2013 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

The Mercedes-Benz GL-class was once a cautionary tale. It launched in 2006 to strong demand but, as we all know, gas prices soon spiked and then the financial market collapsed. The unsurprising sales slump that followed -- a 46 percent drop in 2009 -- seemed to underline the shortsightedness of relying on sales of big, expensive trucks as opposed to smaller, more efficient vehicles. 

The only problem with such a pat conclusion is that the world didn’t actually come to an end in 2009. Since then, the seven-seat GL, like many “outmoded” big trucks, has steadily recovered. Mercedes sold some 25,000 of them in the United States last year, nearly equaling its 2007 sales high and outselling the smaller GLK crossover. It should thus come as no surprise that although Mercedes is indeed preparing smaller cars like the new A-class, it is first interested in showing off a new, even more powerful GL-class. 

Did we mention it’s more powerful? GL buyers will choose from two, soon to be three, potent V-8s. The 2013 GL450 now features a bi-turbo 4.7-liter V-8 that basically equals the output of the old GL550 with 362 hp and 406 lb-ft. Good thing then, that the new GL550 has its own bi-turbo 4.7-liter (down from 5.5 liters) that produces 429 hp and a stout 516 lb-ft of torque. These engines manage to achieve small fuel economy gains despite carrying over the last generation’s seven-speed automatic. That said, both still fail to break 15 mpg in the city or 20 mpg on the highway. We expect even heavier drinking from the new GL63 AMG, which arrives next year with a 550-hp 5.5-liter bi-turbo V-8. 

On sale: September
Base price: $63,305 (GL350); $64,805 (GL450); $87,405 (GL550)
Engines: 3.5-liter turbo-diesel V-6, 240 hp, 455 lb-ft; 4.7-liter biturbo V-8, 362 hp, 406 lb-ft; 4.7-liter V-8, 429 hp, 516 lb-ft
EPA mileage: 18/24 (GL350); 14/19 (GL450; 13/18 (GL550) 

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Mercedes CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake

The Shooting Brake concept has finally arrived as a real purchasable car. The Shooting Brake has AMG’s 5,5L biturbo V8 and the power outputs range from 391KW to 415KW and a colossal torque output of 800NM this, with the usual variety of AMG performance enhancements. The CLS also comes with the SPEEDSHIFT 7speed MCT box which isn’t the best on the market but does it’s job just fine. The biggest draw of this car is going to be its practicality matched to the sheer beauty of the Shooting Brake design. AMG have widened the front track by 56mm giving it an almost unmatched road presence that screams “Get out of my way poor person”. Even with it’s 2 ton body to pull around it still dashes to the 100km/h mark in 4.4seconds all while doing and average 13.8l/100km which for this type and size of car is very impressive.

I think that Mercedes have built the perfect car here. You can take 5 people in absolute comfort then do a years worth of shopping. Hit the track for some afternoon fun and later that evening still look good showing up at the most trendy nightclubs or bars. The car for all people, well that is if you have R2million to buy one. Seems to be the only draw back with the big Benz.

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2014 Mercedes-Benz GLA

Today, Mercedes-Benz confirmed what we tend to all knew to be a positive thing—that an A-class–based, sub-GLK-class compact SUV (rendered above) goes to happen. The affirmation arrived as a footnote in an announcement concerning the German production facility that builds the new A-class; the crossover are going to be designed alongside the aforementioned hatchback in addition because the taller B-class at Mercedes’ producing facility in Rastatt (Germany.)

The announcement failed to divulge what Mercedes plans to decision the tiny SUV, however we’re fairly positive it'll be known as GLA. (For additional on the GLA, that we tend to previously thought would be known as the GLC, scan our deep dive here.) Expect to visualize the GLA—or no matter it’s finally called—arrive within the U.S. someday next year as a 2014 model. An AMG version could be a risk, if our powers of observation serve us correctly: What seems to be an AMG’d GLA created an look beneath a sheet in a very recent preview photo released by Benz’s go-fast division. 

