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With 2007 GL450 SUV, Mercedes-Benz takes on iconic Cadillac Escalade

by Ann M. Job, AP
March 23, 2006
Call it a battle of the big, luxury sport utility vehicles. German automaker Mercedes-Benz is taking on Cadillac and its iconic Escalade.
The 2007 Mercedes GL450 arriving in showrooms this spring is the first full-size, luxury SUV to be sold in the United States by a European car company.
Stretching nearly 17 feet long, this largest Mercedes passenger vehicle has seats for seven, V8 power, standard four-wheel-drive and first-in-the-class seven-speed automatic transmission.
It's the first Mercedes rated for Class IV towing, with a 7,500-pound towing capacity _ enough to pull a 30-foot boat or a three-horse trailer.

Mercedes Benz GL-450 Mercedes Benz
2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450
BASE PRICE: Estimated $57,000.
AS TESTED: Estimated $61,295.
TYPE: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive, seven-passenger, full-size, luxury sport utility vehicle.
ENGINE: 4.6-liter, double overhead cam, 90-degree V8.
MILEAGE: NA.
TOP SPEED: 130 mph.
LENGTH: 200.3 inches.
WHEELBASE: 121.1 inches.
CURB WEIGHT: 5,249 pounds.
BUILT AT: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
OPTIONS: Rear-seat entertainment system estimated $3,000; power liftgate $520.
DESTINATION CHARGE: $775. AP
Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, is in the "upper $50,000s," the company said. Final pricing hasn't yet been announced.
Cadillac's Escalade, the boldly styled star of numerous music videos and a favorite in Hollywood and among professional athletes, leads the full-size, luxury SUV segment. Starting MSRP, including destination charge, is $57,280 for a 2007 Escalade with all-wheel drive.
A two-wheel-drive 2007 Escalade, due out in August, starts at $54,725, and Lincoln sells the big, luxury Navigator SUV, which starts at $53,075 for a 2006 four-wheel-drive model.
Mercedes officials hope to lure families who drive Mercedes sedans already but have full-size SUVs in their garages, too.
There's only one model of GL at introduction _ the GL450. But officials expect to add a diesel-powered model next year, and a sportier, higher-powered GL class is likely down the road, too.
Built on the platform of Mercedes' smaller SUV, the ML-Class, the GL450 looks on the outside like a beefed-up ML. Beyond the exceptionally large Mercedes "star" on the grille, there's nothing bold or particularly ostentatious about this SUV.
Indeed, while factory-supplied wheels range from 18 to 20 inches in diameter for the GL450, the 2007 Escalade has expanded wheel offerings to 22 inches to meet the demand of buyers who want to make their SUV flashier.
Inside, the GL450 also is subdued in a luxurious, everything-in-its-place fashion. Basically, the dashboard design, gauges and controls look like those in other Mercedes vehicles. In the tester, there was plenty of shiny, genuine wood swathed over the dashboard and center console, too.

There was an immediate sense of roominess and airiness in the GL450. It comes from the tall roofline, standard sunroof over the front seats and the fixed-glass window in the ceiling above the third row. It's also due to the good amount of distance between the two front seats.
Legroom in the front row is a generous 43 inches, compared with 41.3 inches in the Escalade.
The GL450's second row has a split 60/40 seat with passengers manually folding and flipping forward the smaller seat section when they want to climb into the two third-row seats.
The Escalade has a more elegant solution. The smaller section of its second-row seat is power-operated and can flip and fold out of the way with the touch of a button. There's no need to fiddle clumsily with a lever.
On the other hand, Mercedes officials provide power-operated third-row seats in the GL450. They fold flat into the floor quickly at the rear of the vehicle. But head restraints on these seats must be put down manually first.
No need to worry about the kids folding one another up in these third-row seats. Mercedes has a system that detects resistance as the seats fold and will halt the process. A warning also appears in the gauge cluster, alerting the driver to the shenanigans.
The third row can accommodate adults, thanks in part to a deeper footwell area than what's found in some other SUVs. Adult passengers don't sit with their knees up around their ears, and legroom totals a commendable 34 inches compared with 25.4 inches in the regular-wheelbase Escalade.
But there's no way to remove seats from the GL450, as can be done in the Escalade, and the cargo floor is quite high off the ground in the Mercedes SUV.
Cargo room in the Mercedes maxes out at 83.3 cubic feet compared with 108.9 cubic feet in the Escalade.
The GL450 is exceptionally quiet to ride in, and I enjoyed sitting up high off the road with good views over other vehicles. But the test vehicle transmitted so many vibrations through the seats, even front seats, that I experienced motion sickness.
A Mercedes official said the company had no other complaints about this problem and figured it was an issue isolated in the test vehicle.
The GL450 is unique in its unibody construction. Other full-size SUVs are body on frame, which allows the stiffness of the vehicle body to work with the frame and handle big towing and payload duties while maintaining strong crashworthiness. Rugged pickup trucks are body on frame, too.
Mercedes officials noted the GL450, with the more car-like unit body construction, makes broad use of high-strength steel, which provides rigidity and crashworthiness. There's also extensive reinforcing of the stress points between the suspension and vehicle body.
Despite its size, the GL450 maneuvered like a smaller vehicle. Even parallel parking wasn't tedious.
There's only one engine _ a 335-horsepower, 4.6-liter, double overhead cam V8 mated to the seven-speed automatic.
It capably powers the GL450, and torque of 339 foot-pounds starting at 2,700 rpm gives this more than 5,200-pound vehicle good get-up-and-go on mountain roads and in highway passing maneuvers. The sensation of power isn't exactly instantaneous at high speeds, but the GL450 doesn't struggle, either.
Still, the 403-horsepower, 6.2-liter V8 in the Escalade outmuscles the GL450 and includes a bit rowdier engine note.