The Mercedes-Benz GL-Class (code name

Code name

A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...

 X164) is a full-size

Full-size car

A full-size car is a marketing term used in North America for an automobile larger than a mid-size car. In the United States, the EPA uses "large car" to denote full-size cars....

 crossover SUV

Crossover SUV

A crossover SUV is a vehicle built on a car platform and combining, in highly variable degrees, features of a sport utility vehicle with features from a passenger vehicle, especially those of a station wagon or hatchback.Using the unibody construction typical of passenger vehicles, the crossover...

 built by the German carmaker Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

 since 2006. The GL-Class debuted at the 2006 North American International Auto Show

North American International Auto Show

The North American International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center, usually in January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...

. The car was designed for the American market, which is shown by its large size, making it the only similarly sized rival up against Audi's Q7

Audi Q7

The Audi Q7 is a full-size luxury crossover SUV unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of the Q7 began in autumn of 2005 in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is the first SUV offering from Audi and went on sale in 2007. Later, Audi's second SUV, the Q5, was unveiled as a 2009...

 by that time. It is the 7-passenger counterpart of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class

Mercedes-Benz M-Class

The Mercedes-Benz M-Class is a luxury mid-size sport utility vehicle , first offered in 1997 as a 1998 model, and built by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz. Gradually, the M-Class became a sales success in the United States and Mexico. In terms of size, it is slotted in between the smaller...

. Although the car was designed for the US market, it is also sold in Europe, albeit in far smaller numbers.

It lacks the typical SUV boxy styling and body-on-frame

Body-on-frame

Body-on-frame is an automobile construction method. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame that supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s...

 construction of the G-Class

Mercedes-Benz G-Class

The original 460-series Geländewagen went on sale for civilian buyers in 1979, after having debuted in February of that year. It was offered with two wheelbases, a short wheelbase of 2,400 mm and a long one of 2,850 mm. One could choose between three body styles: A two-door short...

 in favor of a modified version of the M-Class's unibody architecture.