2007 Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the Year Award: Testing
Class Of '07: It Measures Big, Drives Small, And Performs Huge--A Sport/Utility For All Shapes, Sizes, And Chores.
By Ron Kiino
Heading into this year's Sport/Utility of the Year competition, nary an editor predicted that the all-new Mercedes-Benz GL450 would roll away with the coveted caliper trophy. Inasmuch as value is one of the three major criteria--the others being in-class superiority and marketplace significance--the GL already seemed handicapped. Its base price of $55,675 hardly sounds economical, not to mention that, when well equipped, as was our tester, a GL's window sticker can easily push $70 grand. As for superiority and significance, heck, several voters quipped that they wouldn't be surprised if the GL missed the first cut. Why? Because so few of our staff had spent quality time at the wheel or inside of Mercedes's first full-size sport/utility. And given that the GL shares a platform with the M- and R-Classes, with which every editor's been intimate, yet never quite fallen in love, we weren't expecting fireworks.
But following two intense weeks with the GL, it was all sparklers and Roman candles for the biggest Benz ever offered in the United States...
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