Mercedes-Benz GL Class

Introduction:

Innovation lies deep in the soul of this unrivaled German automaker, Mercedes-Benz. The company gifts the world with its another ravishing heir, titled as Mercedes-Benz GL-Class. The car is a a full-size luxury crossover SUV built by the company German marque since 2006. The 7-seater crossover SUV slots above its M-Class sibling and is the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz SUV line. The magnificent SUV shares the same unibody architecture with the M-Class. The car is presently exploring the world in its second generation since 2012.

Engine, mileage and variants:

For the Sri Lankan market the car comes in the face with three variants on offer out of which the monstrous GL 63 AMG is the most ferocious engine on offer. The power-mill sprinting under the hood of the dynamic SUV is the 5.5 Litre V8 petrol AMG powered engine, with permanent all wheel drive dynamics. The technology lets the car breathe as a concentrated unit of energy and churn out a maximum power output of 410kW between 5250-5750 rpm along with a staggering peak torque of 760 Nm between 2000-5000 rpm. Owing to the 4Matic all-wheel drive and the butter-smooth 7G-Tronic Plus with Direct select function the SUV features purely dynamic capabilities and can sprint with a top-speed of 250 km/hr, which obviously is electrically limited. The refinement poured in the engine gives the car a capability to cover a stretch of 100km in sipping as much as 12 litres of fuel.

Exterior:

One glance at the car could captivate all your senses and leaves a lasting impression on your memories. The exterior designers blends all their artistic sense with their aerodynamic knowledge to give the car an impressive stylish and sporty design. Strength and elegance are demonstrated correctly in its dominating face, which is a function of the eye-catching front grille with the 2 expressive horizontal chromed slats and the centre of attraction, the enlarged company's emblem, the bi-xenon headlamps, curved and strengthened bonnet design with bonnet louvers and detailed lines, and the particularly bold and wide front bumper design. The sportiness injected in the genes of this desirable SUV are hinted by its wide and robust rear design that explains functionality in the form of the effective rear spoiler and the new two piece rearlamps with LED fiber-optic cable. The sleek, wide and long road-hugging look of the desirable SUV is a product of its exterior dimensions measuring 5120mm x 1943mm x 1850mm (L x W x H) and a particularly long wheel-base of 3075mm. The desirable dynamic capabilities of this car are hinted by its large ground clearance of 215.9mm.

Interiors:

Just dive into the luxurious cabins of the car and you will surely praise the interior designers for the pleasurable interior ambiance worth living in. The authority the driver enjoys with the solemnly ergonomic and intuitive driving controls is beyond imagination. This authority is explained correctly with the features like the soul intuitive instrument cluster comprising of the 4.5-inch color display and the COMAND system featuring the navigation, entertainment and internet via a convenient central controller and vivid 7-inch in-dash color screen and the leather-wrapped and wooden -trim covered, 4-spoke multi-functional steering wheel. The captivating comfort the car features is elaborated in the form of the large leather-trimmed seats with detailed stitching and heating function, the Thermotronic automatic climate control with 3 zones, electric panoramic sliding glass sunroof, ambient interior lighting with 3 color settings and the optional superior quality Harmon Kardon Logic 7 multi-channel surround-sound audio system. Along with this, the car buys you a cargo space of 390 litres, which can be extended up to a maximum of 2300 litres.

Safety, braking and miscellaneous:

With all the high-quality features and unrivaled performance graphs the car never misses to assure you a purely-dependable safety. The large list of safety features added to the car includes the acceleration skid control (ASR), Active Cross wind assist, Electronic Stability Program, optional Active Curve Control, DISTRONIC PLUS, Active Blind Spot Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Pre-Safe braking, parking assist and optional Night View Assist. The powerful SUV is installed with a braking system consisting of perforated disc brakes on front as well as rear wheels assisted by Anti-lock Braking System, Electronic Brake-force Distribution and Brake Assist BAS Plus.

Verdict:

Owing to the precise handling, unmatched off-road capabilities, unrivaled performance graphs and the luxuriously comfortable interiors of the car, it promises to satisfy each of your dynamic desires. However, the not-so-capacious luggage space with seven people on-board adds to the slight niggles of the car.