's status. But even more changes were made to the technical side. The engine lineup was completely revised. The outdated gasoline V8s gave way to the newest V8 5.0, which developed from 375 to 510 hp. A new diesel also appeared, replacing the previous ones at once: it was a three-liter V6, available with one or two turbochargers and producing 211, 245, or 256 horsepower. The six-speed automatic was also removed from the range, replaced by an eight-speed one. Of course, the Range Rover Sport became more dynamic — acceleration time depending on the engine ranged from 10.3 to 6.2 seconds. Production of the first-generation car at the Solihull plant ceased in early 2013.

The Mercedes ML crossover (W163) was first presented in 1997 as the Germans' response to the successful Lexus RX. The car was developed primarily for the North American market and was produced at the DaimlerChrysler plant in Alabama. The crossover was offered by default in a five-seat version, and a third row of seats could be ordered for an additional fee. The base ML 230 was equipped with a four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 2.3 liters, developing 150 hp. The six-cylinder ML 320 was equipped with the corporate 3.2 engine with three valves per cylinder and a power of 218 hp. In 1998, the ML SUV received the North American Truck of the Year award. Since spring 1999, a version with a V8 with a power of 272 hp was supplied to Europe. The engines were paired with five-speed manual or automatic transmissions. A year later, the model range was supplemented with two new variants — the economical ML 270 CDI and the "charged" ML 55 AMG. In 2001, the car underwent a restyling: the optics changed, the number of airbags increased to eight, turn signal repeaters appeared in the side mirrors, and the interior slightly freshened up.

The second generation of the ML crossover (W164) was presented in 2005 at the Detroit Motor Show. The car grew in size: compared to its predecessor, it became 15 cm longer and seven centimeters wider. The exterior became more aggressive. The new model was offered in two different variants. The base was a crossover with spring suspension, permanent all-wheel drive, and an upgraded electronic traction control system 4-ETS. The advanced off-road variant Pro Off-Road was considered with Airmatic air suspension (four fixed body positions, maximum ground clearance 291 mm), an additional transfer case with a low range, and locking of the center and rear differentials. The engine lineup also expanded: it included a new V6 3.5 with a power of 272 hp and two V6 turbo diesels for the ML 280 CDI (190 hp, 440 N•m) and ML 320 CDI (224 hp, 510 N•m) versions. All engines were paired with the new 7G-Tronic automatic. In 2006, the "charged" modification ML 63 AMG appeared: the V8 6.2 engine developed 510 hp, accelerating the car from standstill to 100 km/h in just five seconds. The 2009 restyling was minor, but at the same time, a hybrid modification of the crossover with a gasoline V6 3.5 and an electric motor appeared.

Part of the test was a trip to the cultural and educational center "Ethnomir", located about 100 km from Moscow. During the trip, there were no complaints about the cars, except for one — the front side windows get dirty too quickly and heavily, which interferes with the view in the mirrors. But the place where we spent a couple of hours evoked mixed feelings. The idea is excellent, but the implementation still needs work. And also, while in "Ethnomir", one cannot shake the feeling that the quality of services does not match the price tags.