Video: Mercedes ML 63 AMG review Yet for the most part, the AMG specialists have done a remarkable job in calming the ML's wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension. On air springs with adjustable dampers, it rides remarkably well, even on the optional 21in wheels and correspondingly low-profile tyres. The steering feels inert, naturally, but it's accurate, if a little low-geared when pressing on, when you find you're twirling away at the rim like a whirling dervish. The body control is remarkable, resisting roll and still maintaining a smooth demeanour. Like most of these monster SUVs, its optimum pace is some way south of maximum attack, although it will do it, if you are determined. As Källenius says, "You could take it to the track, but you wouldn't." What's more, this is a more economical vehicle than its predecessor, by almost 30 per cent, according to AMG. There's a good reason for that, however. The old model was fitted with a motorsport-derived, naturally aspirated, 503bhp, 6.2-litre V8, which lives on in the Mercedes SLS supercar. The new production-based biturbo V8 is cheaper and cleaner and while it isn't quite as special, it has still felt the loving touch of Affalterbach's engineers. New crank, cracked racing con rods, Mahle racing pistons, ported and polished, with a new cooling system, the boost goes up from one to 1.3 Bar and there's a revised direct-injection strategy that allows you to unleash a whole new world of blur if you open her up. Twin turbos mean it isn't drinking quite so deeply on part throttle as the old engine, although if you regularly access the performance there won't be much in it. What you don't get, even with the Performance Pack, is the kind of thump-in-the-spine acceleration you might expect from 525bhp. It feels fast, but not über fast, which its predecessor did. Comparing new with old, the top speed is limited to 155mph on both, but 0-62mph acceleration is 4.8sec for the new car, 5.0sec for the old, with an EU Combined fuel consumption of 23.9mpg for the latest model compared with 17.1mpg for its predecessor. But it's more than just a numbers racket. That naturally aspirated V8 had an instant response that made it insanely quick, as well as a wave of torque as big as anything you'll find in Hawaii. What doesn't help this production-based biturbo V8 is the seven-speed transmission, which is slow to react to the steering-wheel paddles and shunts on partial throttle openings, but in a straight line it slurs changes with a soundtrack straight off a Nascar oval as the car charges towards the horizon. The brakes, with enormous six-piston calipers at the front, are staggering, almost impossible to fade and very powerful with a highly sensitive pedal. This car is also quite a looker, with a sloping roofline that sets it apart from other big SUVs and a glassy rear, which gives plenty of headroom and space in the back seats and also maintains a visual lightness on bodywork that could have ended up quite sinister and thuggish. In the cabin there's a sharpness to the design that surpasses the old model. What helps here is the soundness of the basic layout, with a simple twin-dial binnacle, an accordian's worth of buttons under the centre console screen and straightforward rotary heater and air-con controls. AMG's designers have primped the details, with aluminium surrounds, special trim on the steering wheel, floor mats and sill plates. It's tasteful and subtle, although some of the trim options are less so than others. The sports seats are sumptuously leathery, and comfortable, but also hold you upright in the corners. The driving position is high of course and although the ML feels like a big vehicle it is quite easy to drive in town and park. The boot is spacious (690 litres) with an additional compartment underneath the load bed, while the rear seats split and fold in the unlikely event you want to carry furniture. Difficult as it is to imagine myself with £100,000 of disposable income, I find it even more difficult to imagine wanting one of these. An AMG-tuned, four-wheel-drive E-class estate would drive better, hold more and use less fuel. You could take George Monbiot to dinner in it and he might never guess what a hot rod it was. Still, there's no accounting for taste and if you really feel you need a rocket ship SUV, then AMG produces a very good one. Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG Tested: 5,461cc twin-turbo V8, seven-speed auto transmission, four-wheel drive Price/on sale: About £90,000/July Power/torque: 525bhp @ 5,250rpm/ 516lb ft @ 1,750rpm Top speed: Electronically limited to 155mph Acceleration: 0-62mph in 4.8sec Fuel economy: 23.9mpg (Combined) CO2 emissions: 276g/km VED band: M (£1,000 first year, £460 thereafter) Verdict: Less obscenely gargantuan than rival German super-SUVs, but you still wonder what on earth it's for Telegraph rating: Three out of five stars Words fail to describe how horrible this lardy, four-seat SUV coupé is. A car for footballers with more money than sense. Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, £74,595 Looks good, but not great to drive, far too heavy and spectacularly thirsty - along with CO2 emissions of 348g/km. Porsche Cayenne Turbo, £84,790 Undeniably well made and crushingly competent, but also ugly and a symbol of what has gone wrong at Porsche in recent years.