SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


We conquer Killarney in the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL

Pics supplied

The ‘S-Class’ of SUVs

This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.


“Just another sidewalk parking Sandton tractor,” we reckoned. “Not necessarily so,” countered Shirle Greig, Mercedes-Benz SA media product specialist, “many of these are bought by serious off-roaders and by contractors whose work takes them out into the field a lot.” Then she let us loose with staff trainer John Kroeger and his team, who introduced us to the off-road kit on the new Mercedes-Benz GL-series and some of the rougher tracks at the Killarney 4x4 course near Shongweni in KZN. We came away converted.

The inclines were steep and the eroded sections deep. With air suspension on GL350 BlueTEC diesel and GL500 BlueEfficiency petrol powered cars set to their maximum ride height of 306 mm and the Offroad2 program selected, we tackled the course with an instructor at the wheel initially, to talk us through the route, before being left on our own.
When things get difficult, the software might take a second or two to collect information from all four corners before retarding any spinning wheels by just the right amount, then redistributing power to those that have traction. “The secret,” said Kroeger, “is to maintain steady pressure on the accelerator; neither forcing the issue nor backing off. You don’t want to send conflicting signals.”

Similar tactics apply on steep downgrades. Downhill crawl is selected automatically as part of the off-road program, so just leave the brakes and accelerator alone and let the car walk itself down. Speed can be increased or decreased in one-km/h increments by moving the cruise control stalk up and down. “You don’t have to be an off-road expert to enjoy the GL” they say, and it’s true.  It’s really easy for a beginner to get out into the wild and discover what his barbecue buddies have been going on about all this time. Naturally, some basic trail craft and common-sense rules apply.

Mercedes-Benz calls the GL “the S-class of SUVs” because it is their quietest, safest, most comfortable and best equipped off-roader yet. Descended from Unimog, via Geländewagen and G-class, it provides luxury accommodations and competent mobility to all who can afford it. Our first reaction on listening to the pitch, then looking inside, is that this car could possibly be called the Stuttgart Range Rover. OK; it’s built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but you get the idea.

There are similarities. Both have seven seats, full time awd with electronic selection of drive functions, six drive modes, low range gearing, air suspension with two off-road height settings, optional cameras that show the vehicle from every angle including close-up views of individual wheel placements, and a wide selection of entertainment equipment.

Three models are available at present; a GL350 BlueTEC diesel with 19” wheels (18” rims with SUV tyres are optional at no extra charge), a GL500 BlueEfficiency petrol version with 20” wheels (21” optional) and a GL63 AMG with 21” rims. Mercedes-Benz doubts that AMG owners will want to venture off the beaten path, so it doesn’t have bundu programs fitted, but the others do.

Suspension is by means of double wishbones with anti-dive control and a torsion bar stabiliser in front and a multi-link setup with anti-dive and a tubular torsion bar stabiliser at the rear. Damping is courtesy of AIRMATIC air suspension with level control and Adaptive Damping System II on 350s and 500s, while AMGs add anti-squat and an even more sophisticated air suspension setup.

Standard equipment across the range includes parking assistance, collision prevention assistance, seven airbags, electric sunroof, seven-speed automatic transmission, tyre pressure monitoring, protective panelling underneath, COMAND satnav and music system with seven-inch screen, slots for auxiliary, USB, iPod and SD card and three-zone Climatronic filtered air conditioning with three modes. Leather upholstery in six standard colours with three options, and all the usual electronic braking and handling kit is included. Being a Mercedes-Benz, lots of extras are available.

Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press launch.

The numbers
Prices range from R975 377 to R1 686 873
Engines:
1: 2987 cc, V6 turbodiesel developing 190 kW at 3600 rpm and 620 Nm between 1600 and 2400 rpm. Zero to 100 km/h in 7,9 seconds and maximum of 220 km/h. Claimed fuel consumption of 7,4 l/100 km
2: 4663 cc, biturbo V8 developing 320 kW at 5250 rpm and 700 Nm between 1800 and 3500 rpm. Zero to 100 km/h in 5,4 seconds and maximum 250 km/h. Claimed fuel consumption of 11,3 l/100 km
3: 5461 cc, biturbo V8 developing 410 kW at 5750 rpm and 760 Nm between 2000 and 5000 rpm. Zero to 100 km/h in 4,9 seconds and maximum speed governed to 250 km/h. Claimed fuel consumption of 12,3 l/100 km
Tank: 100 litres
Boot capacity: 680 to 2300 litres
Warranty/Maintenance plan: 6 years/100 000 km PremiumDrive



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

My reviews and launch reports appear on Thursdays in the Wheels supplement to The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles each month, most months of the year (except over the festive season) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

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