Detroit 2006 Preview

[HarleyEarl]

Detroit show preview: Mercedes-Benz GL450; big GL in a class all by itself
GREG KABLE
Posted Date: 12/8/05
Big, bold and brassy—that’s the best way to describe the new American-built Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, revealed here officially for the first time prior to its first public outing at next month’s North American International Auto Show.

The luxuriously-equipped four-wheel drive goes into production as the third all-new model from Mercedes’ plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and goes on sale across North America in April.


Unlike the vault-like, truck-based, G-Class (aka Gelaendewagen), GL-Class uses car-like unibody construction to keep weight in check and to allow sharing of primary components such as engines, four-wheel-drive hardware, electrical systems and interior appointments with the second-generation M-Class and recently introduced R-Class.

Not that anyone will confuse the GL-Class with the 26-year-old G-Class, which despite slow sales will get a facelift and will continue to be produced in limited numbers in Graz, Austria. The significantly larger and more sophisticated GL-Class aims to provide Mercedes-Benz with a valuable presence at the very top of the off-road ranks, where it will line up against high-end rivals like Land Rover Range Rover, Cadillac Escalade, Lexus LX470 and Lincoln Navigator. Prices haven’t been announced for the GL450, the only model initially planned for the U.S.

The new four-wheel drive is one of the largest models in Mercedes-Benz’s lineup, and the generous exterior dimensions combine with a lengthy rear overhang and compact four-wheel drive components to provide the basis for a roomy and luxurious interior. To save costs, the dashboard fascia, instruments, multi-function steering wheel, switchgear, seats and trims are shared with the M- and R-Class.

The standard cabin layout serves up two rows of seats with seating for five and double the luggage space offered in the M-Class. An optional third row of seating increases capacity to seven passengers. As with the recently introduced R-Class, the rear seats can be stowed into the floor at the push of a button, either individually or in tandem to provide a flat loading surface.


Mercedes-Benz is making big claims about the GL-Class’s safety credentials. GL boasts adaptive front airbags, side curtain airbags, three-point seat belts on all seven seats as well as seat-belt pretensioners and force limiters on the front and outer middle row seats as standard. Options include side airbags for middle row seats, whiplash reducing head restraints and the German car maker’s PRE-SAFE system, which networks the anti-lock brakes, brake assist and electronic stability program to help prevent crashes.

Although U.S. buyers will only be offered one engine choice initially, the all-new four-valve-per-cylinder 335-hp 4.6-liter V8 in the GL450, Europeans will also get a 388-hp 5.5-liter in the GL500 along with a 224-hp 3.0-liter V6 and 306-hp 4.0-liter turbodiesel V8.

Stuttgart sources reveal Mercedes is also planning to introduce a performance GL63 AMG model running the new 510-hp 6.3-liter V8 as unveiled in the R63 AMG at the recent Frankfurt motor show. Also under development, though unlikely to find its way into showrooms before the end of 2007 at the earliest, is a hybrid GL-Class using an advanced gasoline/electric drive system. As revealed in a prototype version of the M-Class at last January’s Detroit show, the system mates a 272-hp 3.5-liter V6 with two 34-hp electric motors located within the gearbox housing for what engineers say provides V8 levels of performance.



As with the M- and R-Class, the GL-Class channels drive permanently to all four wheels via Mercedes-Benz’s 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic gearbox, which boasts the space saving Direct Shift arrangement as seen on the M- and R-Class. It replaces the traditional shift lever between the front seats with a steering column mounted stalk.

The real off-road deal?

The Mercedes-Benz GL-Class’s off-road aspirations are backed up by a raft of standard features that, on paper at least, suggest the big seven-seater provides stiff competition to today’s luxury off-road king, the Range Rover, both on the pavement and in the rough stuff. They include permanent four-wheel drive, speed sensitive power steering, self-leveling air suspension, adaptive damping, hill descent control, hill start assist and specially adapted antilock brakes that Mercedes says offer better performance in tricky off-road conditions. Models destined for the States will also get an optional Off-Road Pro engineering package. It adds a transfer case with dual range gearing, differential locks for the rear axle (although the front axle gets electronic control as on the M-Class) as well as an upgraded suspension with increased travel offering added ground