Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG running costs are substantial. The phrase “If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it” is a bit clichéd but apt all the same. This isn’t an economical car and it certainly isn’t aimed at saving pandas or rainforests. CO2 emissions are 276g/km so road tax is going to be high and so is company car tax. The fuel economy is a claimed 24mpg on the combined cycle, which represents a 40% improvement over the previous car, but it’s still a galaxy away from what you could call frugal.

On the road we saw closer to 15mpg, but that’s largely due to the addictive exhaust note.

Emitting 276g/km of carbon dioxide, Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG emissions are pretty high. Not that buyers of such cars are going to care all that much. You don’t go out and buy a car with a stonking great V8 engine and expect the carbon footprint of a honey bee.

Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG reliability has been fairly impressive over recent years. There were a few niggles with the first version but they were ironed out for the previous model so this latest car should be good.