Mercedes-Benz
GL63 AMG - Rear
The steering wheel and dashboard are the
dark bits inside, and rightly so. The wheel and shift-paddles make you wonder
if you will ever be able to throw this behemoth into a corner and come out
intact. One glance at the AMG badges assures you that you are indeed in good
hands. This is a German monster and it won’t indulge in mindless frivolity even
if you tried. You have to take it seriously. However, on the up side, there are
multiple ways to keep calm when the going gets, well, blocked.
Instrument
Cluster Big dials are easy to read and are red in the right places
You’re in a lare car; you’re using over two
metres of the road width; and the horses packed into a displacement the size of
a professional chef’s oven in reality would require acres of land just to
house, let alone run free. What do you do? Well, the AMG sports seats, for
starters, are extremely comfortable and supportive. No matter how many
regrettable decisions you’ve made in life, the GL won’t be one of them, and
it’s not just the seats that support you there. There are several other
creature comforts which make life much easier: the Thermotronic climate control
helps you stay cool, while the impeccable Bang & Olufsen multimedia system
lets you enjoy hours of music, via DVD, SD card or even the 10-gig built-in
hard drive.
Before you forget, this is a proper
full-size seven-seater SUV, and, in European terms, that means two adults, four
children and a dog or four adults and three children, with a good amount of
luggage to boot. In India, however, it’s mostly seven adults with between two
to four kids seated on their laps. That said, the second row offers good
comfort, and the third row, although plentiful in terms of headroom, does lack
the knee-room for a full-size adult. Occupants, though, won’t feel the miles
because the AMG model, apart from the premium audio system, also packs
rear-seat entertainment with two eight-inch displays and wireless headphones.
Big
5.5-litre biturbo AMG V8 always has more horsepower readily available;
hand-built engine bears Mr Bartel’s sign on the plaque
On the safety front, you have the regular
bundle of active and passive safety aids: ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, Stability
Control, Traction Control, Hill Assist, Downhill Speed Regulation and nine
airbags are a given. The GL63 also has Night View Assist Plus, which uses the seven-inch
COMAND screen. There is also a 360º camera with the Parking Package, that
includes Park-tronic parking assist – a boon on this 5.2-metre-long car!
Enough with the details, this is an AMG and the big V8 calls for
attention. The heart of the monster is a big one – a twin-blown 5.5-litre V8
with 557 PS and 760 Nm of torque – more than enough to handle its 2,580 kg
bulk. Having the seven-speed AMG Speed Shift Plus mated to the 4MATIC all-wheel
drive system takes agility and handling up several notches.
