2012 Mercedes-benz Gl-class Awd Gl 450 Consumer Reviews
The Car Connection Expert Review
Editorial Director
February 14, 2012
Likes
- Highly-seasoned alloy of luxury, ruggedness
- Spacious three-row seating
- Real off-road ability
- Diesel fuel gives skillful fuel economy
Dislikes
- Even the base GL is expensive
- Ride gets jittery with big tires
- GL 550's low gas mileage
Buying tip
features & specs
4MATIC 4-Door GL 350 BlueTEC
4MATIC 4-Door GL 450
4MATIC 4-Door GL 550
With rugged styling, fairly nimble handling and diesel economy, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class can charm the mud correct off a Land Rover Range Rover.
When Mercedes-Benz decided to take on SUVs caput-on, it didn't concord back much. First it fielded a competitor for the Explorer and Grand Cherokee with the M-Class. In short order information technology added the R-Class crossover, a smaller GLK ute, and at the tiptop of its new sport-ute lineup, it introduced the GL-Course, a three-row, full-size SUV staged to compete with the Escalade, Navigator, even the Range Rover.
The GL had been planned to replace the military-course 1000-Class, simply doesn't look the part. It's all the same 1 of the more angular designs Mercedes has fielded, and where the same theme doesn't quite work on the compact GLK, it fits the big, lusty GL like a musculus tee. The Benz star on the front end end looks every bit big as a Borough steering wheel--proportional to a torso that'due south nearly as big as a Suburban. It'due south a fuss-free look that forgoes the overstated luxury of the Escalade and Infiniti's QX for clean surfaces and a double helping of straight lines. The interior's quite a scrap more than overtly luxurious, with forest trim and glints of metallic trim; its controls are laid out well, and at that place are fewer of the tiny, inscrutably labeled switches than in Mercedes' past. This year brings some modest tweaks, like LED daytime running lights.
Three drivetrains are offered on the GL, with the diesel-powered GL350 BlueTEC being our choice. With 400 pound-feet of torque and 210 horsepower, the iii.0-liter turbodiesel doesn't feel as slow as its ix.iv-second 0-60 mph estimated acceleration times. The diesel fuel's torque is a great match for off-roading (though the bachelor off-road package of skid plates isn't offered on it). Fuel economy is rated at 17/23 mpg--better than the Tahoe or Escalade Hybrid--and at that place'south only a hint of the diesel thrumble that signals the type of engine underhood, the kind that delivers about 600 miles on one tank of fuel.
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The gas engines on offer are considerably higher in horsepower, and lower in gas mileage. The GL 450'southward 4.6-liter V-viii guts out 335 hp without protestation, but it isn't that much quicker than the diesel, and fuel economic system drops to 13/xviii mpg. At the height of the range, the 382-hp, 5.5-liter Five-viii in the GL 550 can deliver a 0-lx mph time of about 7.4 seconds. Its vitrify pricetag and correspondingly muscular performance had better exist worth it, since fuel economy of 12/17 mpg will verbal its own price.
On all versions, the GL shifts power through a 7-speed automatic to all four wheels, with an electronic all-bicycle-drive system that limits wheelspin through anti-lock braking, a system pioneered on the M-Form. The transmission's well-suited to the gas engines; with diesels, nosotros've noted a piddling more shift stupor. Handling is very good for the class, maybe the best of all the full-sizers, with good steering response and a firm ride that can get a little jittery with the biggest 20-inch wheels. The price for smarter cornering in all Benz SUVs is a little more side-to-side head toss, and it'southward evident in the GL.
The GL's three rows of seats are capable of seating an adult in every one of its seven positions, something that isn't equally easy in an Escalade considering of its doors and seat-folding mechanisms, or even possible in a 5-seat Range Rover. The front end seats are as spacious as whatsoever big SUV, and they can exist fitted with ventilation, a luxury feature we've come to appreciate. 3 adults will fit in the second row if they're medium-sized. The surprise is the third-row seat, where the infinite and seating actually is large enough for a grown person to sit down comfortably, fifty-fifty if they're a petty taller than the norm. The tertiary row also folds out of sight for more cargo storage--of import since the GL isn't as vast as the GM SUVs when it comes to storage behind the back bench.
Safe tests haven't been performed on the low-book GL, only information technology offers standard drape airbags, stability command, all-wheel drive, a rearview camera and Bluetooth. Adaptive cruise control and bullheaded-spot monitors are too available.
Every GL-Course ute has standard power front end seats; a power-fold feature for the third-row seat; a glass sunroof over the rear 2 rows of seats; a COMAND controller for climate, audio and navigation systems; Bluetooth; and an AM/FM/six-DVD changer. The diesel fuel GL350 BlueTEC has 20-inch rims, and the GL450 gets 19-inchers. Leather seating is not standard on the GL-Class; Mercedes says it'southward because some owners want cruelty-gratis upholstery, and so be certain to tick the pricey option box if you're shopping. Most of those features, including leahter, are fabricated standard on the superlative-flight GL550, which also gets 21-inch wheels and tires. Major options include a navigation system on bottom models; a 610-watt Harman Kardon Logic vii sound system with surround sound; and a rear-seat DVD entertainment system with twin eight-inch screens and wireless headsets. An off-route package gives the GL450 well-nigh of the trail-riding talent of the G-Class.
