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Road Test: 2014 Mercedes GL500
Car Reviews

Road Test: 2014 Mercedes GL500

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·
March 2,2014
·
6 min read

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The Middle Eastern Region is all about having road presence. The larger the car, the more powerful it is, the higher the road respect. It is fairly simple to notice this after strolling across Jumeirah Road, Dubai on any Thursday evening where you are bound to see an automotive expo on the go – free of charge. From Bugattis to classic MINIs, you name it, they are there. If you did not manage to see a particular car one day, don’t get disappointed and try again the next day.

The GCC is famous for its car culture so we believe it is the best place to test the 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL500 out. Now, some of you will browse the internet to search for the GL500 in different ways and we understand that because Mercedes-Benz has a huge lineup of models with a lot of different trims. GL-Class is the top of the line SUV from the German manufacturer. Not to be confused with the G-Class, the GL caters to the road going SUV needs for a family while the G-Class is proper 4x4. In short, it’s a full-size, 7-seater luxury family SUV. Following that long introduction, we can move on to the car itself.

Exterior

First thing we noticed when we looked at the car was its bulk. This, by no means is a mid-size SUV and you will notice that even more when you take it out of the parking lot. With its length of above 5m and weighing 2.5 tons, squeezing into tight spots is not what Mercedes had in mind when they were designing this behemoth. Moreover, this size is felt while driving on highways as the car takes its time to reduce speed. We learnt the best way to make this car stop is to think about braking 100m before the intuitive braking point so that it will be able to stop smoothly as we are not fans of hard-braking. Other than that, the car looks and feels solid and that big monstrous grille with the Merc badge adds to the road presence. Also, the new headlights makes it one with the new Merc fleet.

Having said that, the standard alloys are somewhat unsatisfactory as they don’t match to the car’s overall appearance. They look too understated while the car is totally the opposite. The overall design is controversial but we understand what Mercedes were gunning for and keeping that in mind, it is quite a handsome brute.

Interior

Well, this is without doubt, the area where Mercedes shines and we don’t expect anything less. From the moment you grab the door handle resulting in car unlocking, you will become a geek and want to play with all the buttons and modes. It took us a while to get the perfect seating conditions before we set foot on the gas pedal. The car is fully loaded with S-class levels of refinement (given the fact that this is the top of the range SUV from Mercedes) and you feel like you’re travelling in business class even when you just want to go to the grocery store. The luxurious materials are well crafted with wood trimmings and ambient lighting (available in 3 color options) coupled with heated/cooled massage seats (with a million other seat settings). It really feels like a premium ride.

Our test car was loaded with all the safety features like park assist, adaptive cruise, blind spot detectors, lane change assist and 360 degree camera, to name a few. Other than that, the common features like satnav, climate control, reverse parking camera, rear seat entertainment, bluetooth telephony and internet etc. are all present. The boot space is adequate and when you fold the third row seats (with a button), there is ample space available for any family picnic. We tried hard to think of a fault in the interior but in vain as Mercs definitely are pioneers of in-car luxury.

Drive

What do you expect from a 4.6 liter bi-turbo V8 producing 429 BHP and 700 Nm of torque? That’s right, POWER! But the trick is to utilize all that power only when required and gladly all German manufacturers know that art pretty well as we could feel the difference between relaxed driving and really stepping on the gas. On normal mode (read: auto), the car drives smoothly and calmly with almost no engine sound.

The adaptive suspension was doing all the work and we felt like gliding in mid-air all through the journey (of course, with massage ON). There is a ride height control which we preferred at the lowest setting as the car already was too high to judge the surrounding while driving and we did not want to keep it any higher. Stepping on the gas hard gives a serene feel of acceleration like slicing butter. It’s effortless, probably too smooth as we kept on looking at the speedometer to not accelerate pass the speed limit. Here, the speed limiter came in handy, quite a lot. It has a low range gear but we were not able to take it in the desert but it’s good to see that it has fair bit of off-road capability. All this changes when you switch to sport mode. The car lowers itself, suspension becomes stiffer, steering becomes tighter and acceleration response becomes faster. The result, the monster is ready to be uncaged. The turbos seem hungry to unleash, the moment you step on it. 0-100 took 5.8 seconds and that silent hood just started howling making us grin all the way.

For those who want even more oomph, there is an AMG version, but we feel this is more than enough to satisfy anyone’s appetite. Coming to the drawbacks, umm, we felt the side mirrors were a tad smaller than what we would have expected from a large SUV. It required some time to get used to them. We know we are being too critical but it is hard to think of faults in this thing. All in all, we were thoroughly impressed as the drive is up to Mercedes standards.

Verdict

It is huge. It is luxurious. It is powerful. It is German. It is a Mercedes! So pricing is expected to be high and it is; around 370k AED (available at Emirates Motor Company - official dealer of Mercedes-Benz in Abu Dhabi). So, we won’t comment about the pricing as we feel it is justified. Add to this other optional features and the price is bound to get higher.  

You pay this high premium for a premium vehicle. We were thinking about the purpose behind creating GL Class as it did not feel necessary since Mercedes already has an M Class and a G Class but in this country, it just feels like home. Earlier, we termed the CX-9 as a mommy’s car. This, is an elite mommy’s car. 

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