Photo: SB-Medien
With more or less a year until we will finally see what Mercedes-Benz engineers and designers have been cooking when it comes to the 2015 M-Class W166 facelift, we are currently stuck with guessing where the knife has been used more prominently on the SUV's body.
We already know that the center console will finally get a larger infotainment screen that somewhat uses the “free-standing tablet design” idea - therefore angering a good deal of people) – and which is flanked by a pair of air conditioning vents that may or may not look a bit too similar to those from the current Porsche Cayenne, another Stuttgart SUV that competes in the same segment.
As far as the exterior modifications go, the front will represent quite a big design departure compared with the current model, despite the fact that the pre-production prototype spied in the adjacent images is still featuring the headlights from the current car.
A good preview of the new front is most definitely represented by the Mercedes-Benz Concept Coupe SUV, recently-unveiled at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show, which sports engine grille-hugging headlights, just like almost all current Mercedes-Benz models.
Speaking of which, if you squint a bit you can actually see that this black prototype is an American model as it is sporting amber front signals, which are US-only, making us think that it is more of a testing mule than the actual 2015 facelift model.
The big mystery still revolves around the design of the rear taillights, which on the current model have received their fair share of criticism from some people, but time will tell if they will get a major redesign or not.
Engine-wise, a Plug-in Hybrid variant could be in the charts, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. The new three-liter twin-turbocharged V6 may come in two variants, replacing the ML 350 with a ML 400 model and introducing a new ML 450 version.
The ML 400 will make due with 333 hp and 480 Nm (354 lb ft) of torque, while the not-yet-confirmed ML 450 will get the 367 hp and 550 Nm (406 lb ft) of torque version of the new powerplant that will also arrive on the Mercedes-Benz C 450 Sport. Expect more details about the facelifted SUV as we learn about them.
As far as the exterior modifications go, the front will represent quite a big design departure compared with the current model, despite the fact that the pre-production prototype spied in the adjacent images is still featuring the headlights from the current car.
A good preview of the new front is most definitely represented by the Mercedes-Benz Concept Coupe SUV, recently-unveiled at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show, which sports engine grille-hugging headlights, just like almost all current Mercedes-Benz models.
Speaking of which, if you squint a bit you can actually see that this black prototype is an American model as it is sporting amber front signals, which are US-only, making us think that it is more of a testing mule than the actual 2015 facelift model.
The big mystery still revolves around the design of the rear taillights, which on the current model have received their fair share of criticism from some people, but time will tell if they will get a major redesign or not.
Engine-wise, a Plug-in Hybrid variant could be in the charts, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. The new three-liter twin-turbocharged V6 may come in two variants, replacing the ML 350 with a ML 400 model and introducing a new ML 450 version.
The ML 400 will make due with 333 hp and 480 Nm (354 lb ft) of torque, while the not-yet-confirmed ML 450 will get the 367 hp and 550 Nm (406 lb ft) of torque version of the new powerplant that will also arrive on the Mercedes-Benz C 450 Sport. Expect more details about the facelifted SUV as we learn about them.
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