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Range Rover versus Mercedes-Benz: Which makes a more appealing SUV?

From time to time — truth be told, all the time — the Autoblog staff enjoys a good debate on the merits and demerits of the cars and trucks we drive each week. This week, we spent some time in a brand-new Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged SUV, a model some of us think sits at the pinnacle of the luxury utility vehicle segment. Others disagree. The following is a real-life online debate that took place over the course of a few hours. Have a read, and feel free to take sides. There's a poll at the end so you can make your voice heard. Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: Strange as it may sound, Jeremy Clarkson and I have a few things in common, most obvious of which is that we share a given name. But we also both love cars so much that we decided to turn our automotive passion into a career — with varying degrees of success, of course — and we both have come to realize over time that there's no point in trying to topple the Land Rover Range Rover as the world's best luxury off-road utility vehicle. Thing is, this universal truth isn't quite as universally shared as I think it should be. In fact, my esteemed colleague Alex Kierstein believes that Mercedes-Benz makes the most desirable four-wheel-drive off-road vehicles. He's clearly wrong, but I feel obligated to let him explain his choice, though it won't go without a rebuttal. Senior Editor Alex Kierstein: That's correct, and so am I in this regard. I'm sorry, Jeremy, but it's an irrefutable fact that Mercedes-Benz is doing the best interiors in the business now. And the interior is where you're going to spend most of your time, at least when the thing's running. The Range Rover's interior simply isn't as special, and frankly it'll be in the shop enough that you won't enjoy it. Now, stepping into pretty much any contemporary Mercedes sedan interior is a "wow" moment. They seem special — posh, exclusive, luxurious. The SUVs, all older vehicles coming due for total redesigns at some point in the future, are lagging a bit, but it's still a premium and upscale experience. Especially since performance is almost academic at this point. Anything in this class is going to be powerful, almost absurdly so. So why not go for the one that makes you feel like royalty, rather than your mechanic? JK: I just want to point out that it was you who brought reliability into this discussion.

Daimler boss says fuel cell vehicles will be disappointing for at least 10 years

Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche is pretty confident about the imminence of self-driving cars. Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles? Not so much. He didn't even get into the possibility of self-driving fuel-cell vehicles, but we're okay taking future technologies one at a time. Zetsche, in an interview from the Detroit Auto Show last week, said the automotive industry is about a decade away from avoiding disappointing experiences with production fuel-cell vehicles, In Auto News says. Zetsche was quick to note that the Mercedes-Benz parent entered into a fuel-cell partnership with Ford and Nissan early last year in an effort to split costs and speed things along, with the expectation that the group would develop something together by 2017, but even that won't be able to smooth things out fully. Toyota and Hyundai have said they'd have their own production vehicles on the road sooner than that. Multi-corporation-partnerships notwithstanding, Zetsche bemoaned the high costs, lack of vehicle volume and minimal refueling infrastructure as the proverbial roadblocks to more rapid development and adoption of fuel-cell vehicles. As it is, the US has just 10 publicly accessible hydrogen refueling stations, eight of which are in Southern California, according to the US Department of Energy. As for autonomous automobiles, Zetsche was more upbeat. Daimler already has what it calls the "Distronic" cruise control system that includes an automatic braking feature and has successfully driven a car 60 miles with "with relatively modest adjustments to the existing onboard technology." Featured Gallery Mercedes-Benz F-Cell View 9 Photos News Source: In Auto News Green Mercedes-Benz Hydrogen Cars

Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe is ready to tackle BMW's X6

Under the chiseled hood of the GLE 450 AMG sits a 3.0L, twin-turbo V6 with 362 hp and 384 lb-ft. Years after the polarizing BMW X6 originally hit the market, Mercedes-Benz has finally unveiled its slope-roofed challenger, and much like Munich's Sport Activity Vehicle, we think the new GLE Coupe will split opinions rather dramatically. While it clearly shares its form factor with BMW's X4 and X6, the GLE Coupe's styling is all Mercedes, borrowing the more organic shapes used on the company's most recent new model, the AMG GT. Strips of chrome and the iconic silver arrow logo bisect a large, rectangular grille, while the fascia on the GLE 450 shown above features three rather dramatic lower air intakes. The headlights, meanwhile, fit in with MB's latest styling language. In back, slim, wraparound taillights share some resemblance with the new S-Class Coupe. The cabin is recognizable and looks to be of extremely high quality, with the featured vehicle showing off quite a lot of carbon-fiber trim. A thick-rimmed, flat-bottomed steering wheel dominates the driver's area, while a large, tablet-like display crowns the center stack. The same sort of touch-controlled interface and input dial found on the new C-Class controls the information on that screen. Under the chiseled hood of the GLE 450 AMG, the first of Mercedes' AMG Sport models, sits a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V6. Unlike the 329-horsepower unit in the C400 and E400, the force-induced V6 generates 362 hp and an equally robust 384 pound-feet of torque. It's mated up to a new nine-speed automatic transmission and Mercedes' 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. A new version of the popular Airmatic suspension is being offered with the ADS Plus continuously variable dampers while Mercedes is also fitting its Active Curve System, complete with active roll stabilization. Mercedes doesn't provide many additional details on the GLE Coupe range, as it were. We know about the 450 AMG, but it's not clear whether there will be a GLE 400 or non-AMG 450, or if Mercedes will move it down market and offer a GLE 350 to compete with the X6's xDrive35i. There's also no mention of when or where the new model will debut, although previous reports point to the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Prices and an on-sale date, meanwhile, have not been revealed. Scroll down for the full press blast from Mercedes-Benz on its newest model, the 2016 GLE Coupe. Premiere: Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe A sportier choice Stuttgart.