Mighty Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG Comes with All the Whistles
Imagine if you bought your cars by the pound.
A 3,365-pound Honda Accord EX with leather and an MSRP of $30,985 would set you back about $9.20 per pound.
Then we have today’s test car—the 2014 Mercedes Benz GL63 AMG. The price tag as tested is $126,870. This behemoth weighs in at 5,687 pounds or $22.31 per pound.
If that’s hard to stomach, Market Basket recently had boneless strip sirloin on sale for $6.99 per pound.
Conclusion: The price of one of the beefiest SUVs is something that’s not on the average buyer’s shopping list. This SUV is the people-moving equivalent of Mercedes’ luxury S-Class sedans.
It’s also a vehicle that’s so far outside of my pay grade that I feel like an imposter driving it.
However, for the buyer who needs (or wants) a seven-passenger vehicle with Mercedes-Benz cache, this is an SUV that combines performance, luxury, and all of the technical wizardry that is pushing the industry towards the autonomous or self-driving car.
Among the four GL class trim levels—GL350 Bluetec (diesel), GL450, GL550, and GL63 AMG—this is the top-of-the-line luxury and performance versionwith a hand-built 550-horsepower bi-turbo V-8 that’s capable of moving all that avoirdupois from 0-to-60 in 5.3 seconds. Unleashing even a bit of that horsepower produces a wonderful exhaust note and immediate response through the seven-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive system.
As amazing as the acceleration is with all that weight, the stopping power might be more impressive, thanks to the oversized ventilated and perforated brake discs with six-piston calipers in front.
It’s almost a backhanded compliment to credit a vehicle this massive with good handling, but the beefed-up suspension, speed-sensitive electromechanical steering, and active curve system stability control, make for a stable vehicle even at higher speeds. The adaptive damping system can be set for comfort or sport modes.
Driving position is high with 7.8 inches of standard ground clearance. It’s high enough that the side rails make it considerably easier to step up into the vehicle.
We left for New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the pre-dawn darkness of a September Sunday morning, driving through torrential downpours in hopes that the day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race would be held.
It turns out that the early morning rains bypassed the racetrack, but they put us amid other early race-goers in a bit of a white-knuckle drive. Water puddled-up enough on Interstate 93 that hydroplaning was a problem, even with the GL63 AMG’s 21-inch tires and AWD. Still, we clearly were handling the conditions better than most everything else on the road.
How hard was it raining? Hard enough that this big Benz’s information display was telling us that some of the camera-based safety and stability systems temporarily were unavailable.
The AMG is equipped with a highactive level of driver assistance features, among them blind-spot, lane-keeping, and crash-avoidance assists that can go beyond audible alarms and a haptic (vibrating) steering wheel to active braking and nudging the car back into its lane.
As for transporting seven people, perhaps I was left in a time warp, but the minivan still seems to be a better choice than a three-row SUV as a seven-passenger people mover.
Still, the SUV folks have done lots to make these vehicles accessible with easy entry systems (sliding second row seats) to the rear seat. In addition, both second- and third-row seats fold flat to provide up to 93.8 cubic feet of cargo space.
Front-row passengers enjoy heated and cooled multi-contour seats with lumbar support and a massage function.A three-zone automatic climate control and heated and cooled cupholders are among the amenities.
After a long day at the races, once we escaped the departing traffic leaving the Loudon, NH, track, the GL63 AMG was a pleasure on the ride home.
Satellite radio put the NASCAR station’s post race show through the optional Bang & Olufsen sound system (a $5,400 option) and the automatic high beam system lit up secondary roads with impressive self-dimming capability. Unlike other self-adjusting systems that seem to snap abruptly back to low beams, the M-B system makes the change almost as though a shade is being pulled down quickly butsmoothly over the high-beam bulbs.
The interior trim (porcelain white Nappa leather and anthracite poplar wood) had the appearance of an upscale nightclub, but seven other interior options and 20 exterior colors should satisfy all but those who want a custom color.
Surprising for a performance vehicle, the GL63 has an Eco stop/start feature that kicks in with the vehicle stopped and the brake applied. Still, it didn’t seem to help fuel economy, which is rated at 13 miles per gallon in city driving, 17 on the highway, and 14 combined.
Our on-board computer credited us with a 16.2 mpg average, but a $75 gas stop still fell short of filling the 25.4-gallon fuel tank with premium gas.
Mercedes still has, in my not-so humble opinion, too many stalks on the steering column. I’m forever clipping the cruise control when reaching for the directional signal.
A control knob on the center console helps navigate through the Comand audio and navigation systems on the color central screen. The system overall is fairly intuitive to use and the technically minded can enjoy its advanced features.
As big as the GL63 models are, they’re still two feet shorter than the new Chevrolet Suburbans.
And, pound-for-pound, it’s a heavyweight champ.
2014 Mercedes-Benz GL36 AMG
THE BASICS
Price, base/as tested (with destination): $119,085/$126,870. Fuel economy, EPA estimated: 13 city/14 combined/17 highway.Fuel economy, Globe observed: 16.2.Drivetrain: 5.5-liter turbo V-8, 7-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel-drive.Body: Seven-passenger luxury SUV.
THE SPECIFICS
Horsepower: 550.Torque: 560 lb.-ft.Overall length: 202.6 in.Wheelbase: 121.1 in.Height: 72.8 in.Width: 84.3 in.Curb weight: 5,687 lbs.
THE GOOD
Power, luxury interior, brand appeal.
THE BAD
Expensive to buy, run; lots of electronic controls to master to fully utilize the GL63’s capabilities.
THE BOTTOM LINE
A luxury SUV that performs as impressively as it looks.
ALSO CONSIDER
GMC Yukon, Infiniti QX80, Land Rover Range Rover, Lexus LX 570, Volkswagen Touareg Diesel.
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