At first I thought the award-winning Mercedes-Benz 4MATIC was rather too macho to serve as a mum’s taxi. But after a day or two of getting used to it, I’ve changed my mind. It’s terrific.

Sheer power, sheer size

Perhaps the only aspect which might put off some mums is its size. Because it’s big. And wide. And long.

And because I had the car dropped off and the key left for me, there was no one around to explain, when I first climbed in, that to move the seat closer to the pedals, the ignition had to be on. Or that the gear lever was mounted on the rear of the steering wheel.

Or to remind me that like all Mercs, there was a footbrake planted in the bottom left hand corner of the floorwell . . . or that I simply had to depress the silver button at the end of the gearknob to put the (auto) vehicle into park. All things considered, it took me a good few perplexing moments to just start the GL 320 CDI before I could pull out of the office car park in a vaguely dignified manner!

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Everything is automatic...

As I said, though, once I became used to the car’s many functions, I grew to thoroughly enjoy it. Everything is automatic: from being able to hit a button to fold the side mirrors inwards (vital, in my narrow driveway, and if I don’t want to shear them right off the car!), to fold the third row of seats completely flat or upright again, to open the sun roof, and to open or close the boot. The latter was my favourite. One touch of the boot opener on the remote, and it opens by itself. To close? Lightly touch a red button inset into the boot-lid, and it graciously closes itself. Fab stuff!

Permanent all-wheel-drive

With its permanent all-wheel-drive system that delivers optimal traction, whatever the road condition, the 4Matic is absolutely beautiful to drive, on any surface. It’s remarkably smooth, it’s quiet (despite being a diesel), has terrific visibility, easy to operate controls, and as befits any Mercedes, naturally, a very classy interior.

The easy to read gauges feed you all the info you need: among them, temperature (a sweltering 41.5 degrees in Pietermaritzburg last week!), distance travelled from start, consumption, and best of all, an analogue clock as opposed to a digital jobbie.

Endlessly spacious

Space is endless, naturally, and it’s the ideal vehicle if you’re heading off on a family holiday. Or for the school lift club.
Also, by the way, the simple yet sophisticated 4Matic permanent all-wheel-drive system uses few mechanical components. This reduces wear-and-tear on expensive internal parts, allows for a more comfortable ride, and is ultimately a relatively lightweight system, which translates to improved fuel economy.

Lots of features for the passengers in the back too

The airconditioning system allows rear passengers to adjust and set their own cooling in the back, which is terrifically handy, there are cupholders front and rear, and a rear sunroof, which much to the children’s disappointment, doesn’t actually open, as does the front one.

Don’t make the mistake I made – which I do occasionally, actually – and flick the right hand lever by mistake when intending to use the indicator stalk, which is on the left. You’ll immediately pop it into neutral, causing a smidgen of anxiety if it’s unintentional and you’re performing a tricky manoeuvre like trying to turn on a hill . . .

To sum it up...gorgeous

A gorgeous vehicle, and one I’d absolutely love to have in my driveway, if I had the means to afford it . . . it’ll set you back a cool R710 000 (it comes with a six-year 120 000km maintenance plan).