2013 Mercedes-Benz G550

A slab-sided SUV speaks to us in this era of aerodynamically optimized, curvaceous vehicles that all look the same.I just love this thing, despite its age, its excessive price, and its inefficiency. There's something about a slab-sided SUV that speaks to us in this era of aerodynamically optimized, curvaceous vehicles that all tend to look the same. It's the same story with the old Jeep Grand Cherokee: there's an inherent appeal to the straightforward, box-on-wheels approach. What I also really liked about the G550 was my realization while driving it through downtown Ann Arbor that it is actually not that big of a vehicle. It's narrow and it's upright. Its footprint is relatively small, it's easy to parallel park, and, of course, it is, perversely, a great urban vehicle due to its elevated seating position and the great sightlines provided by its upright windshield. Mercedes-Benz's efforts to imbue this utilitarian vehicle with the luxury features that American buyers expect of a $100K vehicle -- things like a Comand screen (bolted to the dashboard, not integrated into a center stack) and the creamy dash inserts and blue designo carpets -- are all pretty hilarious but are, I'm sure, appreciated by buyers. As much as I enjoyed driving the G550, though, I sure wouldn't want one as an everyday vehicle. It's too heavy, ponderous, and wasteful for that. Actually, you don't even have to drive the G550 to experience two of its greatest pleasures: the satisfying solidity of its doors, which close like the proverbial bank-vault door, and the door locks, which move up and down in their chambers with a delicious metal-on-metal thunk-thunk.


Photo Gallery: 2013 Mercedes-Benz G550 - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mercedes-Benz G550 - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine


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Automobile Magazine
03-21-2013 12:03 PM