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2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG

2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class specsPrice Range: $48,990 

Base Engine: 302 hp /3.5L V6

MPG Range: 17 city / 22 hwy 

 

More power. It's just what every two-and-a-half-ton SUV needs. Not. For that reason, if you had asked us a few weeks ago to pick a sensible vehicle for touring the winding mountain roads around Santa Barbara, California, chances are excellent we'd probably have neglected to mention Mercedes-Benz's ML series, much less its top-of-the-line ML63 AMG. Fettled by the company's in-house tuning department, the extra-picante version of the weighty SUV has only just reemerged in a third edition with more power than ever: 518 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, from the now-ubiquitous AMG 5.5-liter, twin-turbo V-8. 

 

High-riding vehicles with mad amounts of horsepower have never struck us as a good idea, even if there's clearly money to be made by offering them to those whose bank accounts trump their understanding of vehicle dynamics. And more muscle, in a vehicle that upon our last visitation was already content to write checks its chassis couldn't cash, hardly recommended the 2012 ML63.

All that, of course, was before we'd driven it, and before Mercedes brought its best technology to bear on the question of how to make something this tall (70.7 inches) and heavy (5093 pounds in its stocking feet) not only go fast -- really big engines have long been known to take care of that chore -- but actually go around corners. And in this sense, the new ML63 is a revelation. Thanks to Mercedes-Benz's Active Curve System, which curbs roll like nobody's business, and the ML63's air suspension with its adaptive dampers, the ML changes direction while remaining so flat and level that you begin to realize that you're having fun on a winding road -- in an SUV. While the ML63 probably won't fully convince you, a knowledgeable enthusiast, that you're in a sports car, wicked exhaust burble notwithstanding, it won't cause you or your passengers to evacuate lunch when you're carving back roads. And in this class of vehicle, that, friends, marks significant progress. 

If you want a Mercedes SUV that scares you, you'll want to wait for the new G63 AMG, whose antique chassis is never going to be a match for its new, speedier motor. Opt for the ML63 AMG, though, and while you may not make the same psychographic statement, you will benefit from electromechanical, speed-sensitive power steering and giant brakes. If the standard AMG body kit and interior accoutrements are not ostentatious enough for you, you may choose an optional Performance Package, which not only injects an additional 32 hp and 44 pound-feet of torque, but also buys the carbon fiber engine cover, special steering wheel, and red-painted calipers our test vehicle sported. Twenty-one-inch wheels may replace the standard twenties, which to our eyes are plenty big enough. 

So what we have in the ML63 is an SUV that defies the laws of physics and in so doing becomes the new class of its class. While we might still question the need for this breed of animal, we do think it worthy of mention. Finally, it seems, you can make pigs fly. 

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2013 Mercedes GLK

There is no denying that the new face-lifted Mercedes GLK is uglier than the previous model. Those blessed with the gift of sight can easily notice that if they look at the pictures of the cars side by side. Now, this new commercial they released for the car tries to kind of justify that by delivering the message that it might be ugly, but it’s got a strong character. It’s about a couple searching for a new house. The look at some pretty nice ones, but at end settle for one that doesn’t look very brilliant, but has character.The ad also showcases the GLK’s capabilities on and off the road. 

The comprehensive range of equipment and appointments for the GLK includes details which are generally the reserve of higher classes of vehicle. With a total of seven model versions, the GLK-Class furthermore offers one of the most comprehensive model ranges in the compact SUV segment (Prices for the German market, incl. 19% VAT):

GLK 200 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY: € 36,235.50GLK 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY: € 38,377.50GLK 220 CDI 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY: € 42,721.00GLK 220 BlueTEC 4MATIC: € 44,149.00GLK 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC: € 46,142.25GLK 350 CDI 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY: € 49,742.00GLK 350 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY: € 50,099.00

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New Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake

It took Mercedes-Benz a little over two years to turn the Shooting Break Concept from the 2010 Beijing Auto Show into the production CLS Shooting Brake (that's no typo, the German automaker changed the name in the process) you first saw in a set of leaked pictures earlier today and in much more detail now. 

