Vehicle Type: Sport Utility Vehicle

Price: Less than $35,000 base

Engine: 3.2- liter , 215- horsepower V6 Front Engine/ All-Wheel Drive

Safety Features: Driver and passenger, front and side airbags and ABS anti-lock brakes are standard

Fuel Economy: 17 mpg city/25 mpg highway

Features: Balance and attention to detail rather than specific features make this an excellent vehicle. Major drawback is going to be availability

Huntsville, Alabama--U.S. Mercedes President Michael Jackson has a magical kingdom populated by creatures of fantasy, but these are the type that appeal to mature adults rather than the under-age children his west coast counterpart seeks to delight. We're not as awed by exotic animals or pop tunes, but a springtime of delightful revelations of Mike's sports car, touring, and now sport-ute critters have me humming happy songs.

I'm accustomed to having some extravagant special effects when previewing new vehicles, but I'd have foregone the tornado squalls that greeted us in this space capital. It may have delayed the mission launches at Space Camp, but the ML320s just shrugged off the weather with as much aplomb as it treated the Tyrannosaurus Rex. There have been few SUVs that have created more of a sensation than the new Mercedes M-class. It departs from the typical SUV with a body built more on style rather than cubing out the interior. It is likely to become the standard by which compact SUVs are judged. I'm not easily convinced but a couple days in an ML320 in an Alabama monsoon convinced me.