In the 70s of the last century, Iranian shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was one of the major shareholders of Mercedes-Benz. He ordered an all-terrain vehicle for the Iranian army and special forces. Daimler AG commissioned the development of such a vehicle to its Austrian division, Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and in fact, to the Austrian arms company Steyr, famous for its sniper rifles and army trucks. When the development of a 460 series car called Geländewagen (literally almost a “mud car”) came to an end, the Shah of Iran was replaced by the Iranian revolution. Since 1979, they started to produce the car anyway, and it turned out that it was being sold well not only by military organizations, but also by civilians. Real off-road qualities and ascetic design have been enjoyed by many owners.
Despite the release of M-class comfortable cross-country vehicles in the late 90s, Geländewagen-s production continued. In the 2000s, they decided to replace them with elongated seven - seater SUVs of a frame design, which were attributed to the new GL-class and began to be produced in North America since 2006. Representatives of large R-class sports and tourist minivans influenced the body shape of such cars.
In 2009, the Mercedes GL underwent the first and last restyling to date. The new Mercedes GL felt better at 100 kg. Its hood, front wings and suspension arms are now made of aluminum, new lightweight materials are used in glazing, engine mounts are made of plastic . The new Mercedes GL is packed with cameras that allow you to control the side dead zones, the parking space and, without even leaving the car, look around exactly how you got stuck or hung on the road. Especially cameras help when reversing.
Mercedes GL, despite the lightness of the body - a large car with a powerful engine, and to achieve efficiency from it is extremely difficult. This is despite the fact that the owners of Mers love to “give in to gas” in any case. A real opportunity to save fuel on long journeys is to use the developed tempomat functions (the new Mercedes cruise control system) with operational steering wheel controls. Together with the tempomat, it is proposed to use a road marking recognition system . But it does not work with the help of steering control , but with short brake pulses of those wheels that drove into the markings, and if you do not control the car at this time, then this is a rather strange feeling.
Regarding the use of Mercedes GL in domestic conditions, the reviews of owners from Russia and the CIS countries praise the car for its excellent handling and decent comfort for all participants in long family trips. They scold the "eating up" of oil by diesel engines with high runs, the lack of heating nozzles on the windshield washers, the operation of the washers themselves and the inconvenience of the third-row child seats. When it comes to severe off-road conditions, automation does not always save, and without experience and a meaningful sequence of actions by the driver, getting out without a cable and a tugboat most often does not work out.
Mercedes GL - this is primarily a car for long family travel. In the case of the export of rampant companies to places inaccessible to the public eye, the car can provide serious opposition to the presumptuous owner.