2015 Mercedes M-Class Migrates to Four-Cylinder Diesel

Mercedes is cutting the diesel V6 from its lineup of M-Class SUVs for the 2015 model year.

In its place, the German luxury brand will offer customers the ML250 BlueTEC using the same twin-turbo 2.1-liter inline four-cylinder engine as the smaller diesel-powered GLK250. The quietly introduced model won’t be tied to any major ad campaign, but will offer improved fuel efficiency and a lower starting MSRP than the model it effectively replaces in Mercedes’ line. The ML250 BlueTEC will carry a starting MSRP of $50,725 including delivery when it arrives in dealers, marking a $1,990 drop compared to the 2014 ML350 BlueTEC (pictured).

Mercedes product manager Joseph Stauble said the choice was driven by consumer demand for a more efficient diesel model more than an effort by the company to improve corporate average fuel economy scores. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce official fuel economy ratings for the ML250 BlueTEC roughly within the coming week before a wholesale release to dealers either late this month or in early October.

Production of the M-Class takes place in Daimler’s Tuscaloosa, Ala. plant where it also builds the platform-sharing GL-Class SUV along with the C-Class sedan. Through August, Mercedes and BMW are almost perfectly tied for sales in the mid-size SUV segment with 28,623 for the X5 and 28,654 for the M-Class, which is the company’s third-best selling product.