WHEN a car rumbles in with a price-tag topping the £61,000 mark it has to be pretty special - the Mercedes ML 250 is just that.

For this latest generation M-Class model is sportier, more refined and delivers a far improved performance than its predecessors.

Boasting a beautiful sporty stance thanks to a lowered roofline this 4x4 vehicle looks fabulous from every angle.

Attention-grabbing features include LED daytime running lights and LED tail lights, green tinted glass, aluminium roof rails, courtesy lighting on the underside of the door mirrors, brushed aluminium trim, an electric glass sunroof, 19-inch AMG alloy wheels and much more besides.

The build quality within the vehicle cannot fail to impress. Mercedes has utilised the very finest leathers and materials to create a sophisticated, stylish and exceptionally comfortable cabin.

All occupants are treated to comfort levels of the very highest standard and back seat passengers have the head, leg and elbow space to really stretch out.

The list of on-board techno treats is as long as your arm and features luxury automatic climate control with multi-zone function, ambient lighting with a choice of three colours, leather heated seats that can be electrically adjusted every which way and settings can then be stored in the memory, a brilliant multi-media system incorporating a DAB radio, CD player, hard disc drive, in-car internet access, a 10GB music storage facility and an easy-to-operate satellite navigation system which is displayed via a seven-inch colour display screen.

It would be fair to say that this particular model is probably one of the most comprehensively equipped cars I have come across to date, albeit the asking price does include £15,000 worth of optional extras.

But the ML 250 is competing in an exceptionally competitive segment so needs all the bells and whistles to help it stand out from the crowd.

It also needs exceptionally good performance and driving dynamics too.

And many hours behind the wheel I can guarantee you won't be disappointed with this vehicle's power, handling, comfort, economy or styling.

The seven-speed automatic transmission is very smooth and can accelerate you to high speeds in deceptively fast time. And for quite a large vehicle it is incredibly agile and nimble. All the sensors and parking cameras make squeezing the ML 250 into tight spaces a doddle too.

Although the vehicle coped easily with slow moving city centre traffic, it burst into life on faster country lanes where the 2.2-litre engine delivers plenty of get-up-and-go.

As one would expect, Mercedes has packed the car with top-of-the-range safety specifications which also includes blind spot assist, lane departure warning system and attention assist which monitors the driver for fatigue.

All in all, when you take into account the vehicle's all-round package, including very capable off-roading credentials and combined fuel economy of 44.8mpg, then the asking price seems a lot more reasonable.