The Mercedes-Benz GL-Class reliability record is unknown since the car doesn’t have a Euro NCAP crash safety rating, but the smaller M-Class was awarded the maximum five-star rating for adult occupant safety. It comes with pretty much every safety feature Mercedes-Benz has to offer including driver, passenger and side airbags at the front plus windowbags throughout.

In addition, front seats also benefit from a system called NECK-PRO, which is designed to help prevent whiplash injuries. Every car also gets PRE-SAFE, a system unique to Mercedes-Benz. It senses that there could be an imminent collision and links up the brake assist and electronic stability programme and tensions the seatbelts, adjusts the driver’s seat position and closes the sunroof and any windows that are open.

Load space is limited if all seven seats are in use – there’s just not enough room for a full compliment of passengers and their luggage with just 300 litres of boot space. However, this isn’t uncommon for cars in this class and the rear seats are impressive. All five can fold flat in a matter of seconds, creating a huge load bay of 2,300 litres (more than a Range Rover) that should cope with everything that family life has to throw at it.

Inside there are numerous cubbies and a large glovebox.