Mercedes-Benz GL350 CDI Luxury 2010 Review

Mercedes-Benz GL 350 CDI Luxury

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $126,900
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Vision Package $4900
Crash rating: TBA
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 9.6
CO2 emissions (g/km): 254
Also consider: Audi Q7 4.2 TDI, Range Rover Vogue TDV8

Very few road-going vehicles can approach the Mercedes-Benz GL for sheer size. Even the Range Rover Vogue is slightly shorter than the 'Big Bertha' of Benzes.

Straight up, the size of this Benz is gob-smacking, but it's not just bulk for the sake of bulk. As a genuine seven-seater the GL can accommodate average-size adults in the third-row seats with plenty of headroom to spare. And there's also the sort of leg- and kneeroom you would expect to find in the second-row seats. It’s far from a kids-only zone at the very rear. It's a really good set-up.

But the ability to accommodate seven adults comes at a price. If you take the entire (seven-person) family away for the weekend, there'll be precious little room left for luggage, unless it's stacked above the windowline. In that case, there's the risk of luggage hurtling around the cabin and the view to the rear through the powered tailgate will be obstructed.

While on the subject of the luggage compartment, there's a roll-out cargo blind that can be removed, but it's one fixture in the GL that fails to live up to its promise. To remove it altogether -- to allow the stowage of larger items -- it's not a two-handed job so much as one requiring three hands. First it's necessary to fold one or both of the third-row seats forward before squeezing the button on the driver's side of the blind, releasing the latch that holds the spring-loaded extension in place. Then you can manhandle the device clear of the slots that hold it and twist it out through the tailgate. Not terribly elegant...

When talk turns to entering and exiting the GL, inevitably someone will praise the powered system that ensures the side passenger doors cinch tight if they're not closed fully. Then, however, others can be expected to mention the head-conking door frame, which seems a little close to the cranium as front-seat occupants climb in. Even with the seat at its lowest setting, the driver may need to duck the head while entering the cabin. Once in the GL though, headroom is very good in all three rows of seats. And that's with a sunroof over the leading row, a mini sunroof over the third-row seats and a bank of HVAC vents above the second-row seats in between.

Fit and finish in the GL achieve the usual Benz standard. Instruments, controls and other fixtures are fairly stylish without that style overriding practicality.

Anyone with what they consider is a legitimate grievance concerning the A pillars in the VE Commodore should try driving the GL. The Holden has nothing on the Benz for the thickness of those pillars, which certainly do block the field of vision at roundabouts, for example.

Otherwise the GL's cabin is a practical, comfortable place to be. The seats feel a little flat in the front particularly and lack the kind of support that offroaders will want once the going gets tougher. Leather-bound, the steering wheel is very good for its diameter and thickness of rim.

As is often the way with Mercedes-Benz products, the GL impresses by its integration of external entertainment and telephone devices. For example, the iPod connection comprises a 32-pin lead in the glovebox and the onboard audio system works with the external music source seamlessly.

Then there's the Bluetooth connection for the mobile phone. Once the phone has been paired to the car, the car will prompt you through the phone to connect each time you enter the vehicle with the phone on your person. That's something that can't always be said of Bluetooth systems from other manufacturers.

On a trip up to the country, we used the satellite navigation extensively and found it to be generally comprehensive, but the voice prompts were occasionally lacking the appropriate level of detail. To illustrate, a T-intersection elicited a straight ahead instruction from the system. The map data displayed was correct, but that then requires the driver to turn his/her attention from the road to the centre fascia.

The GL 350 CDI is powered by an excellent 3.0-litre diesel V6, which is very strong between 2500 and 3500rpm -- and you don't need many more revs than that in any circumstance. It's extremely refined for a diesel V6, but it does suffer severe turbo lag from a standing start.

That's probably the engine's one significant shortcoming, because for a unit so powerful (165kW and 510Nm), it also runs pretty lean in a vehicle as large and heavy as this one. On an open-road trip along a 110km/h-limited freeway, fuel consumption fell as low as 8.8L/100km -- with six of the seven seats occupied and enough luggage in the rear for all six to stay away overnight. It wasn't lightly laden, in other words.

Its overall average was around about 11.6L/100km with anywhere up to 14 or 15L/100km around town. That's steep, but it's also to be expected with city and urban driving in a vehicle as large as this one.

The engine is growly when accelerating or under load on a hill, but it's the most persistent noise in what is a very quiet vehicle overall. A quietly spoken person in the third-row seat can be readily heard from the front seats and the tyres, which provide respectable levels of grip offroad, are also pretty subdued on the road.

The diesel engine drives through a seven-speed automatic box that's smooth and capable. It operates through the drive selector stalk hanging off the right of the steering column. In operation matches that the fitted to the M-Class and recalls BMW's E65 generation 7 Series.

With familiarity it actually works quite well. It takes the two-stage/lane-change indicator convention and applies it to a gear-changer. Shift through one stage and you have neutral, but the driver can select reverse from drive (or vice versa) without having to pass through neutral.

In an offroad situation, it could actually prove itself on those occasions when you're 'rocking' the vehicle to unbog it. The GL also features shift paddles either side of the steering column and these are quite responsive, but seem out of place in a vehicle such as this.

In Comfort mode, the suspension provides a well-controlled but compliant ride. Steering and handling suffer a little in that setting and the driver quickly becomes aware of how much the suspension articulates over some of Australia's improperly maintained roads. In Sport mode, the problem is somewhat the reverse; steering feel and turn-in are significantly better and the body rolls and pitches considerably less, plus the car remains more faithful to the line you're holding in a corner -- but ultimately the ride quality suffers just a smidge.

This is one of those occasions when the default mode is actually the best for all concerned. It really does provide the best overall balance of ride and cornering dynamics. The other two modes are there to accommodate different driving styles and environments and are a worthwhile addition to the vehicle's specification.

Offroad the GL coped with absolutely everything thrown at it. On the highest ride height setting with centre and rear diffs locked, it was unstoppable through a deep boghole that looked like it would have challenged a Patrol or LandCruiser with a lift kit. The GL did bog down momentarily, with the right rear wheel in a deep section and the left front wheel lifted clear. Under full-throttle, the GL pushed its way out of the bog -- effortlessly. 

Just getting off the road to an uphill grade that was fairly steep, slippery and rock-strewn in parts, the GL was lifting the front right wheel well clear of the track. Once again, the Benz pushed forward -- despite the compromised traction -- to reach the track. On the grade itself, the GL just motored up.

When the track petered out at the top, the writer turned the Benz around and descended with the vehicle's DSR operating.

DSR is Benz's version of Hill Descent Control. In the GL, it mostly managed to keep the speed down to 6km/h, which felt like an appropriate speed for the descent. When the GL lost grip on a couple of wheels at the same time, the DSR was forced to work hard at keeping the speed limited, but we reached the bottom of the track with no real moments of indrawn breath.

That said, we were advised by Benz staff after returning the vehicle that the vehicle's sidesteps had sustained damage during the offroading. There are different ways of looking at this: either you buy the GL with no intention of ever taking it offroad -- which seems a bit pointless -- or you treat the sidesteps as [expensive] expendable items and better they take the heavy hits than that the door sills do.

Tweaked steps aside, the GL proved very capable offroad. Only the most committed offroaders will find it less than sensational. And for all its bulk, the GL 350 CDI on test combined reasonable agility with relatively frugal operation.

On top of those two important attributes, it was also very safe, comfortable and just all-round capable.

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