You have to see this car, if you have not seen one yet. Everyone knows that they share a platform, but there are so many familiar details and knobs, especially in the interior it is a bit shocking. I will be going to the dealer to have a closer look over the next few days and let you guys know what I see under the hood etc, but it is pretty close. I think it has a slightly shorter wheelbase, maybe the wheelbase of the next GL.

I wonder how it will drive?

 

Don't see too much GL from the outside. Looks more like the new Grand Cherokee to me, which makes sense.

 

I saw this after I posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PjYgeOsP3I

Any sharp-eyed GL owner will see a lot of familiar stuff in that vid.

 

Actually I believe it is the future ML twin. This topspeed.com article shows that the chassis is shared with 2011 Durango, 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2012 ML.

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/mercede...ss/ke2901.html

 

Apparently it is the new GL platform according to Jeremy Cato of the Globe.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle1857012/

 

i see a lot of similarities

 

With a V6 gasoline engine and 5-speed transmission. It's a regular fuel car, so engine won't be particularly efficient. The iron boat anchor "Hemi" is also available for those still living the 1950s.

It's based on the new Grand Cherokee platform and is built on same assembly line.

 

It would be nice with a diesel engine, although for 2012, fuel economy will be helped by an 8 speed auto unit.

 

$33,000 CAD buys a lot of gas, even at our prices!

-and-

"This 2011 Durango has started life based on the platform of next year’s all-new Mercedes-Benz GL SUV. The Chrysler types can’t stop themselves from revisiting this point, with pricing charts and product plans to illustrate. Frankly, they may be onto something. This Durango may turn out to be a sleeper success.

Don’t forget, Mercedes will launch a new GL next year using what Chrysler now has as the mechanical underpinnings of the Durango. Got that? "

Almost every article in the Canadian auto press stresses the GL-Durango link, as it seems to be stressed by Chrysler Canada at their press events as noted above. The US press and the jurno-vid link above seem to stress the Cherokee link which is sort of funny, as Chrysler Canada has been very loud in pointing out the Cherokee-ML 2012 share a platform and wheelbase.

Obviously they are not the same cars, but there is a lot of shared genetics there. Similar interior parts, looks like same double firewall, same tire size, rim size, offset, likely AWD systems etc.

I'm personally intrigued enough to perhaps consider one as a second car depending on what I see. A lot of the GL's appeal to me is in the packaging, not necessarily the star on the bonnet. If I can get the same tidy package with the Durango at roughly 1/2 the price, it would be hard to pass up.

 

I actually really liked the idea of being able to lower those headrests down automatically when not in use. I didn't like how "hard/rough" they PLOP down...perhaps a nice automatic slow down and up (like our front headrests..) something a bit more refined. But the fact that the 2nd and 3rd row headrests in our GL's are so huge and not able to be put down at the touch of a button from the front is a bother sometimes...My children can always be counted on to put them up but NEVER will they put them down. This means I find myself very often driving around town with all those huge headrests up in the 2nd and 3rd row seats and unable to see out.

So if they could refine that "power down" option a bit, I think that would be one option I would LOVE in a GL. (Just not a Dodge..lol)

Tam

 

Hey Tam!

So nice to see your smiling face on my thread so early in the morning!

Yeah, I thought those headrests are classic. It's for the James Bond mom. If the kids don't shut up, you just knock them out. I hope they have some sort of interlock, so they won't do that when someone is sitting there!

 

Hi Brocktoon!

Yes...on second thought, I'll take all slow up and down ones except for one, where my teenage daughter sits, so everytime she pulls her attitude on me, I can hit "the button."

 

I don't see GL at all from the outside, looks more like a Buick Enclave to me. Inside set up is similar, people will like that. But for me that's where the comparisons end. Just having the same platform won't make it feel like a GL at all - Chrysler makes crap cars with crap parts and I wouldn't expect anything different for a long time from them. Sorry, had very poor experiences with that brand and I'm never going back!

 

+1. I would have given one a serious look if it had been available last summer when I bought our 550. Amazingly, that "iron boat anchor" gets better mileage than the gas motored GLs and isn't that far behind the diesels.

 

Went to the dealer, none have turned up yet, but they will ring when one turns up. Looked at the Grand Cherokee, and there is a lot of GL/ML in there when you look at the stampings around the inner doors, door sills floor pan and engine compartment. Brakes seem weaker, just eyeballing them but the tire size will be the same 18" 265 60s that were on the early GLs.

