Ultimate Outback Tourer Mercedes Benz 320 GLi

FIRST DRIVE MERCEDES-BENZ GL

Is this the

Ultimate Outback Tourer?

Rob Fraser gets to drive the latest from Mercedes-Benz and finds it keeps scoring ticks with him! ‹ MyRV.com.au

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FIRST DRIVE MERCEDES-BENZ GL

T

ings have been hotting up in the luxury SUV market with premium offerings from Porsche, Range Rover, VW, and Audi etc.

Into this market Mercedes-Benz has launched what may yet prove to be the Ultimate Luxury Bush Tourer. New to Australia is the Mercedes – Benz GL. My first impressions of the GL in the flesh were with the rest of the public at the Sydney International Motor Show. MercedesBenz have managed to produce a deceptively large and visually attractive vehicle. Make no mistake about it this thing is BIG. It kind of slowly dawns on you just how big it is,

While retaining the sleek lines that you come to expect from Mercedes Benz the GL is longer and slightly wider than the Toyota Land cruiser with an overall length of 5.088m and width and height of nearly 2m With a curb weight of over 2.4 tonnes it is also no slouch in the weight class and yet to drive it feels and acts like a smaller SUV. Built directly for the North American market (where they think it is small) the Mercedes-Benz GL exudes the luxury and class expected from the manufacturer and in this rarefied class of vehicle.

The first thing you notice internally is the space, ample room for the front occupants and yet everything to hand. With a comfortable driving position the all around visibility is good. The only quibble is that the view over the bonnet is a little difficult, with the front edges disappearing from view. Nothing a decent bull bar won’t fix. The optional reversing camera is a worthy addition, (should be standard) and the parking sensors ensure that the driver is aware of where their vehicle is at all times.

Important if one is to avoid the car park bingles.

Its wheelbase of 3.075m ensures that there is plenty of room for the rear passengers and with the optional rear entertainment system, fixed panoramic glass roof and seats that would be at home in your home the passengers can while away the hours of bush touring in absolute luxury and comfort.

With the explosion of seven seaters on the market from the small Mitsubishi outlander to the new Audi Q7 there is a fair amount of competition in this extended family market. The problem with most though is that the rear two seats are really for children and even then only for short trips before you are having to stop off at the Chiropractor.

Being from the market where the writer is constantly trooping piles of kids around I am fairly interested in the seven-seat capacity. At 6’3” (in the old scale) and over 100kg I was amazed at the ability of the GL to comfortably accommodate me in the rear most seats. Impressive to say the least! I could sit with my legs and knees in a normal position, not the knees to the chest proposition of most other 7-seat offerings, and was relaxed in the process. I could also get in and out without being a contortionist.

Tick one for the big GL Behind the seats there was still some luggage space for the kids school bags, another big tick and a really neat option is the electronically folding seats that fold totally flat to provide a level storage space when not in use.

In fact with the rear two rows of seats folded flat the luggage capacity is enormous at nearly 2300litres and access with the automatic rear tailgate and convenient load height is excellent.

With optional double stitched leather trim, airbags everywhere, a superb stereo system, and almost everything else you could possible and sensibly want in a vehicle the interior is a welcoming and comfortable place to be. It is one of those vehicles that you immediately feel at home in when you sit inside.

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FIRST DRIVE MERCEDES-BENZ GL

Ok but what’s it like to drive, you say?

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ell we drove the GL 320CDI with the refined and super smooth V6 CDI diesel engine, which is good for 165kw of power, and 510Nm. Mated to the 7G-Tronic automatic transmission the GL was a breeze to drive. Gear changes were imperceptible, always seeming to find the exact right ratio and unless you listened really hard you would not know you were driving a diesel. You would have to remind yourself each time you filled up, which with a sipping rate quoted at 10L/100Km you would not be visiting the petrol stations for al least 900km between refills. Another big tick, especially now in these times of rising fuel prices.

Around town where to be frank most of these vehicles will spend their time, it is remarkable easy and agile to drive with the torque characteristics of the beautiful Mercedes-Benz diesel making it a silky smooth ride. Going is one thing, but stopping is often more important and here again the big GL doesn’t disappoint.

These brakes are amazing in a vehicle this size. Time and time again it pulled up the vehicle in a straight line with little or no fuss, another big tick and an important feature for the mums picking up the kids from school.

The GL is a veritable dictionary of acronyms, with 7GTRONIC, ABS, BAS, DSR, 4ESP, 4ETS, ELCODE and ASR etc.

What these all mean is that Mercedes-Benz have done an excellent job of helping the driver. Most of these features will likely never be used on the majority of vehicles, but it reassuring to know that you are driving one of the safest if not the safest SUV on the market.

Those drivers that venture further than the local school pickup route and shopping centres are well looked after with the Off Road Engineering Package. The main features include the AIRMATIC DC air suspension, front and rear diff locks; two stage low range transmission and stainless steel under ride protection.

The AIRMATIC DC air suspension has a fully raised off road setting of 307mm of clearance, and automatically lowers the setting at speed. The Diff locks are typically Mercedes-Benz class with the front diff locking as required by ETS triggered braking.

The centre and rear diffs are manually locked with the electronic traction aids being overridden when these are locked.

Looking underneath everything is neat and tidy with anything vulnerable nicely tucked away. There are some really clever touches as well. Like the fact that the air intakes are up front, but the grill is closed off to prevent water ingress with some water deflectors along side the air intakes.

We took the GL on a local track which while not heavy in off road terms allowed us to try out the wheel articulation and traction aids. Everything worked brilliantly as expected and in fact the GL is so good that many drivers may get themselves further than they expect because of how well the GL works off road.

Wheel articulation is a little limited but the traction controls more than make up for any shortcoming here. Over rough roads the word comfort again comes to mind. However with a lack of a full size spare tyre and a factory tow bar not yet on the options list the GL is still limited in its suitability as a long distance outback tourer or as a towing vehicle. It really is a shame that vehicles this good rarely see the type of roads that they are built for.

On the highway the GL belies the fact that it is a 2.4tonne vehicle with the chassis dynamics and engine transmission combination leading you to believe you are driving a much smaller vehicle. However you must never lose sight of the fact that this is a big SUV and despite all the electronic driver aids it has its limits.

Again most drivers will never see these.

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Unfortunately our drive of the GL was all too brief and we look forward to a longer test drive where we can use the vehicle as an outback tourer, something we believe it will be excellent at.

Starting from $103,900 plus on road costs the 320CDI is sure to be the big seller as are the seven seats option. Why would you buy something this big if not for the 7 seats? Typically MercedesBenz has an extensive options list and as always it pays to be smart about what you order.

My initial impression of the Mercedes-Benz GL is one of overall comfort. Everything just feels comfortable from the moment you sit in and drive off. Destined to put the cat amongst the pigeons in the luxury SUV market the GL is a worthy contender for the title of the Ultimate Outback Tourer.

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*Terms and conditions apply. Excludes luggage boxes.

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