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...GL class, essentially a stretched version of the M class with 3rd row seating. It’s a familiar DaimlerChrysler trick in a world increasingly bent on platform sharing – after all the Grand Cherokee Commander is a stretched Grand Cherokee with 3rd row seating.

(Autoweek has posted the Mercedes Benz PR photos here; the squashed roof proportions reminded us of the Mitsubishi Montero Sport).

To increase profitability, the Alabama-built R, ML and GL class cars not only share their platforms suspensions and engines but their dashboard, instruments, steering wheel, switchgear, seats and trims as well. Translation: as when wearing a mall-bought shirt, you might not remember what you’re in unless you double-check the label.

Jouralists often critcize Mercedes Benz and Lexus models that don’t allow the driver to completely defeat the traction and stability control systems, forgetting that not everyone drives professionally and/or on a test track. We suggest leaving such systems on when driving on the street; drive smoothly enough and the computer will think you’re still in control.

That said…

For 2003+ Mercedes:
With key in position 1, press trip odometer reset button 3 times. Go through screens til ‘ESP Dynometer Test’ is displayed. Set to ‘ON’. Start car. This mode is not meant for use when driving so will deactivate ESP and ABS.

For the ‘06 Lexus IS:
Start the car with the parking brake on, press brake twice and hold. Activate parking brake twice. Repeat sequence till light activates on dash. (You have 30 seconds). Everythng but ABS will be deactivated til the next time you start the car.

source: digg.com

UPDATE: Automobile magazine has since tried the Lexus defeat procedure on their long-term GS - click here for a video…

We enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek piece on the Mercedes ML not so much because it captures what it feels like to drive the car but because it captures what compels so many to purchase an SUV.

Here’s an excerpt:

it didn’t so much push forward along the road as float six inches or so above it. Possibly worrying and important questions about bulk, heft and likely stopping distances tend to float away in the face of the car’s dangerously charismatic powers.

We’ve been using this link for about a decade now to check:

sidewall (height) – Aesthetically you want at least twice the sidewall height as there is ‘gap’ between the fender and the top of the tire’s sidewall – any more and the car appears ‘lifted’ a la Infiniti G35x, E-class 4MATIC, etc. Translation: going to a lower profile may cause the car to look higher, meaning you’ll be tempted to change the springs, which most often requires you change the shocks, which may lead to your hating the way your car ends up feeling…)

difference (in circumference) – A positive change will effectively raise the car’s final drive ratio, slowing acceleration and responsiveness. A negative change has the opposite effect, helping the car accelerate quicker. (We’ve been able to tell a difference of less than 2%; don’t be surprised if you can too…)

UPDATE: Here is another calculator worth checking out…

A business traveller snapped pictures of what we believe is the next C-class and the E90 M3 sedan undergoing testing at the now requisite Nurburgring Nordschleiffe.

(You can see the original post here).

We’ve never expected Mercedes Benzes to light a fire in our hearts when it comes to driving dynamics, but each time we get into an SLK 350 were reminded that there are some at MB that understand performance is about more than a lofty horsepower number or straightline acceleration.

Now the next S class is upon us, and 4Car’s John Simister has driven it. He finds that:

the S-class steers quickly and tidily, it grips hard and flicks from direction to direction as if it weighs half of its true mass (1910kg in the case of the long-wheelbase S500 we drove). The steering’s weighting is convincing enough to make you feel in touch with what’s happening under the tyres, and the damping – ours was a regular Airmatic DC car – is impeccable. The Comfort settting gives a pillowy ride without sogginess in corners, which is an impressive achievement, while Sport firms things up a bit without ever letting the S-class jar over bumps.

Given that both the A8 and the 7 have knobby ride quality on their oversized wheels, we’re looking forward to seeing if MB has managed a better balance between refinement and control.

(A shame that the S-class owner is forced to use a iDrive-esque MMI and that the styling is more Maybach than CLS).