Inside, it is not that bad, and there is a lot of common switchgear, and the onboard computer seems to have similar menus and inputs.

I agree with EWT, if the new pentstar V6 is as easy on gas as they claim, it would make a compelling case vs. benz diesels.

Hey they won't be exactly the same, but I might need another set of wheels anyway. Would you get an Acadia that has a platform dating back to the chev Venture vans of the 90's or one built on the yet to be introduced 2012 GL? Or an Explorer built on the Taurus hardpoints? All other things being equal (which they pretty much are) it is a compelling argument.

 

Towing capacity is quite a bit lower, I think. 6000 lbs comes to mind from the video I watched, but don't quote me on it.

- Mark

 

Here are the complete specs on the Durango:

http://www.media.chrysler.com/dcxms/...ifications.pdf

Towing:

(AWD versions)
6200 lb for 3.6 V6
7200 lb for 5.7 Hemi

I read somewhere that tongue weight will be in the 700-750lb range. I'll try to track source. This is the one item I hope makes it to the next generation ML/GL!

EDIT: From Dodge site: Tongue weight is 720lbs with trailer package.

 

Brocktoon-- I swung into a Dodge dealer because my husband has a friend who works there. He took me out and let me drive the new Dodge Durango. I must say, I LOVE the exterior styling of the vehicle (and it's quite different from the GL but I still realllly liked it.) But the interior leaves a LOT to be desired (to me.) The GL is SO much nicer on nearly every level than the Durango. It would be a deal breaker for me (the interior.) The only place I saw even a "smidgen" of nice wood trim was on the door..and its barely noticeable. No wood to be seen in the center console area or dash...(Hard to beat the leather dash in the GL, I must say..makes all the other plastic dashes pale in comparison...hardly fair!)

It drove nice...Definitely had more "pick up" from take off than my GL diesel...but immediately after the "fast" take off I felt it had....I felt it lacked power getting on the freeway in a big way, getting on the onramp (compared to my GL).... I know the diesels don't have that immediate "power" when you push down on the gas pedal but a couple seconds later, boy it sets in. I'm a woman and even *I* notice that! But also NOTE: I drove the 6 cylinder. I did not drive the one with the "Hemi" or whatever he called it

But I drove 75-80 MPH for about 3 miles on the freeway and I could not hear any discernable WIND NOISE. THAT was amazing to me. I did think that the GL kept OTHER outside noises out of the cabin better than the Durango..i.e. I felt like I heard other cars, their rattles, exhausts, etc. more than I do in the GL. (if that makes sense.) But no wind noise!

I'm sure it is leaps and bounds improvement over their previous models but it is not the car for me. GL is nicer!

Thought I'd just pop my test drive experience in this thread!

Tam

 

Tam,

That is cool! I hope you don't think it was a waste of time! Obviously, it is going to leave something to be desired at half the price, but since the packaging is identical, I figured it was worth a shot.

I have decided not to get another big car. I almost bought a S600 last week, but get this, I'm debating right now if I will go tomorrow and buy this:



but, at least it's at the dodge dealer, so the Durrango dude could still make a sale!

 

oh no, not a waste of time. Honestly, the Durango is really BEAUTIFUL on the outside..I am still really surprised at how much I liked the Exterior. REALLY SHARP. I wanted to at least go see it. I loved the white with black interior.

That little thing will get good mileage! Good thing, man...I just paid $4.39 a gallon for fuel about 1/2 hour ago. DANG!

 

Isn't it GREAT living in California?! Tell yourself about the weather again.

- Mark <-- doing the same

 

I never thought I'd say $3.77/gal would look tempting to me. That was the lowest I saw this evening on my way home from downtown Phoenix.

Why does a fuel with a fraction of the processing requirements cost more than premium unleaded?

 

Was that diesel or gas? That's a lot. It works out to $1.26 a litre in Canadian dollars. Diesel here is $1.04 and regular $1.08 last time I filled up.

 

You must be in a good part of Canada.. we're at $1.25 for diesel and $1.20 for regular...

 

Of course! Calgary. The Centex station on 16th. Ave NW. Not sure if prices went up much since the weekend.