Even though i have not test-driven the car, i was very impressed by it at the Executive Cars show! The only thing i don't like with these cars (SUVs) is the fact that you sit very high! I like to feel like i am lying on the seat of the car

That's the best part.

The ML's handsome. Diesel engines fit SUVs best, makes me wonder why people choose petrol for SUVs in the first place when what you want is pulling power for all that mass...

BTW James, do you guys get the diesel M-Class in Singapore? Or diesel C and E-Classes for that matter? When I lived in the Philippines, the C220 CDI and E220 CDI were sold there as an alternative to the C240 and E240.

I'm sad to say Wimmer, that we don't get ANY diesels at all. Diesel tax is SIX times the petrol tax - suffice to say, the financial loss from that tax is not made up for more power/better consumption of a diesel.

The government discourages diesel for political as well as transport issues. For the former, the government subsidises diesel for the taxis running around here - if they allow diesel private cars, diesel prices may rise, giving taxi drivers a harder life and using more government coffers to keep these diesel prices low for taxi drivers. That's one reason.

For the latter, the government discourages car ownership - allowing diesel cars to be sold will entice more people to buy cars which leads to more traffic jams, etc. It'll be problematic.

If they sold diesels we would have gotten a Phaeton V10 TDI...

Thanks for taking the time to explain this.

Sad that you guys don't get those diesels we get. You don't know what you're missing.

Trucks of course have diesels over there, right?

I hope to get my dad to try a diesel here, now that we're in New York for a while.

Trucks have diesels, yup.

I don't think diesels are permitted in New York.

You can not buy a new diesel car in New York, but Connecticut and New Jersey are only a few miles away.
You can buy and import a diesel into New York if it has over 7500 miles on it.