Although at first glance it may appear the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series, the C63 AMG, the new-generation M-Class and the B200 have little in common, today they do, as it's this diverse bunch that have a starring role in this, our newest Mercedes Review Roundup installment.  In total, four publications weigh on the models, so if you're contemplating the purchase of any, read on to see what reviewers thought of each.

As always, you can find excerpts from each review as well as links back to the full articles immediately below.

Enjoy.


Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series (via Popular Mechanics)
Reviewer's rating:  Unspecified

"Like the other Black Series cars, the SL65's transformation is all-encompassing. The boy-racer bodywork is no simple body kit, but a nearly complete replacement of the SL's duds. The Black Series shares only its doors with the SL, and except for the rear fenders, the rest of the unique Black Series body is made from lightweight carbon fiber. Even the SL's convertible top was ditched in favor of an aerodynamic fixed roof.

The hand-built twin-turbo V12 is the same unit we've seen in Mercedes cars for years, but careful tweaking, new turbos and more boost bump power to the new height of 661 hp. The five-speed automatic transmission was selected over the newer, Benz seven-speed box, because it can handle more torque. But even that tranny can't handle all the grunt this engine can produce, and as a result, the engine's torque peak was limited to only 778 lb.-ft. Uh, trust us, it's plenty.

Usually, numbers don't tell the whole the story. But in this case, they do. Consider this: At just 2000 rpm, the turbo V2 hit its 778 lb.-ft. torque peak and maintains that figure all the way to 4200. So just off of idle, there's nearly five times the torque of an everyday Honda Accord and thus, the Black Series positively leaps off the line. Mercedes says it'll hit 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, but that number is probably slow by a few tenths and even then, it's traction limited. Turbo lag? There simply isn't any, just an immediate, forceful thrust all the way to the 6500-rpm redline. With enough room, the Black Series will hit an electronically limited 199-mph top speed.

Like all Benzes, the Black Series is supremely stable at speed. If that monster V12 masks the car's 4300 pound weight—about 200 pounds lighter than a regular SL65—there's no denying that it's a big beast. While that stability is terrific when blasting down the highway, the car feels a bit big and ponderous in tight curves. The transmission doesn't help. Even in the manual mode, the shifts are slow, and if you hit the rev limiter, the engine goes into a time-out and takes its time before responding to an upshift command. On the track, we found that the tranny's automatic mode worked best, and with so much torque on hand, perfect gear selection wasn't that critical for quick lap times.

There's nothing to fault with the handling, however. At the limit, the car safely pushes its front tires, letting the driver creep up to the rather quick cornering speeds. Thankfully, there's a three-stage stability-control system. In the normal mode, it's very aggressive, but the sport mode allows plenty of slip before intervening. When turned off, the biggest challenge is simply keeping the rear tires glued at corner exits. The brakes are fantastically strong and mostly fade-free, but the pedal unfortunately feels spongy, which makes delicate brake applications hard to achieve.

On the road, the biggest danger is other cars that seemingly can't resist coming by for a closer look. Who can blame them? This Benz looks like a DTM race car, except that inside it has all the creature comforts of a standard SL. There are, of course, compromises—performance is rarely free. The Black Series clops over surface imperfections and its turning circle is decidedly trucklike. If those are issues, however, then you're simply not Black Series material."

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Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG (via driving.ca)
Reviewer's rating:  Unspecified

An obvious follower of the Detroit maxim that there is no substitute for cubic displacement, AMG - once an independent racing and tuning firm of Mercedes cars and now a part of the Mercedes-Benz organization - chucks the V6 and shoehorns a honkin' big, hand-assembled, 6.2-litre V8 into the C63.

The numbers are prodigious - 451 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque - and the sound raises goose pimples. Should you feel the need to explore the sedan's full potential (on a race track, of course), you will be shoved into the well-bolstered sport seat as the C63 blasts to 100 kilometres an hour in 4.5 seconds on its way to an electronically limited 280 km/h.

While the C63 AMG's drivetrain and its performance - not to mention the V8's basso profundo growl - are justifiable tantalizers to wean me from any thoughts of the 911 Carrera, there are several other factors worthy of consideration, namely room, comfort and price.

Believe me when I say that I am an unabashed admirer of the 911. Precious few are the cars that so engage and involve a driver - at least cars costing less than $100,000 (not much under $100K in the case of the Carrera 2).

But, in leaning toward the iconic Porsche, one must also embrace these truths: On anything less than billiard table-smooth tarmac its ride borders on unforgiving, its rear seats are suitable for newborns only and, on longer drives, the din from the rear-mounted boxer engine can be fatiguing.

Although the C63 AMG is most likely to be compared with the BMW M3, Audi RS4 and Lexus IS F, it gives up nothing to the Carrera in terms of straightline performance - and it wouldn't embarrass itself on a track, either, thanks to the re-engineered multi-link independent rear suspension and a wider track. It can seat four with comfort and its ride is firm in the manner of the best German sport sedans - superior handling dynamics married with the long-distance comfort one expects from a Mercedes. The kicker is that, at a starting price of $63,500, it's about $30,000 less expensive than the 911.

