Car Auto Magazine

And looking at the GL is something you’ll actually want to do now, what with the standard AMG body kit. Whereas lesser GLs look a bit tipsy, nouveau riche, and just sort of ugly, the GL550 really looks the part. Those AMG-inscribed wheels? They’re 21-inchers, wrapped in low-pro 295-40 rubber. The rest of the dress-up kit includes side sills, running boards, new exhaust outlets, and some seriously boss fender flares.

The cherry on top, though, has to be the manhole-diameter three-pointed star centered in the grille. It’s the largest badge Mercedes has put on a passenger vehicle. Ever. The overall effect is one of machismo and purpose, although the running boards are perfectly sized and placed to make getting into and out of the GL550 a pain.

Dynamically, the GL550 is pretty good, too. There’s still a touch too much squat under hard acceleration and brake dive, but those are easily mitigated by popping the standard Airmatic suspension into sport mode. (As in every other Airmatic-equipped Benz, sport mode is comfortable enough for all but the roughest sections of bombed-out pavement while returning adequately agile handling.) The suspension does a pretty good job in all modes of quelling any wheel crash you might get from those heavy, oversized shoes, too, but the smaller 18-inch wheels of the more inexpensive GLs allow for a cushier and more buttoned-down experience.