Mercedes GL420 CDI CAR review

Another over-inflated luxury 4x4?

Fair point. There is a whiff of Groundhog Day about the GL-Class but with seven seats, a host of new engines and comfort to match a luxury saloon, it could be worth sticking around for. In a nutshell, the GL-Class aims to be the biggest, most spacious and most luxurious SUV on the market, eating Audi Q7s for breakfast and dismembering Range Rovers for supper. Three engines – 224hp 320 CDI, 306hp 420 CDI and 388hp GL 500 –power the 2.5-tonne, five-metre-long behemoth but, unsurprisingly, all that power and pampering doesn’t come cheap.

£70k to become public enemy number one? Not for me thanks.

Price is an issue. To distance this luxury SUV from the smaller M-Class, Mercedes has added two seats and a hefty premium. Compared to seven seat rivals from Audi, Range Rover and Volvo, the GL-Class is expensive. At £51,675, the entry-level GL320 already out prices the flagship Audi Q7 by £4,000. The range-topping GL500 can easily hit £70,000 with options - a lot of cash for a luxury off-roader lacking the cache of the similarly priced Range Rover.