This Mercedes GL was no exception either. However, PR specialists still tried to give the event the scale of a premiere. Two planes with journalists flew from Sheremetyevo to Krasnodar. A briefing was held at a local hotel: drive carefully, but most of all beware of Adygea traffic inspectors. Part of the route ran through Adygea, and there, they say, it's a family tragedy if a girl is born — because she won't be able to become a traffic cop.
The most burning question since the creation of Mercedes-Benz is why people pay such money for these cars. The answer was given to us directly. It turns out that when designing new models, the Germans primarily think about the main Russian buyers — officials.
And that explains everything. The Minister of Health doesn't take a Rolls-Royce, but a more affordable Mercedes-Benz. This way, the brand's price doesn't hit the pocket as hard, and social tension is relieved. Let's hope that the updated GL with a new grille and a tightened rear won't let the servants of the people down.
USE THE BOLT
The main part of the tests took place on a mountain road along the Blue Stream, where everything was shrouded in milky fog. We sat in a Mercedes GL 500 with a colleague from a passenger car publication, and he braked before every pothole. You still have to get used to the fact that an SUV for four million calmly swallows bumps.
The potholes ended, and water obstacles began — a reminder that the factory wading depth for the Mercedes GL is still the same 600 mm.
Then we were offered to switch to the diesel and... repeat the route. Yes, the GL holds well on water and isn't afraid of potholes. But everything has already been said about the Mercedes GL. They could have come up with something more interesting. After all, you can't find a more capable premium SUV. Don't you want to check where its limit is? Give it a real adventure? I think we'll do that ourselves later.
For me, the Mercedes GL was and remains the pinnacle of luxury SUVs, which neither the Range Rover nor the Lexus LX can reach. But such praise comes with a big advance. You can't call it ideal. It lacks that very "spirit of Mercedes." Where is that smooth ride you feel immediately in the R- or E-class? There's clearly room for improvement, and the current facelift, as musicians say, missed the mark.