The Mercedes-Benz GL channels its One thousand-wagen ancestors for a sharply creased, very handsome wait.
In the days before crossovers--what, has it been ten years already?--SUVs wore their hard-edged styling equally a badge of honor. Foursquare jaws and rugged fenders never hurt the likes of the Wagoneer, the Suburban, or the Gelaendewagen, that is, until the likes of the Q7, the X5, even Mercedes' own M Form came along.
The Benz GL stands by traditional SUV values, with its oversquare shape and its tough stance. However, it's 1 of the few sport-utes that marry the await successfully to an upscale mission--the Range Rover'southward another. The GL just looks comfy in its own skin, in a way fifty-fifty the smallest Mercedes GLK crossover does non. The GL'south more refined, and more muscular, at the same time, and the proportion of sheetmetal to drinking glass, of walnut to leather to bare metallic, works in lockstep to reassure SUV buyers that this ute's every bit rugged equally it tin be. Even the big three-pointed star sits perfectly in proportion, though out of context, it has to be as large as the base steel wheels on a 1999 Honda Borough.
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The interiors of all the American-made Mercedes SUVs (GL, ML, and R Classes) have gained luster and meliorate looks in the by five or six years, and the GL has the all-time-looking cabin of the 3 Alabama-congenital utes. The GL-Class strikes a ameliorate residuum of lines, textures, and forms than does the more pedestrian R-Class. There'due south plenty of forest trim all around, even on the diesel where it's now standard. The bulging pair of vents at the top of the center stack give some relief to the rectilinear shapes, and everything'due south covered in leather or high-quality plastic or convincing metallic trim.
Nigh agile, the Mercedes-Benz GL Class is capable in corners, if a fiddling stiff in ride.
No matter whether you opt for the big V-8 or skimp on fuel with the diesel, the Mercedes GL won't disappoint with firm, precise handling.
Our choice amongst the three GLs would be the version outfitted with Mercedes' turbodiesel six, the GL 350 BlueTEC. A "clean" diesel that uses low-sulfur fuel and treats its frazzle for cleaner emissions, the BlueTEC edition produces 210 horsepower and a very useful 400 pound-anxiety of torque from iii.0 liters of displacement. That level of torque gives the GL 350 a narrow powerband, but very brisk acceleration from a finish, with just a touch of diesel vibration and noise at very low engine speeds. Mercedes pegs its one-tank driving range at 600 miles, and the EPA rates information technology at 17/21 mpg, amongst the best of its kind.
The next pace up the pricing and prestige ladder is the GL 450, powered past a four.6-liter V-8 with 335 horsepower. It's relatively unstrained in whatsoever driving mode (though we haven't yet towed with the GL), but doesn't experience quicker than the diesel, while its gas mileage drops well off the BlueTEC mark at xiii/18 mpg.
Before you lot get spendy with the 382-hp, 5.five-liter V-8-powered GL 550, make sure yous can swing its gas mileage of 12/17 mpg. Information technology's tempting, what with the rippling engine note and muscular acceleration to 60 of about seven.4 seconds.
All versions shift power to all iv wheels through a 7-speed automatic that's very well matched to the kind of driving nigh SUV drivers engage in. We've noticed some shift shudder in diesel-equipped models, but haven't been able to drive a 2012 model twelvemonth to see if it's still the case.
The GL-Grade doesn't earn all its kudos with stiff acceleration. It's quite capable at corners, with balanced handling for its size. A standard air suspension is damped with a bias toward ride comfort, and steering is precise and has about the weight you'd expect from a large vehicle. The GL is adequately potent in its resistance to body roll; softer settings might help produce a piffling less rocking motion side to side, only we'd as well avert the large 21-inch wheels if you tin, since they tend to degrade the ride quality.
Mercedes' 4MATIC full-time four-wheel-drive system is standard across the lath, forth with Loma Start Assist, Colina Descent Command, and a load-leveling suspension. Whether information technology's crawling through challenging mud pits or just cutting through belatedly-flavour snow, the GL is talented enough for the kind of medium-duty off-roading information technology would encounter on its mode to a ski resort or a mountain hideaway. Of the 3 models, only the GL450 can be ordered with an Off-Road package for more hardcore use: it adds on a Form 4 hitch, an adaptive-damping suspension system, underbody skid plates, and locking differentials.
Every GL-Course SUV can tow upward to 7,500 pounds.
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The Mercedes-Benz GL Form is very spacious and well-equipped, though non as titanic equally some of the domestic utes.
The Mercedes-Benz GL Class isn't quite as spacious as the largest Suburbans and Navigators. Still, it's quite a large vehicle, with room for 7 people when it'south pressed to the maximum its two-bucket, two-bench seating organization will allow.
