Blue is now the new Green.” So declares J. Walter Thompson, the largest advertising fi rm in the United States and one of the world’s best marketing and communications companies. The color blue represents many things to different people, but today it is the color that a growing number of auto manufacturers use to describe their clean and low emissions technology. The color blue is commonly associated with clean lakes, healthy oceans, as well as clean air and clear blue skies. With consumer demands changing, all major automobile manufacturers are scrambling to produce more fuel-effi cient and ultra clean engine systems that minimize the negative impact to our environment. The blue movement is upon us, and is defi nitely here to stay.

Manufacturers such as Hyundai Motors are on such a path and they are calling it the “Blue Drive” concept, a move that promises to bring a host of new hybrids and highly effi cient engines to their lineup in the coming years. At Volkswagen, clean diesel engine technology is now marketed as the VW “blue motion” engine. For Mercedes-Benz, a world leader in automotive technologies, their all- new 50-state legal ultra clean burning diesel motor, is now called the “BlueTEC” engine. I recently test drove the 2009 Mercedes- Benz ML320 BlueTEC in California, as the consuming public scrambles to fi nd ways to save on fuel expenses and move over to cars with increased gas mileage, and drove off very impressed with the overall experience. Diesel engines have defi nitely come a long way in refi nement, power delivery and cleaner emissions. They are light years away from the diesel engine that your daddy would have driven in the 70’s and 80’s.

My father once had a 1984 300 SD in his garage, a purchase that was infl uenced by the fuel crisis of the time. It was a 3.0-liter, 5 cylinder turbo diesel engine, which was noisy, vibrated quite vigorously when cold, and delivered a large puff of black smoke when asked to accelerate in a hurry. Mercedes-Benz introduced this diesel variant in the S class at a time when the world was experiencing its second oil crisis, and the consuming public, just as we see today, scrambled to pick up something more economical.

Today, the ML320 BlueTEC (next month it quickly gets replaced by a marginally more potent ML350 BlueTEC) answers that calling for more economy, without sacrifi cing too much else. It is an American-built European- inspired Sport Utility Vehicle, built out of the modern Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA plant. It is built side by side with its stablemate, the GL line of SUV, which it shares numerous parts with. Europeans are used to driving clean diesel engines, which generally give superior gas mileage which equate to lower running costs and enjoy very usable mid-range power tractability.

The 2009 ML320 is the 3rd generation reiteration of this particular line of SUV. All its design updates, from the front grill, to the rear exhausts, to the interior, give it that modern look and feel both inside and out. Gorgeous 19-inch rims with hefty run fl at rubber, 255/50/19s, complement the look and eliminate the need of a space compromising spare tire. The MBTex upholstery, a substitute material for leather, looks and feels like high quality hide. It may not smell the same, but I believe will resist wear and tear better than natural leather. A beautifully contoured center console replaces the older squarish design, which is a feature shared across the GL and ML line. Great ergonomics, comfortable seating for fi ve and decent cargo space, with the ability to fold the rear seats for extra large cargo duty, makes this vehicle very practical. The onboard rear view camera is a desired option, which builds confi dence when executing maneuvering in reverse.

This SUV drives extremely well and stable at speed, a great improvement from the previous generation ML class that I drove. It feels light, tight and has decent straight- line speed with an ultra smooth 7-speed transmission. For quick maneuvers, the accelerator pedal needs to be depressed aggressively in order to get signifi cant power delivery. The power of a diesel engine is not always immediate, and quite different from a gasoline engine. Gasoline engines tend to deliver power more instantaneously. With diesel engines, you need to be more aggressive on the accelerator pedal, wait a second or two, before the surge of power and torque is delivered. When the surge comes, it comes on strong, but also runs out rather quickly at about 4,000 rpm. Keep this diesel engine in its power band and it will reward you with surprising athleticism. The only real complaint I have about the BlueTEC power option is the lack of an exhaust note. Driving spiritedly will only throw you more engine noise as opposed to a stimulating exhaust note.

The ML 320 BlueTEC comes with all the features one would expect from an upscale SUV. Ride quality is superb, thanks in part to a decent air suspension system with varying settings. Sport and Comfort and Auto Suspension settings that adjust to road conditions and deliver the best ride compromise at all times. It comes with ESP, hill descent control, hill start ascend assist, height adjustment, which can increase ground clearance by approximately 3 inches. I managed a decent average consumption level of 22mpg. Not a phenomenal fi gure you may think for a 3.0-liter turbo diesel, but acceptable, as it is made to carry all the weight of this SUV, roughly 5,000 lbs of it. I managed a high of 24 mpg on the highway and the high teens (18mpg) around the city. The 2009 ML 320 Bluetec is reasonably priced at $48,600. With all the extra goodies in this test unit, you’re looking at a scaled up price of $ 58,000. What you get for that price is a modern Euro-inspired American-built SUV, powered by clean diesel technology, which is quiet, torquey, vibration free, and economical to operate. This is a winning formula that suits the signs of the times.