The Mercedes-Benz GL luxo-ute is usually at home on the sunny streets of Los Angeles, so it shouldn't surprise you that we managed to catch a few photos of the new 2013 model driving in LA, courtesy of Motor Trend.
From the looks of it, the car will maintain most of the same sheetmetal, but gets some minor tweaks to the front and rear ends, thanks mostly to a new grille and headlights. The car's signature LED running lights look like they'll still sit halfway down the front bumper now.
Instead of radical design changes, the majority of the GL's tweaks should happen under the hood. The GL, you might notice, is among the last of the non-AMG Mercedes' to use naturally aspirated V-8 engines, so now would be the best time to replace them with the brand's new downsized and turbocharged engines.
Expect the GL350 Bluetec to retain its 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 engine and GL550 to lose its old 5.5-liter V-8 in favor of the new corporate 4.6-liter biturbo V-8, which makes 402 horsepower and 443 pound-feet in the ML550.
The fate of the GL450, which currently uses a naturally aspirated 4.6-liter V-8 engine, is less clear, although rumors suggest that it could be dropped in favor of the marque's 3.5-liter, direct injected V-6. In the ML350, the engine makes 302 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque; while it produces less power than the 450's 335 horsepower and 339 pound-feet, it could certainly increase the big SUV's fuel efficiency. As always, the power from any of the three engines will be sent through the brand's 4MATIC all-wheel drive system.