The front passengers get nicely tailored seats, with expert leg and head room, though the GL doesn't seem as broad as the big domestic SUVs. The standard seats are great for long road trips, merely we'd spend extra to add ventilation to those chairs, for ultimate summer condolement. In the 2d row of seats, two adults volition take plenty shoulder room for a child in between, just iii adults across is pushing the GL's limits of comfort.
Count us in for the GL'southward 3rd-row seats, likewise. It's one of the few way-dorsum benches that fits adults well, and doesn't crave heavy-duty hips and legs to accomplish. You lot won't find the kind of support congenital into the other seats, just the 3rd row doesn't let down adults for leg or head room, and the cushion doesn't sit too shut to the vehicle floor--an easy pull a fast one on used elsewhere to dig out more than headroom.
The 3rd-row seat seat too folds out of sight at the impact of a button to boost cargo space. It's smaller than the big GM utes past a good margin, merely even with all seats in place, the GL has aplenty space for cargo. Fold downward the 2d and third rows, and the GL-Class opens up 83.3 cubic feet of storage space for whatever yous choose. That'south more than than y'all'll find in the big Lincoln MKT, though information technology's about 25 cubic anxiety less than the vast expanses inside a GMC Yukon Denali.
In all, the GL's cabin faintly reeks of high-quality construction. It's only when you realize the base of operations seats are covered in vinyl that you even question the lush walnut trim on the dash and the perfectly textured leather when it's specified. Mercedes explains some buyers desire a cruelty-free interior, hence the vinyl--but really, are there that many vegans who want a huge, gas-quaffing SUV? At that place's a bear on of road and wind noise, besides, but with its contempo redesign, the GL's motel grew much closer to the high standard set by the Land Rover Range Rover.
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Mercedes' reputation for safety engineering volition have to do, until crash-examination scores are in.
Neither of the major crash-test agencies has yet put the GL through its paces, but the sterling Mercedes safety reputation precedes this big ute anyway.
Both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Plant for Highway Safety (IIHS) changed their testing criteria in the 2011 model year, and oasis't compiled new results for all vehicles as of yet. However, the IIHS calls the GL'southward soulmate, the Mercedes-Benz ML Class, a Top Rubber Option.
More than to the bespeak, the GL has a raft of safety gear that sounds like more luster--and fewer accidents. Along with the usual side curtain airbags and stability control, the GL can exist had with parking sensors, a rearview camera and adaptive cruise control. They're standard on the GL550, and we recommend them on the other versions, too, since the big GL has some visibility bug to the rear quarters. Blind-spot detectors are also an option: equally the proper noun suggests, they alert the driver with modest lights on the mirror, when vehicles are approaching in the blind spots.
The GL also comes standard with PRE-Safety, which gauges an imminent accident and tightens seatbelts and locks doors before impact.
Leather seats are an option--technically speaking--just otherwise, the Mercedes-Benz GL Class delivers all the expected luxury features.
From its "base" versions to the fully loaded models costing more than than $fourscore,000, the Mercedes-Benz GL Grade loads up on standard features, with provisions for lots more than luxury--and room for a quirk or two.
All GL Class utes come with standard power windows, locks and mirrors; power front seats; a ability-folding third-row seat; a rear-seat sunroof; Bluetooth; an AM/FM/DVD role player; and COMAND control over the GPS, phone and audio functions.
You may take noticed that leather upholstery isn't standard. Information technology's a specific option, Mercedes says, because some of its owners want "cruelty-gratis" upholstery. In do, information technology's highly unlikely you'll ever detect one of these vinyl-outfitted trucks on the lot, since U.S. dealers like to sell highly optioned vehicles.
On the options listing, at least for the GL 350 and GL 450, are features like Hd and satellite radio; a navigation organisation; an iPod interface; a heated steering wheel and heated rear seats. They're standard on the GL 550.
A 610-watt Harman Kardon Logic 7 sound system with environs sound, and a rear-seat DVD amusement system with twin 8-inch screens and wireless headsets, are recommended options since the GL's 7-passenger seating means kids will exist frequent riders. An off-road parcel imbues the GL 450 with nearly of the off-road talent and underbody protection you'd go in the armed services-grade G-Class.
Other GL Class options include ventilated seats, and we'd take them every time--they're a great add-on in warmer climates.
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Diesel versions earn meliorate numbers, only on the whole the Mercedes-Benz GL Class isn't that efficient.
Large SUVs rarely earn gas mileage ratings that look expert in the grander scheme of things. It holds true for the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, though it's offered with a green powertrain pick.
The turbodiesel engine found in the GL 350 helps the fuel-economy cause forth, just the vi-cylinder is rated at 17/21 mpg--a shade less than the hybrid Chevrolet Tahoe. The diesel fuel'due south driveability make information technology a worthwhile choice, though every and so often, your service department volition need to refill the GL 350 BlueTEC with special fluid that treats its exhaust for cleaner emissions.
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From the diesel'south peak, fuel economy across the GL-Class lineup drops sharply. With the three.v-liter Five-6 aboard, the GL450 checks in at xiii/18 mpg. Tap the power of the GL550's 382-horsepower 5-8, and fuel economy falls to 12/17 mpg--right down at that place with the least efficient Escalades and Range Rovers.
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