Detroit Motor Show - Mercedes-Benz

What's on the stand?
The new GL-Class – a bigger alternative to the ML which offers the option of a seven-seater layout.

It arrives in the UK late in the year with a price tag of around £45,000, providing Mercedes with an answer to the Audi Q7 seven-seater which will go on sale in the summer.

BMW is also expected to go for seven seats with the next generation X5, which will appear at the end of 2006.

Substantially longer, taller and wider than the ML, the new GL's third pair of seats folds away at the touch of a button to leave a flat load bed with 1240 litres of space. Fold away the second row of seats, and you're left with an enormous 2300 litres.

Four engines are being lined up for the car: 335bhp and 383bhp petrols for the GL450 and GL500 respectively, and CDI diesels for the GL320 and GL420. All of them will use the Mercedes seven-speed automatic gearbox.

Four-wheel drive, air suspension, a two-speed transfer case and locking differentials also lead the manufacturer to claim that the GL can handle 'the most extreme' conditions off-road.

Anything else?
Yes – the S65AMG. It's a top of the range version of the new luxury S-Class, with a 612bhp 6.0-litre V12 engine.

Even though the new S-Class is slightly heavier than before, the S65 is just as quick with a ridiculous 0-62mph time of 4.4 seconds.

Fuel consumption on the combined cycle is… something you really shouldn’t be worrying about if you've got £150,000 or so to spend on the car.