The voice came from the second-row seat, but it boomed with excitement as if it were coming from an auditorium stage.

“Now this is what I call going in style!” my neighbor, Kris McCarthy, declared as she slid into her seat in a 2009 Mercedes-Benz GL450.

Settling into the leather-upholstered cushion and surveying the burl walnut wood trim to her side and the LCD screens on the headrests in front of her, Kris continued, “This is really nice.”

Her fawning over the big Benz caught me off-guard. Kris has made a few comments about a handful of the different test cars that have shown up in my driveway, but she never seemed particularly interested in any of them.

It was clearly a different story with the GL450, which Mercedes introduced as a 2007 model. We weren’t on the road more than 10 minutes when she again offered her evaluation.

“It’s really comfortable back here,” she said. “I’ve got plenty of room.”

She sounded surprised, perhaps because the GL450’s third-row seat was occupied by her son, Alex, who’s tall for an 11-year-old.

Or maybe because the seat next to her also was occupied… by daughter Courtney. Unlike her brother, Courtney isn’t tall for her age. But she can’t seem to go anywhere without toting as much baggage as an airline sky cap.  

In this case, she was going on a weekend trip to Gettysburg. There were six of us in the seven-passenger GL450, which includes a third-row seat as standard equipment.

Behind that third row, cramming every inch of the GL450’s 14.3 cubic feet of cargo space was about as much luggage as you’d expect for three adults and three kids going away for a week, not a couple of days.

And that’s not counting the several bags that filled the second-row space between Courtney and her mom. I never figured out what she was transporting, but I’m pretty sure she had at least as many bags as you’d typically find in an oversized grocery cart pushed by a mother of five.

Courtney’s mother complained once or twice about her daughter’s baggage, but her mind mostly seemed to be on the Benz.

“I can’t believe how smooth this thing rides,” she said when we were on the interstate about 25 miles from home.

“This car is so quiet,” she volunteered a while later as we cruised past an 18-wheeler barreling down the highway next to us.

“It seems very powerful,” she offered several miles down the road, as I pulled away from the pack at a traffic light. “It took right off, and we’ve got six people in here,” she observed.

Six people and about 600 pounds of Courtney’s luggage, I pointed out.

Not Courtney’s cargo, the road conditions, the traffic, or anything else thrown at the GL450 seemed to phase it during our weekend trip to Gettysburg. Or during the succeeding days of my week-long test drive.

Mercedes’ full-size SUV is as lush and well-equipped as a luxury car, as comfortable as a touring sedan, and nearly as versatile as a minivan.

Its 60/40 split second-row seats don’t slide fore and aft, but there’s enough legroom in front and in back of it that they don’t need to. The GL450 belongs to a rare breed of SUVs that comfortably accommodates average-size adults in all three seating rows.

There’s ample head, leg, and hip room for two third-row occupants and three second-row passengers – assuming Courtney isn’t also transporting all of her earthly belongings.

The GL450 lacks the convenient power sliding rear doors found on most minivans, but its own rear portals are the next-best thing for third-row access because they’re much wider than most. Another example of Mercedes-Benz attention to detail can be found on hinges that allow the oversize doors to open wider than most – sort of like Courtney’s eyes when she spots a chocolate-covered donut.

When the GL450’s power-operated 50/50 split third-row seat isn’t occupied, it can be quickly folded into the floor with a push of the buttons located conveniently just inside the tailgate opening or up front in the cockpit.

The second-row seats operate manually but folding them is effortless. The standard GL450 tailgate also operates manually, but power open/close is an option.

I could quibble that Mercedes delegates several features such as that to option packages that can cause the GL’s starting price to climb as quickly as Alex ascended most of the Gettysburg battlefield’s lookout towers.

But given everything else this big SUV has going for it – even in standard trim – I feel guilty complaining about anything. I was impressed with the way such a large, luxurious SUV could deliver car-like performance characterized by terrific road feel, excellent control, surprising maneuverability and a flawless powertrain.

I also agree with all of Kris’ raves about the GL450. I just hope she doesn’t think that means I’m going to help her load and unload Courtney’s baggage.

 

NUTS AND BOLTS

What is it? 2009 Mercedes-Benz GL450 4Matic, a luxurious and loaded full-size SUV.

What's it cost? There are three GL-Class models with starting prices ranging from $58,200 for a diesel-powered GL320 to $81,300 for a GL550. The GL450 test vehicle was loaded with options that hiked its starting $59,200 MSRP to $75,355 including delivery and destination charges.

What I liked best: Luxury, comfort, versatility, and drivability.

What I disliked: So-so fuel economy, pricey options.

Who's it for? More versatile than a minivan, performs like a touring sedan, and as classy as a luxury car, the GL should have broad appeal to those who can afford it.

Important numbers: 4.6-liter, 32-valve, V-8 produces 335 horsepower, 339 lb-ft of torque. 7-speed automatic. 4-wheel drive. 121.1-inch wheelbase. 5,280 pounds. 13 city/18 highway mpg (EPA). 7,500-lb. towing. 14.3/43.8/83.3 cu.ft. cargo space behind third/second/front seats. 0-60 in 6.9 seconds (M-B spec).

About the Author

Scott Wasser is the managing editor for the Times Leader. Reach him at (570) 970-7162 or swasser@timesleader.com.

Scott Wasser is a previous Vice President of News. He currently serves as executive editor of the Portland Press Herald as her continues to write an auto column for The Times Leader.

Wasser has worked at newspapers as diverse as the Stuttgart Daily Leader in Arkansas and the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. His Times Leader tenure began in 1983, when he was hired as the newspaper’s sports editor. Over the next decade, he turned the newspaper’s sports section into one of the most recognized in the nation as it was annually named one of the best daily and Sunday sports sections in the country.

Wasser left the sports department to become assistant general manager and online editor of The Times Leader’s website during the infancy of the internet. He left The Times Leader in 2000 to become online editor of the Wilmington (Del.) News Journal. Just prior to returning to The Times Leader in 2008, he was editor-in-chief of a national magazine covering home theater and other consumer electronics.

But Wasser says his proudest accomplishment is having driven and reviewed over 1,000 cars, trucks and motorcycles since he started writing a weekly car column for The Times Leader in 1988. The column, which runs in print on Saturday and online here, has appeared in several other newspapers, and Wasser has contributed auto-related content to national publications including “Road & Track” and “Open Road” magazines and “USA Today.”

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