In our modern-day culture where SUVs and Crossover Utility Vehicles are almost as commonplace as smartphones, the world begs for a bold outcast that does its duties a bit different from everyone else. The new 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec is just the vehicle to foreshadow its differences to transport up to 7 passengers in plush luxury and reach new fuel economy heights with its diesel-powered 4MATIC drivetrain. Making its duties in style, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL350 gets a diesel powered V6 engine under its sculpted aluminum hood with a modest 240 horsepower but has a pavement-clawing 455 ft-lbs of torque as low as 1,600 rpm. The output is much improved over the outgoing model, which is needed to get the momentum of all 5,835 pounds moving in the right direction. In the scope of available full-sized luxury SUVs on the market, the list isn鈥檛 all that long. Bring up the category of a diesel-powered SUV and the list just about disappears with the exception of a few German counterparts. Mercedes-Benz continues to keep the narrow segment alive and laced with luxury and some efficiency.

In our modern-day culture where SUVs and Crossover Utility Vehicles are almost as commonplace as smartphones, the world begs for a bold outcast that does its duties a bit different from everyone else. The new 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec is just the vehicle to foreshadow its differences to transport up to 7 passengers in plush luxury and reach new fuel economy heights with its diesel-powered 4MATIC drivetrain. Making its duties in style, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL350 gets a diesel powered V6 engine under its sculpted aluminum hood with a modest 240 horsepower but has a pavement-clawing 455 ft-lbs of torque as low as 1,600 rpm. The output is much improved over the outgoing model, which is needed to get the momentum of all 5,835 pounds moving in the right direction. In the scope of available full-sized luxury SUVs on the market, the list isn鈥檛 all that long. Bring up the category of a diesel-powered SUV and the list just about disappears with the exception of a few German counterparts. Mercedes-Benz continues to keep the narrow segment alive and laced with luxury and some efficiency.

The new turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine found in the GL350 BlueTec manages to thrust the almost 6,000-pound German 鈥楪elaendewagen Leicht鈥?(GL) to 60 mph in just 7.5 seconds and finish a quarter mile in about 15.8 seconds. Sure, it is no easy feat as the Benz GL350 BlueTec hugs the road with such grace. I would say your driving style for the 3.0-liter V6 diesel places everything you learned on a different path of adaptation when compared to virtually any gasoline powered SUV or crossover. The powerband, much subdued at the mercy of its turbocharger, has a touch of lag off of the line and expectantly does not stretch too far past 3,600 rpm. Fortunately, Benz tends to remap its proven 7-speed automatic transmission to meet the diesel engine鈥檚 brief grunt of torque. The 7-speed automatic transmission adapts well to your driving style even if you need to make mental adjustments to compensate for the short bursts of forward thrust from the narrow-banded turbo-diesel engine.

The Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTec鈥檚 weight and size start to give you an initial impression of sloppy handling but quickly proves you wrong due to its advanced air suspension system and active dampers. Mercedes-Benz is known for their highly praised Active Body Control (ABC) suspension systems and the new GL 350 takes much of that tech and adapts it on a larger scale to handle the GL鈥檚 mass with assurance. It is such an assurance that you literally feel like you are riding on air, which you technically are. The GL surprisingly handles itself well for such a large and heavy vehicle. At times pushing the GL a bit to hard will constitute it being at the mercy of its 19-inch tires, which quickly lets you know with extreme howling when the lateral limits are about to be reached. Of course no one wants to ever think about reaching the handling limits of a 5,800-pound vehicle. Still, the air suspension and active dampers quickly adapt to road conditions and allows you to choose a comfort or sport mode where sport mode lowers the vehicle for even better stability.

Traveling at highway speeds the vehicle automatically lowers in any mode. A high-height mode gives you ample clearance, as much as 12-inches of ground clearance, for navigating off-road paths. While on the off-beat paths the Benz GL 350 BlueTec allows you to use the review camera combined with a set of cameras (front, sides and rear) for a virtual down-angle-view of the vehicle鈥檚 surroundings up to around 20 mph. The virtual around-view also makes maneuvering the large GL into tight areas and parking spots a cinch. Luxury appointments are expected when you step into a cabin of vehicle sporting a three-pointed star emblem -and that is just what you get in the GL-class. The GL 350 BlueTec is nothing short of the rest of the GL line when properly equipped. An optional rear DVD entertainment system, equipped on my test vehicle, adds to the rear-seat appeal to keep all rear-seat occupants entertained.