Mercedes unveils the ultimate SUV

It might melt your credit card, but you'll enjoy the ride.

Eye watering it certainly is but for this credit card melting price you get one of the finest luxury SUV's the world has seen...and one which will fire an arrow directly into your heart and make all logical thoughts about affordability, budget limits and Her Majesty's Evil Eye disappear.

It is so bejewelled with systems, luxuries, driving pleasures, caring comforts, supreme safety and passenger protection that the official Mercedes-Benz official GL brochure runs to 77 pages. The publicity package distributed at the local Media introduction contains about the same number of words as a chapter of a complicated novel and most of it is factual, not colourfully embroidered marketing speak.

Top of its class

In case you are wondering if all this hype is justified, let's paint a simple picture that everybody can understand - it is better than anything else in this class, probably even than the high-scoring, highly-rated Range Rover.

There are two face-lifted and upgraded models to choose from - a GL350 Diesel BlueTEC 4MATIC and a GL500 4 MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY and now for the first time, also a GL63 AMG 4MATIC. The 350 is equipped with a 3.0-litre six cylinder diesel engine that produces 190kW and 620Nm which is capable of firing the big wagon from standstill to three figures in just 7.9 seconds and to a top speed of 220km/h.

Although the body is long, tall and broad it is elegantly sculpted and rounded and neatly finished.

The GL500 carries a 4.7-litre V8 under the bonnet which produces 320kW and 700Nm to give it a sprinting time of 5.4 seconds for the zero to 100km/h dash and a top speed of 250km/h. The engine is slightly smaller than the outgoing model but it's more efficient in terms of fuel and emissions.

At the top of the pile strides the new thundering 5.4-litre V8-driven GL63 AMG which is capable of blasting out 410kW and 760Nm which is enough rocket power to reduce the 0-100km/h time to 4.9 seconds and an electronically-governed top speed of 250km/h.

Imposing pavement presence

The GL500 and GL 63 have petrol engines and all the models have automatic transmissions. Also uniform across the three model range are 100-litre fuel tanks, 680 litres of boot space and a towing capacity of 750kg.

Stepping away from the pure performance side of the new GL, what sets Merc's three large SUV's apart from the rest is its imposing pavement presence. Although the body is long, tall and broad it is elegantly sculpted and rounded and neatly finished with chrome strips, large alloys, elegant lights and an imposing front end. Its overall appearance is as classy and smart as one has become accustomed to with this perfectionist German brand and it gives only the vaguest hints of its amazing capabilities both on and off the tar.

The ride quality of the GL is way above that of an average or even some luxury saloons.

At the launch we drove the GL350 and the GL63 but these SUV's are so incredible well-equipped that it would rock you to sleep if I had to list it all here so, for the sake of brevity, I will just highlight some of its impressive features.

For starters, the ride quality of the GL is way above that of an average or even some luxury saloons. The cabin is so perfectly insulated that hardly a sound penetrates the luxurious, leather furnished, perfectly air conditioned living quarters.

Make up your own wish list

To make driving a pleasure all three vehicles have fully-adjustable electronic seating but, as with so many of the GL's features, this varies from model to model and quite a number on the very long list are optional (and expensive) extras.

If you are considering a GL do your homework carefully and then draw up a wish list, even before you visit the dealership or go for a test drive. It could make your life easier and save a lot of time listening to the salesman's pitch.

You have 680 litres of boot space and a towing capacity of 750kg.

With this impressive vehicle it is difficult enough even just to highlight a few features because most of them are fairly complicated and in need of a fuller explanation.

However, what probably appealed the most on our introductory drive was the feeling of sheer luxury in the cabin; the neat and logical lay-out, the comfortable leather seats (and the amazing flexibility they offer at the push of a button), the range, abilities and smoothness of its automatic transmission and particularly the well-mannered way it clings to the road, even at high speeds and on pot-holed tar or gravel.

If I had unlimited funds and I had to select a GL, my choice would be the 63 AMG which thunders out the auto equivalent of Pavarotti, goes like the clappers and handles like a sporty saloon. But that choice would be made because I would never, ever, take it off-road... just the thought of a tiny scratch on its gleaming body-work would be too painful to bear.

But if you're bush-happy...

However, if I was a bush-addict who spent as much time as possible in the dirt and rough I would go for the "entry-level" GL 350. We were taken on a brief, quite challenging rocky ride on the Killarney off-road course near Pietermaritzburg and to see and experience this vehicle's abilities, particularly its 'brain-power" to evaluate and overcome the most challenging sectors of the course was almost unreal.

The official Mercedes-Benz official GL brochure runs to 77 pages to tell you all about the model's with systems, luxuries, driving pleasures, caring comforts, supreme safety and passenger protection.

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What made it even more incredible is that the GL was fitted with standard road rubber, not coarse dirt-track takkies with extra grip.

I am trying to keep the list as short as possible, but some of the many things you should ask the Merc merchant about include: thermotronic climate control, rear seat entertainment, crosswind assist, trailer stability assist, active curve system, the 4MATIC all-wheel drive system, the various driving modes, the downhill speed regulator...

OK, take a breath and carry on... Attention assist, distronic plus, collision avoidance assist, easy-entry loading system, intelligent lighting, multi-media set-up, Parktronic, direct select gear option, Airmatic....You get the picture, the list just goes on and on.

The cabin is so well insulated that hardly a sound penetrates the luxurious, leather furnished, perfectly air conditioned living quarters.

In the case of the GL 63 AMG we drove at launch, owners can further personalise their already high-specced vehicles with extra toys such as an AMG driver's package (R30,000),automatic panoramic sliding roof (R18,000), Bang Olufsen sound system (R45,300), dark-tinted glass (R4,300), rear-seat entertainment system (R25,200) and Designo black lacquer trim (R14,000). Throw in a parking package for R14,500) and you can add a further R177,600 to its normal retail price.

The GL is very much a niche vehicle, destined for the super-rich but already there is a waiting list and the three-pointed star's local marketing suits reckon they will sell about 300 of them by the end of 2013 to 300 damn lucky rich people.

Specifications

2013 Mercedes-Benz GL First Drive & Review

2013 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class Review

MVS - 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL450 4Matic (w/Full Test Drive)