  2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Jonathan Yarkony
Living large doesn’t have to be wasteful. And just because you need seven seats doesn’t mean you need to ride in austerity if you have the budget. Though for some reason, the higher you go on the luxury scale, the fewer options you have with seven seats.
This right here, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 Bluetec, answers all those questions. It’s large, it’s luxurious, yet it’s surprisingly efficient for its size, and it’s obviously expensive (and can become extremely expensive if you really wish), so people won’t soon mistake you for a dirty commoner when you’re rolling around in this tank. However, most people might not even realize how efficient it is – so if your aim is to advertise that frugality, you might have to communicate it some other way. I don’t believe Mercedes offers any giant BLUETEC stickers in their catalogue.
Let’s start with the most curious aspect of this large SUV: its efficiency. At 2,455 kg (5,412 lb), you’re carrying around a lot of weight, but the GL 350 Bluetec manages Transport Canada ratings of 10.9 L/100 km city and 7.6 highway. Down in the US, the EPA rates it at 19 mpg city, 26 highway, and 22 combined (12.4 / 9.0 / 10.7 L/100 km). I’m beginning to think that the EPA is either cribbing my notes, or that their test is actually reflective of my fairly typical driving habits: commuting in semi-rush hour traffic and running around on weekends with a mix of highway and city driving. In the GL 350 I landed at 10.5 L/100 km – I’m sure I could get it up to 10.7 if you gave me another couple weeks.
If not for the $80,000 price tag, that’d be a pretty thrifty way to go. But this is reality, and in this reality, Mercedes-Benz products carry a premium for their refinement, luxury and safety. While I don’t doubt that Mercedes makes a tidy profit on every one of these that they sell, and they do sell quite a few, I feel it represents good value because of the quality in those three areas mentioned above and several more.
 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec. Click image to enlarge |
While this SUV never seems small thanks to its large dimensions and high seating position, it still impresses with its stable handling and decent maneuverability. It’s not the best car for scoping out parking spots in the city or navigating a tight mall parking lot, but once you find your spot, the light steering, good visibility and 360-degree camera views displayed onscreen make placing it in its destined spot easy for its lumbering size. The high seating position mean it is also easy to see traffic around you, though you must be cognizant that pedestrians, cyclists, pets and anything smaller will be harder to see.
However, this car is best suited the open spaces of suburbia, highway driving and rural pastures. While I was sorely tempted to take this vehicle along for the wild ride during Jeff Wilson’s off-road adventure and comparison test, even those mild conditions may have been too extreme for the GL 350, even with its Airmatic air suspension. I can report that this air suspension was adept at what the 99 percent use these mall crawlers for – potholes and rough urban roads were easily subdued, but the GL always felt stable and controlled. It was slightly firmer with the suspension setting in Sport, but neither mode strays too far to an extreme. However, I did prefer the slightly firmer and more controlled cornering in Sport mode of the Adaptive Damping System (part of the $2,900 Sport Package), even if there is a bit more impact felt in the cabin.
