7 Seater Cars 2012 
Mercedes Benz GL – 7 Seater Car (4WD)
As one of the largest seven-seaters on the road today, the Mercedes-Benz GL 4x4 is impressive both on and off the road 4WD, it is safe and it has an excellent diesel engine. The running costs and buying price can be crippling though. Prices start from just over £58,000. Second Hand Mercedez GL's are availabe from under £1,000.00.
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Mercedes Benz GL – Car Tax Band (VED)
Falling into car tax band M, it is not cheap to run and it is one of the most expensive off-road vehicles available today. As a company car, expect to pay even higher prices for tax.
Mercedes Benz GL – Co2 Emissions
With 100g/km of CO2 being the benchmark for new cars of the future, the Mercedes GL disregards that and comes in with a whopping 295g/km of CO2 for the 3.5-litre diesel. The barmy 507bhp V8 is even worse at 378g/km of CO2.
Mercedes Benz GL – Safety Features
One area where the Mercedes GL does well is its safety features. There are lots of airbags, such as side, curtain, window, head and of course, driver and passenger ones, too. There is traction control mated to the ABS, which can apply brakes to one or more wheels if any loss of traction is found by the electronic control unit.
Mercedes Benz GL – Miles Per Gallon (MPG)
The most frugal diesel manages to return 30.7mpg, which for a car of this size is fairly impressive, but the petrol engines can only muster 20.8mpg or 17.8 for the V8 model. Insurance grouping is high, too, and makes it very expensive to run. The BlueEfficiency model manages at best 36.2MPG (Extra Urban).
Mercedes Benz GL – Comfort
Mercedes cars are always comfortable. Leather-swathed seats, soft and sumptuous carpeting and with a 5.2m wheelbase, even with six and seven seats, there is enough room to stretch out. Long distance travelling is a breeze in the GL.
Mercedes Benz GL – Additional Features
Only the very best materials are used in the GL and in all of Mercedes' line-up. Nappa leather, solid fixings and a good-looking interior are guaranteed. The exterior might not appeal to eveyone's tastes but the car commands attention. The engines are as reliable as ever, too. There are many gizmos, such as climate control, TVs in the rear headrests and electrically adjustable and heated front seats.
Mercedes Benz GL – Performance
For such as bulky car, all of the GL models manage to hit 60mph in less than 10 seconds. The 265bhp diesel hits the benchmark time in 7.9 seconds, while even the less powerful 210bhp model does it in 9.1 seconds. Unbelievably, the V8 does it in a supercar time of 5.5 seconds, which shows the sheer torque of that iconic engine that is also found in the other AMG-fettled Mercedes cars.
Mercedes Benz GL – Dimensions and Luggage Space
With seven spacious seats, the GL is as practical as any car can be. There is a monstrous amount of space and there are many cubby-holes dotted around the cabin. At 5.2 metres long, it's not the easiest vehicle to park and rear visibility is poor thanks to the rear headrests in row three. The luggage capacity with the seats up is limited, but with the rear seats down the capacity increases to 2300 litres.
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Mercedes Benz GL – 4X4 7-Seater
Weighing more than two-tonnes, the GL is never going to handle well but Mercedes does use clever air suspension that can disguise the bulk fairly well. With four-wheel drive it is usable off-road but on-road it is cumbersome and bus-like in its stance.
Other Mercedes Benz 7-Seaters include the Viano and R-Class.
