Certified Benz & Beemer Compares 2015 Mercedes Benz GL-Class VS 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe Near Phoenix, AZ

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes GL-Class have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chevrolet Tahoe doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.

The GL-Class’ pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Tahoe doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The GL-Class has standard NECK-PRO Front Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the NECK-PRO Front Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Tahoe doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the GL-Class. But it costs extra on the Tahoe.

An active infrared night vision system optional on the GL-Class helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera and near-infrared lights to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Tahoe doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The GL-Class offers an optional Surround View System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Tahoe only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The GL-Class’ driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Tahoe doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the GL-Class uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Tahoe uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the GL-Class and the Tahoe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height-adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control and electronic stability systems to prevent skidding.

The GL-Class comes with a full 4 year/50,000 mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Tahoe’s 3 year/36,000 mile basic warranty expires 1 year and 14,000 miles sooner.

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the GL-Class have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engine in the Tahoe.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2015 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mercedes vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mercedes 7th in reliability, above the industry average. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 9th.

The GL450’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 produces 7 more horsepower (362 vs. 355) than the Tahoe’s 5.3 V8. The GL550’s standard 4.7 turbo V8 produces 74 more horsepower (429 vs. 355) and 133 lbs.-ft. more torque (516 vs. 383) than the Tahoe’s 5.3 V8. The GL63 AMG’s standard 5.5 turbo V8 produces 195 more horsepower (550 vs. 355) and 177 lbs.-ft. more torque (560 vs. 383) than the Tahoe’s 5.3 V8.

The GL-Class’ 3.0 turbo V6 diesel produces 72 lbs.-ft. more torque (455 vs. 383) than the Tahoe’s 5.3 V8.

As tested in Car and Driver the GL63 AMG is faster than the Chevrolet Tahoe:

On the EPA test cycle the GL350 BlueTEC gets better fuel mileage than the Tahoe 4WD (19 city/26 hwy vs. 16 city/22 hwy).

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the GL-Class GL450/GL63 AMG’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) The Tahoe doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

For better stopping power the GL-Class’ brake rotors are larger than those on the Tahoe:

The GL-Class stops much shorter than the Tahoe:

For better traction, the GL-Class has larger standard tires than the Tahoe (275/55R19 vs. 265/65R18). The GL550/GL63 AMG’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Tahoe (295/40R21 vs. 285/45R22).

The GL-Class’ standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Tahoe LS/LT’s standard 65 series tires. The GL550/GL63 AMG’s tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Tahoe’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the GL-Class has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Tahoe LS/LT.

For superior ride and handling, the Mercedes GL-Class has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Chevrolet Tahoe has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The GL-Class has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the GL-Class flat and controlled during cornering. The Tahoe’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The GL-Class offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Tahoe doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the GL-Class uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Tahoe, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The GL-Class’ drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Tahoe doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the GL-Class’ wheelbase is 5.1 inches longer than on the Tahoe (121.1 inches vs. 116 inches).

The GL63 AMG handles at .84 G’s, while the Tahoe LTZ 4x4 pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The GL63 AMG executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the Tahoe LTZ 4x4 (26.8 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the GL-Class has a 3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tahoe (10.9 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the GL-Class to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The GL-Class’ minimum ground clearance is 4.1 inches higher than on the Tahoe (12 vs. 7.9 inches).

Unibody construction makes the GL-Class’ chassis much stiffer, which contributes to better handling, and enables softer springs to be used for a better ride. Unibody construction’s stiffness also contributes to better durability and less body squeaks and rattles. The Tahoe doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The GL-Class has 1.3 inches more rear headroom, .8 inches more third row headroom and 10.2 inches more third row legroom than the Tahoe.

The GL-Class’ cargo area provides more volume than the Tahoe.

The GL-Class’ cargo area is larger than the Tahoe’s in every dimension:

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Tahoe LT/LTZ, the GL-Class offers an optional driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The GL-Class’ front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Tahoe’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

If the windows are left down on the GL-Class the driver can raise them all using the key in the outside lock cylinder or the keyless remote (remote must be aimed at door sensor); on a hot day the driver can lower the windows. The driver of the Tahoe can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The GL-Class has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent vandalism, such as sugar in the tank and fuel theft. The Tahoe doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The GL-Class offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Tahoe doesn’t offer headlight washers.

While driving with high beams on, sensitive light sensors available for the GL-Class detect other vehicles which could be blinded and automatically switch to low beams. The Tahoe doesn’t offer automatic dimming high beams.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the GL-Class offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Tahoe doesn’t offer cornering lights. The GL-Class also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the GL-Class has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The Tahoe doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The GL-Class’ optional Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Tahoe doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Both the Mercedes GL-Class and Chevrolet Tahoe won four awards in Kiplinger’s 2015 car issue.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the GL-Class third among large premium SUVs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Tahoe isn’t in the top three in its category.

Motor Trend selected the GL-Class as their 2013 Sport Utility of the Year. The Tahoe has never been chosen.