  2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Jonathan Yarkony
Living large doesn’t have to be wasteful. And just because you need seven seats doesn’t mean you need to ride in austerity if you have the budget. Though for some reason, the higher you go on the luxury scale, the fewer options you have with seven seats.
This right here, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 Bluetec, answers all those questions. It’s large, it’s luxurious, yet it’s surprisingly efficient for its size, and it’s obviously expensive (and can become extremely expensive if you really wish), so people won’t soon mistake you for a dirty commoner when you’re rolling around in this tank. However, most people might not even realize how efficient it is – so if your aim is to advertise that frugality, you might have to communicate it some other way. I don’t believe Mercedes offers any giant BLUETEC stickers in their catalogue.
Let’s start with the most curious aspect of this large SUV: its efficiency. At 2,455 kg (5,412 lb), you’re carrying around a lot of weight, but the GL 350 Bluetec manages Transport Canada ratings of 10.9 L/100 km city and 7.6 highway. Down in the US, the EPA rates it at 19 mpg city, 26 highway, and 22 combined (12.4 / 9.0 / 10.7 L/100 km). I’m beginning to think that the EPA is either cribbing my notes, or that their test is actually reflective of my fairly typical driving habits: commuting in semi-rush hour traffic and running around on weekends with a mix of highway and city driving. In the GL 350 I landed at 10.5 L/100 km – I’m sure I could get it up to 10.7 if you gave me another couple weeks.
If not for the $80,000 price tag, that’d be a pretty thrifty way to go. But this is reality, and in this reality, Mercedes-Benz products carry a premium for their refinement, luxury and safety. While I don’t doubt that Mercedes makes a tidy profit on every one of these that they sell, and they do sell quite a few, I feel it represents good value because of the quality in those three areas mentioned above and several more.
 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec. Click image to enlarge |
While this SUV never seems small thanks to its large dimensions and high seating position, it still impresses with its stable handling and decent maneuverability. It’s not the best car for scoping out parking spots in the city or navigating a tight mall parking lot, but once you find your spot, the light steering, good visibility and 360-degree camera views displayed onscreen make placing it in its destined spot easy for its lumbering size. The high seating position mean it is also easy to see traffic around you, though you must be cognizant that pedestrians, cyclists, pets and anything smaller will be harder to see.
However, this car is best suited the open spaces of suburbia, highway driving and rural pastures. While I was sorely tempted to take this vehicle along for the wild ride during Jeff Wilson’s off-road adventure and comparison test, even those mild conditions may have been too extreme for the GL 350, even with its Airmatic air suspension. I can report that this air suspension was adept at what the 99 percent use these mall crawlers for – potholes and rough urban roads were easily subdued, but the GL always felt stable and controlled. It was slightly firmer with the suspension setting in Sport, but neither mode strays too far to an extreme. However, I did prefer the slightly firmer and more controlled cornering in Sport mode of the Adaptive Damping System (part of the $2,900 Sport Package), even if there is a bit more impact felt in the cabin.
The cabin itself was luxurious without being ostentatious. The seats and dash are covered in Mercedes’ synthetic ‘Artico’ leather, which I found entirely convincing in this application (really, I had no idea until I looked at the spec sheet… I ascribe that to the genuine stitching holding all the panels together), and easily better than some brands’ real leather. The switchgear and plastics are all pleasant to the touch, reassuring in their solidity.
Like many reviewers, it took me a while to get used to the transmission wand for the seven-speed automatic transmission (the only transmission available on the GL-Class), which seems too delicate for such a brawny torque-monster underhood (more on that later). However, after several weeks behind the wheels of various Benzes with this wand, one does get used to it, a sentiment echoed by several owners, and it seems more intuitive than BMW’s strange shifters. One thing I’m particularly grateful for is a button for Park (lacking on several high-tech BMWs – you’re just supposed to turn them off while in Drive or Reverse, which freaks me right out), even if it is located where many cars feature a windshield-washer-spray button. Anyhow, behind the wheel of the GL, the wand soon became second nature and I was three-point (and five-point, and sometimes nine-point) turning like a pro.
   2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec. Click image to enlarge |
Mercedes’ COMAND system for the infotainment system also quickly becomes second nature – in this case, the menus are not as intuitive as Audi’s MMI or BMW’s iDrive, so it might mean a slightly longer learning curve, but the excellent positioning of the control knob makes the physical interaction with the system effortless, unlike Lexus’s quirky controller.
The seats, too, in addition to that commanding position, are highly adjustable, and so likely to suit a range of body styles. I, for one, found them extremely comfortable. Both the front seats offer three memory settings and both the front and second row seats are heated. However, the $26,000 Kia Forte I drove recently had a cooled driver’s seat, so let’s hope Mercedes-Benz starts including it as standard equipment in their $80,000 vehicles.
  2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec. Click image to enlarge |
The second-row bench seat was reasonably comfortable with plenty of space, and our child seats were easy to install for me with easily accessible ISOFIX anchors, and ISOFIX anchors in the third row (which I was disappointed to find lacking in a Toyota Highlander Hybrid I drove recently). However, for those of shorter stature like my wife, at five feet, securing our daughter was a bit of a reach. As useless as those running boards seem at first glance, my wife would stand on them when buckling our daughter, so we did get some use out of them. To me, they looked like they would collect dirt and slush and foul up trouser legs in messy weather.
