Short Take Road Test
In a world where everything from the E-class station wagon to my toaster oven has had a huge AMG engine foot-stomped into the space between its fenders, Mercedes-Benz has shown remarkable restraint in thus far refusing to AMG-ify the GL-class SUV. And with the release of this latest version, the muscular GL550, why would it? Besides, the wheels are from AMG. Isn't that good enough?
Using the same delicious 5.5-liter V-8 that has wormed its way across the Mercedes-Benz lineup—here it makes 382 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque; it's also found in the CLS550, E550, S550, and you-get-the-idea 550—this latest GL has some serious balls in its basket. This is one fast SUV. How does a best-in-class 5.9 seconds to 60 mph sound? If you're still not impressed, consider that this mastodon-sized piece of hardware weighs in at a whopping 5569 pounds, roughly equivalent to the weight of the piles of gold bullion it requires to afford the $82,415 as-tested price.
Still snorting derisively from your armchair, sure that we've inhaled some Mercedes-scented smoke? Here's one more performance figure to blow your mind: The GL achieved a 70-to-0-mph stopping distance of 165 feet. Kind of pedestrian for a sports car, but when you consider that it took the last Lotus Elise we tested just three fewer feet to achieve the same, uh, feat, you kind of start to look at the GL550 in a whole new light.
And looking at the GL is something you'll actually want to do now, what with the standard AMG body kit. Whereas lesser GLs look a bit tipsy, nouveau riche, and just sort of ugly, the GL550 really looks the part. Those AMG-inscribed wheels? They're 21-inchers, wrapped in low-pro 295-40 rubber. The rest of the dress-up kit includes side sills, running boards, new exhaust outlets, and some seriously boss fender flares.
The cherry on top, though, has to be the manhole-diameter three-pointed star centered in the grille. It's the largest badge Mercedes has put on a passenger vehicle. Ever. The overall effect is one of machismo and purpose, although the running boards are perfectly sized and placed to make getting into and out of the GL550 a pain.
Dynamically, the GL550 is pretty good, too. There's still a touch too much squat under hard acceleration and brake dive, but those are easily mitigated by popping the standard Airmatic suspension into sport mode. (As in every other Airmatic-equipped Benz, sport mode is comfortable enough for all but the roughest sections of bombed-out pavement while returning adequately agile handling.) The suspension does a pretty good job in all modes of quelling any wheel crash you might get from those heavy, oversized shoes, too, but the smaller 18-inch wheels of the more inexpensive GLs allow for a cushier and more buttoned-down experience.
