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The brand鈥檚 longest-running production vehicle has returned with a
vengeance. On the eve of its 40th birthday, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class
is navigating middle age with a major redesign, trying to stay hip as
young rivals such as the Lamborghini Urus and Rolls Royce Cullinan
emerge. Like any enviable facelift, the makeover has given the
long-running global status symbol a modern look while retaining its
rugged off-road appeal. Its 375-pound weight loss鈥攄ue to an
aluminum-based diet for the doors, hood and fenders鈥攄oesn鈥檛 hurt
its born-again vivacity, either. Though puny by today鈥檚 standards,
the G-Class launched in 1979 as a military-style truck powered by a
choice of four engines supplying between 71 and 154 horsepower. The
2019 G-Wagen packs much more pluck. The G550 delivers 416 horsepower
using its new 4.0-liter bi-turbo V8, while the high-performance AMG G63
harnesses 577 ponies with its handcrafted AMG 4.0-liter V8 bi-turbo. We
feel the SUV鈥檚 additional oomph鈥攎eted through its new, silky-smooth
nine-speed automatic transmission鈥攁s soon as we hit the freeway
outside of San Diego.
The brand鈥檚 longest-running production vehicle has returned with a
vengeance. On the eve of its 40th birthday, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class
is navigating middle age with a major redesign, trying to stay hip as
young rivals such as the Lamborghini Urus and Rolls Royce Cullinan
emerge. Like any enviable facelift, the makeover has given the
long-running global status symbol a modern look while retaining its
rugged off-road appeal. Its 375-pound weight loss鈥攄ue to an
aluminum-based diet for the doors, hood and fenders鈥攄oesn鈥檛 hurt
its born-again vivacity, either. Though puny by today鈥檚 standards,
the G-Class launched in 1979 as a military-style truck powered by a
choice of four engines supplying between 71 and 154 horsepower. The
2019 G-Wagen packs much more pluck. The G550 delivers 416 horsepower
using its new 4.0-liter bi-turbo V8, while the high-performance AMG G63
harnesses 577 ponies with its handcrafted AMG 4.0-liter V8 bi-turbo. We
feel the SUV鈥檚 additional oomph鈥攎eted through its new, silky-smooth
nine-speed automatic transmission鈥攁s soon as we hit the freeway
outside of San Diego.
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Before we get too far, we must offer a caveat: As of press time, the
Mercedes-Benz GLS350d has not received a certificate of compliance from
the all-powerful U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thanks to
increased scrutiny of diesel-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs, the
due-for-2017 GLS350d is not yet on sale at U.S. Nevertheless, when the
company invited us to sample all its fullsize-SUV wares, we leapt at
the opportunity. Nestled in a fleet of fire-spitting Mercedes-AMG GLS63
and G65 SUVs was the object of our oil-burning affection, the GLS350d.
Photo 2/14 | Mercedes-Benz鈥檚 invitiation included opportunities to
drive each version of the G and GLS SUV for a few days, including the
mighty, twin-turbo 6.0L V-12-powered Mercedes-AMG G65. Although we were
here for the diesel, it was still tough to give the 621hp SUV鈥檚 keys
back. Mercedes renamed its largest SUV (formerly known as the GL-Class)
the GLS for the 鈥?7 model year, adding the extra letter to denote its
relation to the S-Class sedan. Furthermore, if/when the diesel engine
gets certified by the Feds, it will no longer wear a 鈥淏luetec鈥?badge
on its rear haunches, eschewing the trademark for a subtle 鈥渄
鈥?suffix on the model name.
Before we get too far, we must offer a caveat: As of press time, the
Mercedes-Benz GLS350d has not received a certificate of compliance from
the all-powerful U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thanks to
increased scrutiny of diesel-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs, the
due-for-2017 GLS350d is not yet on sale at U.S. Nevertheless, when the
company invited us to sample all its fullsize-SUV wares, we leapt at
the opportunity. Nestled in a fleet of fire-spitting Mercedes-AMG GLS63
and G65 SUVs was the object of our oil-burning affection, the GLS350d.
Photo 2/14 | Mercedes-Benz鈥檚 invitiation included opportunities to
drive each version of the G and GLS SUV for a few days, including the
mighty, twin-turbo 6.0L V-12-powered Mercedes-AMG G65. Although we were
here for the diesel, it was still tough to give the 621hp SUV鈥檚 keys
back. Mercedes renamed its largest SUV (formerly known as the GL-Class)
the GLS for the 鈥?7 model year, adding the extra letter to denote its
relation to the S-Class sedan. Furthermore, if/when the diesel engine
gets certified by the Feds, it will no longer wear a 鈥淏luetec鈥?badge
on its rear haunches, eschewing the trademark for a subtle 鈥渄
鈥?suffix on the model name.
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In choosing a diesel vehicle instead of a gasoline model, you almost
always get a lot more torque, for comfortable highway cruising and
easier towing, plus significantly better fuel economy. Between the
gasoline-powered 2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350 and the 2011 ML350 BlueTec,
this is true. EPA fuel economy ratings are 17 mpg city, 22 highway (19
combined) for the gasoline ML350, or 20 mpg city, 25 highway (22
combined) for the ML350 BlueTec. But many diesel models in the past
have been priced at thousands more than their gasoline-powered
counterparts. That means, for even those luxury buyers who still do
think in dollars (and that's most of them), it's a little hard to
justify the added cost. Thankfully, Mercedes-Benz has priced the new
ML350 BlueTec (our favorite of the two 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
models we drove this past week) in a way that makes fiscal sense鈥攁nd
amounts to a very quick payback at the pump. Using the most recent
national-average price (from the U.S. 431 per year in fuel costs.
In choosing a diesel vehicle instead of a gasoline model, you almost
always get a lot more torque, for comfortable highway cruising and
easier towing, plus significantly better fuel economy. Between the
gasoline-powered 2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350 and the 2011 ML350 BlueTec,
this is true. EPA fuel economy ratings are 17 mpg city, 22 highway (19
combined) for the gasoline ML350, or 20 mpg city, 25 highway (22
combined) for the ML350 BlueTec. But many diesel models in the past
have been priced at thousands more than their gasoline-powered
counterparts. That means, for even those luxury buyers who still do
think in dollars (and that's most of them), it's a little hard to
justify the added cost. Thankfully, Mercedes-Benz has priced the new
ML350 BlueTec (our favorite of the two 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
models we drove this past week) in a way that makes fiscal sense鈥攁nd
amounts to a very quick payback at the pump. Using the most recent
national-average price (from the U.S. 431 per year in fuel costs.
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