Tumbling the second row was easy enough, the seatback folding flat and then the seat bottom flipping forward to allow access to the surprisingly spacious third row, the flat roofline providing adequate headroom and the sheer size of the GL-Class means it can accommodate decent legroom in all rows. Those that switch between five and seven seats frequently will appreciate the power-folding third row that stows quickly in a 50/50 split, leaving a spacious cargo area. With those seats up, the cargo space is barely enough for a stroller and a couple bags, but it serves in a pinch, and the cargo cover can be affixed in either five- or seven-seat configuration. Cargo space specs listed on Mercedes’s website are 295 L with all seats up and 2,300 L max. In five-seat configuration, that cargo space looks big enough for a few hockey bags, a couple strollers, and then some. Not quite a minivan, but there won’t be many things you schlep around that will exceed this space yet still fit in a minivan, taking into account the GL’s payload is 795 kg.
  2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec. Click image to enlarge |
Anyhow, while spacious enough to haul plenty of cargo, perhaps more important to families is how safely it will carry the most precious of cargo, your family. Mercedes-Benz equips the GL with myriad safety systems to help you avoid an accident. First of all, common systems like ABS brakes, brake assist, stability (ESP) and traction (ASR) control to keep the car under control and 4Matic all-wheel drive to keep you from getting stuck.
Then there are the more advanced detection and intervention systems: Attention Assist to alert you to drowsy driving behaviour; cornering bi-xenon headlamps to help you see as far into a turn as possible; Passive Lane Keeping Assist that warns you if you drift over the lane markings; Passive Blind Spot Assist that warns you if there is a car detected in your blind spot; Collision Prevention Assist warns if it detects too close a following distance to the car ahead that could lead to a collision; tire pressure loss warning; Pre-Safe, which primes in-cabin safety features like seatbelts, seats and windows if it detects the risk of an impending collision.
In the event of a collision, being built like a tank sure makes it safer, but in addition to that, front, side, rear side, side window curtain, pelvis and driver’s knee airbags are deployed as a pillowy cocoon in an impact. Although not tested by either the NHTSA or IIHS, the ML-Class manages top ratings from both organizations (Five Star Overall and Top Safety Pick, respectively), so it should give GL buyers confidence in the Mercedes-Benz SUVs.
In between safety and convenience, the GL 350 we drove featured Parktronic, with beeps and warning lights and 360-degree camera views to safely navigate you into your berth at the club or mall or underground garage – parking such a large vehicle has never been so easy. Also available, but not included on this GL was Distronic adaptive cruise control, active lane keeping assist that uses the stability control and power brakes to guide keep the vehicle in lane if you miss the visual and audible warnings, and likewise active blind spot assist will do the same if you miss the blind spot warnings and you attempt a risky lane-change maneuver. Active parking assist can steer you into a parking spot as you govern the gas and brakes.
  2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec. Click image to enlarge |
Believe it or not, there are even more toys out there that you can pile onto your GL-Class, not the least of which are interior trimmings like genuine leather and wood, nifty gadgets like night vision and engines ranging from this thrifty diesel to the lunatic 550-hp twin-turbo V8-powered GL 63 AMG. Compared to that, this GL 350 seems downright modest, even though it’s no slouch with a V6 turbodiesel thumping out 250 hp and 455 lb-ft of torque, available from 1,600 to 2,400 rpm, so it’s all right there and waiting pretty much anytime you feather the pedal. At any speed, the massive torque seems to be able to simply pick you up and put you where you want to go, although not necessarily with neck-snapping, pin-you-into-your-seat urgency – it’s more of a casual, subtle surge. While intermediate V8 gas engines are available in the 362 hp/406 lb-ft GL 450 and 429 hp/516 lb-ft GL 550, why bother? The GL 350 Bluetec provides all the punch you need and at a fraction of the fuelling costs. Even people with loads of money to buy an SUV like this don’t like wasting money on gas… At least I imagine they don’t.
Last year when I drove the ML 350 Bluetec, I came away somewhat indifferent, something about it lacking even if it delivered the same excellent fuel consumption, power and luxurious amenities. Not so the GL 350. Perhaps it is the additional flexibility and convenience of the third row and extra seats, its slightly more blockish styling, or a simple shift in perspective, but I loved this vehicle. It is the best seven seater I’ve ever piloted. There is just enough space in the third row for humans, more than enough cargo space and adaptability, utter ease and competence on the road (both in power and handling), and fuel consumption that I typically get in mid-size sedans.
Pricing: 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 Bluetec
Base Price: $73,700
Options: $8,200 (Driving Assistance Package: Passive Blind Spot Assist, Passive Lane Keeping Assist – $800; Sport Package: AMG Exterior Package, Adaptive Damping System, 21-inch AMG light alloy wheels: with low profile tires, illuminated aluminum running boards – $2,900; Premium Package: Panoramic Sunroof, COMAND w/HDD Navigation & DVD Changer, Media Interface cable, Harman/Kardon LOGIC7 Surround Sound System, Heated Rear Seats, Power Assist Trunk and Door Closure, Keyless-Go – $4,500)
A/C Tax: $100
Freight/PDI: $2,075
Price as tested: $83,975
Competitors:
Acura MDX
Audi Q7
BMW X5
Cadillac Escalade
Infiniti JX35/QX56
Land Rover Range Rover
Lexus LX 570
