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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