2012 MERCEDES BENZ GL-Klasse (X165) 500 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY 7AT AWD (435 HP)

Vehicle Overview

The biggest SUV from the German car-maker was the equivalent of the S-Class for the SUV market. It’s up to seven seats and the high level of comfort made it a good alternative for the brand’s flagship.

The first generation of the GL was launched in 2006 and it was based on the ML-Class platform. It was mainly built for the North-American market. In Europe, its sales were very low, especially after the world economic crisis stroke in 2008. In its last full production year, it managed to sell a mere 2508 units on the European continent, while in the US the worst year was in 2009 with 15.012 units.

The second generation started in 2012 with a complete revamp for the exterior look. It featured the new frontal fascia, sculptured doors, and V-shaped turn-signals on the door-mirrors. Even so, the sales didn’t come even close to the U.S. market. Its big size made it hard to use it inside European cities.

Inside, the 2-3-2 seating arrangement provided more room than its predecessor, offering more elbow, shoulder, and headroom for all three rows of seats. The dashboard was covered in ARTICO man-made leather. Inside the instrument cluster, a new 4.8” TFT display offered information from the on-board computer, the COMMAND infotainment unit, or from the navigation system.

In the European market, the 3.0-liter diesel engine was the most favored version, while for the U.S. market the gasoline units were on top of its customer’s list. Like the S-Class, the GL was available exclusively with a 7-speed automatic gearbox (7G-Tronic).