Performance / Ride / Handling
The new GL350CDI is powered by the 3.0 liter V6 turbo diesel with close to 260bhp of power at 3600 rpm and close to 620Nm of torque from 1600rpm. It’s a substantial improvement over the old GL’s output figures. The new V6 is typically Mercedes – smooth, silent and incredibly potent. With all that torque at avail, the GL surges forward with reassurance even from low revs. Power is available from the very bottom of the rev range and the throttle response you get remains impressive in both slow city conditions, as well as on the highway. There’s always ample shove in store, the GL350 CDI makes light work of overtaking and wouldn’t ever leave you in doubt on median-less highways.
Even with its near 2.2 ton weight, the GL doesn’t feel bogged down, thanks to that torrent of torque available within a very useable part of engine speed spectrum. The GL can dispose the 0-100km/h sprint in a little over 9 seconds in the real world, and will hit a top speed of 220 km/h. The tried and tested Mercedes 7G-Tronic transmission offers silky smooth, jerk-free shifts. And while there is relative slowness to this transmission system, the character of the GL-Class as a machine is such that the smoothness and seamlessness of the gearbox is more desirable than outright quickness.
As regards fuel efficiency, the GL-Class on being driven through a mix of city traffic, highway, windy roads and with a bit of off-roading returned a figure of 8 kmpl. With its 100 liter fuel tank, the GL will go a full 800 km (or more, if you’re traveling only on highway) before having to refuel
The electrically assisted steering has a decent feel and weight to it, and the GL-Class belies its size, coming across as an easy to drive machine. The new steering system also features tech to automatically correct over-steer and counters imbalance in strong crosswinds by applying brakes mildly to individual wheels.
The GL Class, being a space oriented, family SUV is tuned on the softer side to enable a cushy ride. It features air suspension and has two modes – comfort and sport to choose from. Sport mode tightens the steering wheel, stiffens the suspension with a reduced ride height and makes the transmission more aggressive. You can also raise the ride height with the press of a button if you’re venturing out in the wild, like we did.
While the GL-Class handles wavy undulations and moderately rough surfaces well enough, it does tend to get jarred a bit on encountering vicious bumps at speed. We have a feeling that the massive 21 inch wheels with lower profile tyres (lack of primary suspension) were a reason for this happening.
The GL-Class is a nice handling car in normal circumstances. It responds well to steering inputs and doesn’t exhibit any pronounced pitch even when you brake hard. Things change when you start pushing it around, making it change direction in quick succession though. The weight of the car starts reflecting in the body roll, and the GL struggles to regain composure when shown a series of challenging corners which require it to stay taut all through. It’s best to use Comfort mode for normal driving conditions, and Sport for a windy road where you may want to have some fun.
The GL comes with a basic version of the 4MATIC AWD drive, which makes it a fairly capable off roader. It’s heft and road going tyres along with a non-lockable differential means that it’s not the best choice for attacking boggy surfaces. However, its massive ground clearance along with the fairly capable off-road gear means that it can reach places where some other vehicles can’t as we discovered during our visit to the Tansa Lake.
In Addition to the 4MATIC, you also get special a button-actuated off-road setting to maximize traction at slow speeds. You also get hill-descent control.
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Superlative review and photos. Awesome job! Keep it up and consider… a you tube video review while driving.