After almost two decades of selling an off-road vehicle as a luxury SUV, Mercedes-Benz has decided to build a proper SUV, and, in 1997, it launched the first generation of the ML-Class.

Mercedes-Benz made a bold move when it launched a vehicle into a segment where it didn’t was before and with a tough competition mainly from the American car-manufacturers.

The vehicle styling was new for the SUV market. The ML didn’t have quite the appearance of a tough off-road vehicle. Its curved lines were far from the boxy Jeep Grand Cherokee’s design. But the Mercedes-Benz made a vehicle to attract the car’s buyers into the SUVs market. The ladder chassis was the traditional way of building an SUV, but the rear independent suspension was something new.

Inside, there was more room in the front seats than in any other Mercedes-Benz car, including the S-Class. For the rear seats, there was enough room for three passengers. The trunk was large enough and, as expected, it had folding rear seats. For the base trim level, it had fake carbon fiber and cloth seats while on the top, Elegance trim level it featured real wood and leather seats.

The 1997 ML introduced the 3.2-liter V6 gasoline engine. It replaced the older inline-six due to its compactness. For the diesel version, it featured an inline-five of 2.7-liter. The transmission was permanent all-wheel-drive with electronic control that could brake the spinning wheels and send the torque to the wheel that had more traction.