We really like the Mercedes-Benz M-Class that combines the ruggedness of an SUV and the luxury of a car. In fact, we liked it so much we declared it the winner after a grueling shoot-out at the Little Rann of Kutch, over the BMW X5 and the Audi Q7. However the M-class hasn’t sold as well as the Audi that has captured Indians buyers’ fancy. We see more of the Q7 than Mercs and Beemer on Indian roads today. Now, to take the Q7 head-on, Mercedes-Benz has launched the GL-Class. How does it fare? Let’s find out. The GL-Class is a full-sized luxury SUV that was primarily designed and engineered exclusively for the US market and this is evident in its huge size. The GL-Class (model name X 164) shares its platform with the M- Class 0N 164) and both were launched in North America in 2006. The GL is margin- ally longer than the Audi Q7 and at 2100mm (6.88 feet) it’s the tallest SUV available in India today. The variant available in India is the updated 2010 GL 350 CD! 4MATIC with BlueEFFICIENCY which claims to cut fuel consumption by up to 12 per cent with low rolling resistance tyres, light weight materials and an aerodynamic body, not to forget the 7G-Tronic auto transmission that shifts to neutral automatically when the car is stationary at a traffic light. From the front, the GL looks big and brutish. The design is typical Mercedes-Benz and features a prominent twin slat chrome grille that along with the wheel arches fairings complements the aerodynamic BlueEFFICIENCY package. Bi-xenon projector headlamps and LED fog lamps which double up as daytime driving lights come as standard. The chrome front underbody protection looks sporty and protects the underpinnings when the going gets rough. The sides of the SUV are rather plain and featureless and the profile becomes rather boxy as you go aft of the C-pillar. The aluminum-effect running boards are the only attractive feature on the sides. From the rear though the GL looks much better though with echoes of the M-Class. Overall the GL has immense and intimidating presence while the chrome underbody protection, twin exhausts and LED tail lamps give it a touch of sportiness. The GL-Class is available with a common- rail 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine (the 350 tag is a misnomer) that produces a maximum power of 226PS at 3800rpm and produces a maximum torque of 510Nm between 1000rpm and 2800rpm. It has an undersquare bore-stroke layout (83.0mm x 92.0mm) and a compression ratio of 17:7. This engine is part of Mercedes’ OM642 family of engines which is found on various models like the ML 350, S 320 and the E 350 though it makes the least power in the GL. A 7G-Tronic 7 speed automatic transmission with sport mode distributes the torque in a 50:50 split between the front and rear wheels. One can also manually shift via paddles. Shifting via the paddles is very quick and there is hardly any delay in information relayed from the shifter to the transmission while upshifting as well as downshifting. Just like all Mercedes-Benz cars the gear selection is done through a lever on the steering column freeing up space on the central tunnel for storage bins. http://www.maguscars.com/
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