The Australians call them unsealed roads. A very apt name for what is essentially a broad path for vehicles that wends its way through the outback. The unsealed bit means there is not a trace of tarmac, there are hardly any road markings and the road is exposed to the outback on both sides. So the chances of an occasional emu, big lizard or a ‘roo straying into your path is very high. And the road surface? It’s just fine sand and gravel. Now imagine covering over 400 kilometres of this at a consistent 90 kph and above. Though you can drive on unsealed roads in a normal passenger car, you’re better off in a big SUV with permanent 4WD. Thankfully, Bijoy and I had one.
For those who came in late, our big 10th anniversary drive for the January 2009 issue of our magazine was a huge 2,700-km long loop through the state of New South Wales in Australia, which we covered in a white Mercedes-Benz GL 320 CDI. It was the perfect vehicle for that epic run, and the big star more than proved itself on the 400-odd km stretch between Menindee and Pooncarie. Permanent 4WD meant that the massive Michelins were never lacking in help and the burly 224 bhp V6 kept the pace without flagging off. In fact we had even set our cruise control to the max permissible limit of 110 kph, but the electronic systems had given up fighting for grip over a long distance, so that left control of the accelerator pedal back with us.
Still, except for that little bit, the GL was completely up to the task. It kept gunning through that vast wasteland; nobody told the Merc that it was not exactly the autobahn. We left behind a twin-trail of dust across that 400 km as the GL bucked up and down the rough stretches and just about controlled itself from going sideways on the gravel. With centre and rear diff locks and a host of other electronic tricks, the GL was completely composed. Inside we were as cool as the proverbial cucumbers — not even the harsh southern hemisphere afternoon sun could penetrate the thick glasshouse of the GL. The music was floating through the divine speakers while Bijoy and I were discussing what we would see at the Mungo National Park, as if it were a normal commute to work. In other words, inside the SUV, there was no intrusion of the harsh outdoors. A couple of days later, we would discover sand deposits in various hidden parts of the GL, but the superior engineering and quality of the Merc meant that the fine sand never had a chance to penetrate insidiously into the car.
That was just one instance of the ability of the big Merc. Within Australian towns, it cruised past as heads turned to see the white, muscular mass while on the highways, even the massive road-trains refused to budge the SUV from its intended course. Usually when these big rigs pass by at speeds, their wake is enough to send you off the road, so you have to hold on to the steering tight and maintain active control of your car. But not with the GL — it just kept going undisturbed.
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