That price is a bargain for what is a truly outstanding sport sedan, one that is equally at ease puttering around town or exploding off an on-ramp to highway speed in what seems like the blink of an eye. The C63 has an incredible feel to it, with speed-sensitive steering that immediately responds to your wishes, and gargantuan brakes - 360-millimetre discs with six-piston calipers up front and 330-mm discs with four-piston fixed calipers at the back - that are positively heroic in the way they dissipate speed."

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Mercedes-Benz M-Class (via Channel 4)
Reviewer's rating:  


"Facelift is too strong a word for the revised Mercedes M-Class. The big 4x4 is making do with the mildest of aesthetic revisions and a minor tweak for the V6 diesel models.  The biggest change is that the Sport trim has been set further apart from the SE trim, with more aggressive styling and huge 20" wheels, plenty of shiny metal work and a razor-effect front grille.

The new upgraded Sport trim is an attempt to attract younger buyers, normally seen in more sporting SUVs such as the Range Rover Sport and the BMW X5. So how does it fare?  Mercedes hasn't tuned the suspension to make it any sportier, instead giving adding 20" wheels to beef up the aesthetic aggression. This means the M-Class Sport's dynamics barely differ from the SE, other than a slight increase in turn-in grip. Nevertheless, the ML is still quite capable cross-country, even on bumpy B-roads.

The M-Class still doesn't quite meet the challenge of its sportier rivals. Both the X5 and Range Rover Sport maintain better body control with less roll angles, while being blessed with more accurate steering.

As far as the engines go, our pick of the range is still the 221bhp version of the 3.0-litre V6. Against the clock the ML320 CDi goes from 0-62mph in 8.6 seconds, topping out at 134mph. This is significantly quicker than the cheaper 187bhp ML280 CDi, which hits 62mph in 9.8 seconds.

But it's the added torque of the more powerful engine that really makes the difference. The ML320 CDi delivers its maximum 376lb-ft (51lb-ft more than the less powerful ML280 CDi) at a lowly 1,600rpm, giving the ML a useful extra shove for overtaking.

For those who need even more acceleration we recommend the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 diesel over the ML500 petrol alternative, mainly because of the ML420 CDi's huge reserves of pulling power that dwarf even the petrol's best efforts (516lb-ft v 391lb-ft).

Finishing off the range is the £77,000 ML63 AMG. The performance and handling is so far removed from the rest of the M-Class range that we'll be reviewing this in a separate road test - and giving it an award for 4x4 lunacy."

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Mercedes-Benz B200 (via CarPoint.com.au)
Reviewer's rating:  

"Having driven a manual A 180 CDI diesel, we opted for a B 200 with the Continuously Variable Transmission, rather than the same (diesel) drivetrain.

This has already been covered in our PACKAGING section, but it's immediately apparent that the B 200 offers driving dynamics similar to those of the A-Class, but the larger car is a more appropriate choice for carrying four average-sized adults in reasonable comfort.

The B 200's naturally-aspirated engine was extremely quiet and smooth, particularly with the CVT, but we used about 9.0L/100km with this engine, versus about 6.5L/100km for the A 180. That figure for the petrol B resulted from mostly open-road touring with a bit of flogging up and down-dale. The upside is that the engine felt reasonably spritely, even driving through the CVT -- and with up to four people onboard.

The optional Parking Assist feature proved itself adequate in both cars; but in one sense, we question the point of it. It's not a full-blown parking system as in the Lexus LS600hL -- in which the car takes care of braking and throttle as well as steering -- and the small Mercs might be easy enough to reverse park if fitted with a reversing camera and park sensor system anyway.

Parking Assist uses ultrasonics to find a slot between two parked cars and offers the driver the option of parking there, provided the parking spot is no less than 1.3 metres longer than the overall length of the Mercedes.

Once reverse gear is selected, the driver need only feather the brakes and the Mercedes will steer itself into the parking spot, with the driver monitoring the proximity to the parked car behind -- through the acoustic tones from the reverse-parking guidance system. The driver then selects Drive and the car, as it moves forward, turns the steering wheel anti-clockwise to straighten up the vehicle. A single tone indicates to the driver that Parking Assist has completed its task.

Parking Assist is feasible because of the electrically-assisted steering, which is weighted more heavily in the B 200 than in the A 180 and, frankly, feels better in the larger car.

In some other respects too, the B-Class has the edge over the A-Class. Although the smaller car is cheaper and, arguably, easier to drive, the B-Class is not much more expensive and is a car that the family will not outgrow. And you can specify the handy diesel engine and CVT for either car."

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And to Shiv:  many thanks for the tips my good sir; we sincerely appreciate them.