Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 17 classes based on size, price, and market position. Based on mainstream Large SUVs, Premium Large SUVs are really super-sized luxury liners. All are powerful, pricey, and extremely thirsty at the pump.

Our Best Buys is the Toyota Land Cruiser. Our Recommended pick is the Cadillac Escalade.

G-Class gets its first-ever redesign for 2006, plus an altered marketing mission that may bring a name change to GL-Class, says one Detroit source. However it's badged, the new "Mercedes' Hummer" is known to be a platform cousin of the redesigned '06 M-Class SUV, with unibody construction replacing the old body-on-frame design. Rumors and spy photos indicate the new model is much more stylish and luxurious than the old. Even so, the G will still court off-roading fans much more than the M-Class does, being equipped with heavy-duty underpinnings and standard dual-range 4WD with locking differentials. Models should again comprise a V8 G500 and a sporty G55 AMG, both with mandatory 7-speed automatic transmission. A V6 G350 is possible, as is a V8 G460 with some 325 hp. Mercedes says the '06 G/GL is the largest SUV offered by a European brand, which likely means standard 3-row seating for seven or eight. No clues on price yet, but the G/GL should remain somewhat upstream of like-powered M-Class models. We'll be getting more details soon, so keep checking back with us.