So what exactly is the CLS Shooting Brake? Well, if you ask the brand with the star, it will tell you that it's "quite clearly a coupé, but with five doors and a roof which continues through to the rear." 

If you're having a problem comprehending Mercedes' description of the Shooting Brake, you're probably not alone. 

To put it simply, it's an estate version of the CLS with a heavily arched roof that digs into the load area reducing space but at the same time, makes the car look far more elegant and sporty than let's say, the E-Class Wagon. 

While it does look sleek, the Shooting Brake is a large vehicle that measures 4,956mm (195.2 inches) long, 1,881mm (74.1 inches) wide and 1,413 mm (55.6 inches) tall. This means it has the same width with the CLS sedan but it is 16mm longer and surprisingly, 3mm lower than the saloon it is based upon. 

Another surprise comes from the load area as with 590 liters of space with the rear seats in their position, the CLS Shooting Brake beats the Jaguar XF Sportbreak (550 liters), Audi A6 Avant (565 liters) and BMW 5-Series Touring (560 liters) losing only to its E-Class Wagon stablemate (695 liters). 

With the rear seats folded, however, the Shooting Brake with 1,550 liters of space falls behind all four cars (Jaguar: 1,675 liters, Audi: 1,680 liters, BMW: 1,670 liters and Mercedes E-Class Wagon: 1,950 liters). 

The Shooting Brake is equipped as standard with a self-leveling air suspension at the rear while another special feature worth mentioning is the available 'designo' wooden luggage compartment floor that Mercedes says "serves to underscore the hand-finished nature of the interior". 

In addition, unlike the CLS sedan that gets a strict-two seat layout at the back, the Shooting Brake features three seats, the backrests of which can be folded down from the luggage compartment as standard. 

Customers will be able to choose from five interior colors, five trim designs and also three qualities of leather.

The initial engine range for Europe will include a total of four powertrains, all coupled to a 7-speed 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission with an ECO start/stop function. 

These include two diesels, the CLS 250 CDI with a 2.1-liter four-cylinder turbo rated at 201hp (204PS) and the CLS 350 CDI powered by a 3.0-liter V6 delivering 261hp (265PS), and two petrol models, the CLS 350 with a 302hp (306PS) 3.5-liter V6 and the CLS 500 sporting a 4.7-liter V8 turbo producing 402hp (408PS). 

The CLS 350 CDI and the CLS 500 will also be offered with Mercedes' 4MATIC all-wheel drive system.

In the UK, Mercedes will only offer the two rear-wheel drive diesel models. 

In 2013, the Shooting Brake's range will be enhanced with the flagship CLS 63 AMG version series, likely powered by a 5.5-liter bi-turbocharged V8 rated at 530bhp (537PS) in standard trim. 

Mercedes-Benz has said that it has no current plans to bring the Shooting Brake to North America.

If you scroll down, you'll find all the technical data for the European-spec model along with Mercedes-Benz's account on the origins of the Shooting Brake/Break moniker, plus 80 high-resolution photos and a video.

[From Mercedes-Benz] It's all in a name: the origins of the name "Shooting Break"
"Break, or the homonym Brake, was the name once given to carriages used to "break" in wild horses and also to restrict (or "brake") their urge to move, so that they could be put to use as work horses. Since the carts could easily be broken as part of this process, people tended not to use ones which they may have urgently needed for other purposes.

Where necessary, "Brakes" were often fitted out with variable bodies, which were only really used to carry along anything that may have been necessary for the hunt, for example. Any such vehicle which was used when going out shooting was called a Shooting Brake or Shooting Break. Motorised Shooting Brakes were popular in England in the 60s and 70s – exclusive two-door sports cars, which combined the luxury and style of a coupé with a larger load compartment and large tailgate."

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