Arthur St. Antoine trekked to Mammoth Mountain for a weekend get-a-way in a 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450, Motor Trend's 2007 SUV of the Year, for an exclusive Family Road Test like no other.
Here's a snip-it from St. Antoine about his family road trip:
"When are we stopping for the volcano rocks?" My six-year-old daughter in the back seat had long forgotten about the DVD screen in the headrest in front of her and was focused like a laser beam on a far more tantalizing objective ("volcano" is one of those trigger words--like "dinosaur" and "pool"--that can make any kid under 10 start bouncing up and down like a kangaroo on Georgia asphalt).
"Almost there," I said from the driver's seat of our long-term Mercedes GL450, the navigation screen in the dash showing about 18 miles left to obsidian thrills. Sure enough, across the horizon we could now see the dormant cinder cone near Fossil Falls, a stunning moonscape of ancient lava formations just off Highway 395 on the northern edge of California's Mojave Desert. A good hike here would make the perfect cap to an idyllic Memorial Day weekend spent with close friends on Mammoth Mountain--a getaway made all the more relaxing by the myriad charms of our ever-accommodating 2007 Motor Trend SUV of the Year.
For a long drive from LA into the High Sierras--including exploratory detours off-road and, of course, a face-to-face encounter with a mini-Vesuvius--we couldn't have picked a better chariot. For starters, the GL's seats are simply superb, supplying support and comfort that endure as the miles and hours roll on. Ride quality is relaxed for a big SUV; in fact, it's floaty enough with the shocks set to Comfort to make passengers a tad green (my wife and daughter preferred the more controlled though bumpier Sport mode). Steering is big-boost effortless yet still delivers good feedback (unlike the numb wheel I've noted in my wife's R350).
Visit Motor Trend's Blogs to read more about his trip in the Mercedes-Benz GL450.