UPDATE: here’s an excerpt from another review:

Our S-class rode on optional 19-inch alloys, shod with 255/40 tyres up front and 275/40s at the rear… Although it has grown in every dimension and put on weight, the S500 doesn’t feel bloated. On smooth, sweeping roads it is hugely competent, almost sporting. The way it masks its speed is one of this car’s major achievements. The traditional warning signals such as tyre squeal and lurching body roll are deceptively absent. Arrive at a corner too quickly and eventually the front runs wide as myriad electronic driver aids work to put you back on your intended line. Open the throttle mid-corner and the handling is incredibly neutral. Our test car was fitted with the ABC (active body control) system, which keeps the body flat by using electro-hydraulic actuators in each of the air suspension towers. It’s been improved, with a more progressive action during turn-in, meaning the car settles more quickly on entry and cornering speeds are now even higher. The rack and pinion steering is predictably light yet impressively direct at 2.8 turns lock to lock… while there’s a touch of vagueness around the straight-ahead to aid high-speed stability, it feels precise off-centre.

2ND UPDATE: evo’s test adds more evidence to the pile:

this rather large car, 43mm longer in long-wheelbase form, 29mm taller and 16mm wider than the old one, is wieldy, easy to manoeuvre, able to perform miracles of mass-disguise. pointing… into a sequence of fast, open bends… The steering is not exactly hyper-focused, but it’s quick, consistent and devoid of rubbery delay. The ample tyres are gripping convincingly, a bend tightens and the nose follows suit. There’s no sense of a behemoth’s laziness, of vast bulk reluctant to stir itself from the straight and narrow. The S-class goes where you point it, when you point it. No lurch, no float, no queasiness, even in Comfort mode. Airmatic DC suspension is part of the reason, with its active dampers. We know this system from other Mercs. But it’s the combination of bulk, refinement and agility that’s so spectacular. It’s like a Jaguar XJ, only quieter and cleverer… The new V8 is a lusty thing, hauling the S-class along with a distant but well-formed rumble when goaded. The seven-speed auto is best left to its own super-smooth devices, with sharper reflexes in the Sport setting, which also firms the suspension and lowers it by 20mm… It’s hard to escape the conclusion that Mercedes-Benz once again makes the world’s best luxury saloon. Its list of attributes and superlatives is frightening. Pity beauty isn’t among them.

When the current Mercedes E class came out with its brake-by-wire technology, it was hailed as a breakthrough – the future of braking systems. While the advantages were clear on paper on the test track, the systems made it impossble to brake smoothly – rather embarrassing when you’re carrying passengers…

Mercedes has since cancelled its plans to use the technology in any upcoming models; even the technology laden new S class (complete with another bad idea – an iDrive style controller) has conventional brakes.

Now Lexus has put a brake by wire system in the new GS. As Automobile’s Mark Noordeloos notes in the November ‘05 issue:

After all of Mercedes Benz’s issues with a brake-by-wire system I’m surprised that Lexus fit this technology to the GS. These binders are too abrubt on application and difficult to modulate…

Perhaps the car companies should consult us before making cars (as our clients do before buying them).

Mercedes dealers in Canada are now selling the B class.

Britian’s Autocar says its

Spacious and refined, with loads of rear legroom, a decent ride and competent, albeit uninvolving, handling. ...

but

this sort of money buys faster, better equipped and equally spacious cars.

(Ironically these two statements hold true of pretty much every Mercedes Benz product).

According to this link…

Given the spectacular horsepower and torque output of AMG tweaked Mercedes Benzes in recent years, its hard to believe they are based on standard production engines.

It used to be that among BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi only BMW went through the trouble of starting ‘from scratch’. Audi would drop the same engine used in their A6 or allroad in the S4, Mercedes strapped a supercharger to their standard V6 or V8 and BMW would push their normally aspirated motors to higher specific outputs and rev limits.

But now Audi’s gotten serious – witness the high revving marvel placed in the upcoming RS4:

Without the assistance of turbos or superchargers, the cooling and accurate fueling benefits of direct injection help this 4.2-litre V8 to produce a vaguely ridiculous 414bhp at 7,800rpm and 317lb ft at 5,500rpm. It combines the low-rev tyre-mangling twist of a small block Chevy V8, with 90 per cent of the torque available from just 2,250rpm right up to 7,600rpm, and yet also revs every bit as manically as a Honda VTEC unit, shrieking all the way to 8,250rpm… [Top Gear]

Mercedes has volleyed back by giving AMG the money to design an engine from scratch for the first time in history (even the Maclaren SLR has the ‘same’ engine used in various AMG models).

Automobile’s Mark Gilles goes into more detail in this piece.

UPDATE: We hear the first AMG model to use the new engine will be the ML63 AMG. (Yes, we think it’s a tad absurd too).