In surveys that J.D. Power and Associates has conducted with verified owners of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class, the people that actually own and drive one told us what they like and what they don’t like about the car.

What Owners Like:

“Classic lines, beautiful interior and exterior.”

“It is a very pretty car.”

“Styling is aggressive, attractive, sharp.”

“Appearance [is] modern [and] looks great for a truck.”

“Overall fit and finish [is] top quality.”

“I like the way the car looks and performs.”

“Design is first-rate and performance is excellent.”

“The steering is a dream and driving is almost effortless.”

“The steering is exceptional, true and effortless.”

“Drives nice, handles well.”

“Drives like a sedan, not [an] SUV.”

“Fun to drive. Responsive.”

“Very easy to park and get around in traffic.”

“Clear view of the road from [the] driver’s seat.”

“[I like] the handling in snowy/icy conditions.”

“4Matic is awesome. [The M-Class] goes where my 4WD truck won’t.”

“[Fast] acceleration…for highway ramps.”

“The AMG engine is just amazing.”

“Quiet diesel motor [is] awesome.”

“Great gas mileage with the diesel engine.”

“Diesel engine is quiet, powerful, and green!”

“Fuel mileage [is] great for an SUV.”

“Overall driving performance [and] comfort [are] superb.”

“Superb comfort on a long trip.”

“Seating comfort is outstanding.”

“Solid feel and quiet ride.”

“Outside sounds and rattles are non-existent.”

“Interior is quiet – a top feature.”

“Great interior. Good appearance and comfort.”

“The seats are very comfortable.”

“Rear leg room is outstanding.”

“Cup holders [are] much improved.”

“Rear hatch opens with key…closes with button.”

“I love the automatic button to close the tailgate.”

“The iPod plug-in rocks!”

“Navigation system [is] accurate and easy to operate.”

“My wife loves it.”

“I only drive Mercedes diesels.”

“Quality workmanship; very solid vehicle.”

“It’s a Benz.”


What Owners Don’t Like:

“Needs more horsepower.”

“Rough ride, too sporty a feel, not enough comfort for long rides.”

“Too much play in steering.”

“Tires [track] rain grooves – car shimmies.”

“Transmission needs improvement. Hesitation issue.”

“The rims get dirty real fast.”

“$50K, no leather seats.”

“For $50,000, should have leather seating.”

“Needs leather seats as standard.”

“Seat leather [is] hard.”

“Leather upholstery quality is poor.”

“[MBTex] seats are sticky and make it hard to exit.”

“Vinyl seats in a Mercedes-Benz!”

“Driver’s seat is too hard.”

“No cool-vent seats.”

“Seats start to [get stained] by jeans.”

“Wearing jeans [the color] will rub off on seat.”

“The driver’s seat somehow seems to become soiled easily.”

“The rear seat is too short for the average man.”

“Some trim parts looks cheap.”

“Carpet and floor mats are cheap. Low quality.”

“Cup holders should be covered, like Lexus does.”

“The transmission shift[er] on [the steering] wheel – [I] hate it.”

“Shift [paddles] on back of steering wheel.”

“Don’t care for manual shift buttons on steering wheel.”

“Easy to accidentally hit downshift button on steering wheel.”

“[I] accidentally hit [shifter paddles] when turning wheel.”

“Manual shift buttons behind steering wheel are too sensitive. Slight bump puts car in different gear.”

“While turning the steering wheel, it is easy to press the buttons behind the steering wheel. Big mistake.”

“Cruise control lever is frequently hit instead of turn signal lever.”

“Placement of the cruise control.”

“Turn signal [and] cruise control confusion.”

“Location of wiper control [and] blinkers. Can’t see while driving.”

“Windshield wipers [and] cruise control [in] poor location.”

“Position of the cruise control [is] too close to turn signal.”

“Nav system [is] very difficult to use.”

“Navigation system not up to Mercedes standards.”

“Mouse on nav system [is] too difficult to use.”

“Navigation software [is] impossible to understand.”

“Navigation system is truly unsafe because it requires too many steps to use map.”

“Navigation system is confusing, outdated, and unusable.”

“Nav system is user-hostile. $250 Garmin is much better.”

“Navigation system not as good as our Garmin system.”

“Nav system [is] pitiful. Cheapest Garmin navi works better.”

“[Navigation] needs a touch screen. [I’m] using a Garmin 500 in its place.”

“The navigation system is hard to use and does not have a touch screen.”

“Would like touch screen navigation.”

“Navigation [is] not a touch screen like [Cadillac].”

“Audio console buttons not easy to press, not in intuitive positions.”

“Sound system quality could be a little better.”

“The rear DVD system is hard to get to and hard to operate.”

“Cannot [use] rear camera unless radio is on.”

“Rearview camera doesn’t turn on for seven seconds [after starting car].”

“When [climate system is] on automatic, foot wells seem much colder than the rest of the vehicle.”

“Width of back storage [is] too narrow.”

“Can’t lay down two sets of golf clubs side by side.”

“Storage space [in] console and glovebox [is] useless. Need more cup holders for rear seats.”

“Glovebox [is] way too small and center console is, too.”

“Storage space is insufficient.”

“The lack of space in driver area for small necessities is very frustrating.”

“Lack of hooks for grocery bags.”

“It’s hard for people to get in [and] out of seats.”

“Very difficult to get in and out for 5-foot 2-inch woman. Even running boards are awkward.”

“Running boards [make] it difficult to get in and out of vehicle.”

“Running boards no help – exit gets pant leg dirty.”

“Back of leg touches vehicle when exiting.”

“Sits rather high and can be quite a stretch to get in front seats.”

“Step-up to get into vehicle is too great.”

“Difficult to exit car – height a problem.”

“Difficult to enter and exit. Bump head on windshield pillar.”

“Have to close [driver door] hard to close all the way.”

“Engine problems right out of the gate [on] Day One.”

“Keyless Go is unreliable.”

“Requires premium gasoline.”

“Horrible MPG.”

“Gas mileage [is] very poor for a [V-6] engine.”

“Fuel mileage – but I really don’t care.”

“Maintenance [is] very expensive.”

“Over the last 10 years, Mercedes quality has done nothing but go down. Disappointing.”