Just picked up the car with my father few days ago. Must say, I am pretty impressed with the car. Overall comfort plus fit-and-finish is pretty good. Definitely light years ahead of the W163 (which is my father's last car and replaced by the GL).

Review by Cawimmer is pretty much spot on. While the engine will not win any drag race, but it is more than adequate for the North American hwy.

With this said, I think all the do-dats, i.e. COMAND, is proving to be a bit overwhelming for my dad.

Now I am curious to see its mileage in real-life driving condition.

Thanks Bighead for your first impressions with your GL 320 CDI! In my opinion this is the best engine (except the 420 CDI) for the GL!

Congrats on an Awesome Ride,
If i may Ask, what made your fatheR choose the Gl over the New ML/R....

My father wanted the extra seating capacity. He had the 3rd row seats for the ML but it was kind if painful to flip down the seats plus the seating room (for the 3rd row) is not optimal.

Besides, he has always been a fan for anything diesel. So he jumped on the GL once he heard it is available as a diesel in Canada. (Diesel engines are rare in this country.)

Congratulations, Bighead.

I'm also happy that my review helped (and that you agree with it!).

Please post pictures sometime, we always love to see new rides. The GL is a fun car, I was able to drive another GL320 CDI downtown to a car show and it's a great feeling. It's a huge truck and it feels solid and well constructed. I've also driven the W163 ML270 CDI Final Edition and boy, that thing felt shabby in comparison to the GL.

Congrats again.

Just took the GL to its first long distance drive. From Toronto to Chicago, or 1700 km round trip to be exact.

I am very impressed with the car, especially with its diesel engine. After a complete fueling, the trip computer showed a WHOPPING 1,000 km distance to empty tank! I have never driven on long distance trip with less fuel stop than this one. Too bad my bladder cannot match its mileage.

Excellent cup holders (which is important for North American driving) are 10 times better than the one found in the last generation ML-class.

Some nagging points: I wish the seat can be firmer and offers more support. Don't get me wrong, the seat is very comfortable for the first couple of hours. But then I did notice that my rear sank into the cushion and I had to frequently shift to reduce fatigue.

While the engine is very smooth in its cruising mode. But passing can be an exercise of planning while cruising at 140 km/h. This is where a gasoline engine would definitely shine!

Also, input system and ergonomics of the navigation system can definitely be improved!

But other than that, the car is excellent for long distance driving (did I mention that the cargo capacity is awesome for shopping trip at the factory outlet mall!!!).

Cheers.

Thanks for the review, looks like it's a great long distance car!

Other than the seats, and lack of power, and the sat nav, are there any other design faults with the car?

Thanks for the update.

Impressive: a 1,000 km on a tank of diesel. That's incredible for a heavy car like the GL. And some people might also claim that the 224-hp 3.0 V6 CDI is "underpowered". Makes it even more impressive! LOL

But the torque...

Thanks for your short traveling report! It looks like the GL is a fantastic car...

I won't say "lack of power". In fact the engine is pretty torquey and acceleration is not bad at all. MB has done a very good job in matching the ratios of the 7-speed tranny with the engine. However, once booting along in hwy speed, i.e. 140 to 150 km/h, the passing power (to pass a truck) can be a bit weak. In hind sight, I should have pressed the paddle-shift and knock down a gear. All said and done, this diesel V6 is really propelling a fairly heavy truck with 5 passengers plus luggages.

Design flaw..can't think of any. But I sure am glad that we picked the rear view parking camera. This camera should have been standard for a vehicle of such size. Anyone with purchasing a GL in mind should not omit this option.