How much comfort a car really offers can best be experienced in difficult driving situations – on a steep off-road descent, for example. In the M-Class you don’t have to spend your time concentrating on finely balancing brakes, transmission and acceleration in order to make it down to the valley safely. Downhill Speed Regulation (DSR) takes care of that for you. A touch of the button suffices, and the M-Class maintains a set downhill speed. And if you are starting off on an upward incline, there is hill start assist: all you have to do is step on the accelerator – the brakes are released with a slight delay. This prevents the vehicle from rolling back unintentionally.

For comfort during sporty driving, the DIRECT SELECT steering-wheel gearshift paddles allow fingertip gear changes. Furthermore, with the AIRMATIC package (standard for the ML 500 and available as an option for ML 350) comprising air suspension and the adaptive damping system (ADS), bumpy roads become as comfortable as a motorway.