MERCEDES launches a big 'un.(News)

Byline: WES RAYNAL

So another huge sport/utility vehicle is hitting the market. Well, that's just great. Who thought that was a good idea? Clearly Mercedes-Benz did.

There are a few reasons for this. One, the company's big, bad new GL was supposed to replace the ancient Gelaendewagen; ancient but nonetheless popular, for when the rumors began that a svelte new G-Wagen was coming, the outcry for the banker's box version was so loud that Mercedes decided to keep the old dear around for a while and make GL an additional model. Two, in introducing its GL, Mercedes hopes to recoup some lost sales. Why? The company did research, and figures 25 percent of its owners need an SUV bigger than its own ML and have been forced to look elsewhere.

No more. Enter the seven-seat, 5249-pound GL450, aimed at the Land Rover Range Rover, Cadillac Escalade, Lexus LX 470 and Lincoln Navigator.

Mercedes' 4.6-liter V8 powers the GL, delivering 335 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque. This is one smooth engine, and it is mated to an ultra-smooth transmission, Benz's seven-speed automatic, sending power to the wheels via full-time four-wheel drive.

Driving the GL on two-lane roads around the company's Vance, Alabama plant, it felt a need for more power (it will tow 7500 pounds, Benz says). M-B officials estimate 60 mph in about 7.4 seconds.

The GL rides on a new unibody platform, which it shares with the ML SUV and that replaced the old ML's (and the G-Wagen's) ladder frame. The suspension is fully ...