Sitting so high up in the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class AMG you’re provided with a commanding view of the road ahead. In urban traffic you can peer over the cars in front to spot holdups and out on B-roads the raised vantage point allows you to spot oncoming traffic over hedgerows.

The dashboard layout itself is very familiar to anyone who’s driven a recent Mercedes. Depending on your perspective this has both positive and negative connotations. On the plus side you know it means solid build quality and easy-to-familiarise-yourself-with switchgear but customers spending in the region of £100,000 may want something that looks more special and distinctive.

All the controls and buttons work satisfyingly well. There’s no sensation of fragility when you press or pull on one of the levers and the positive tactility is further amplified by the metal gearshift paddles behind the steering wheel, cool to the touch in wintry months.

Much of the dashboard and the door panels are swathed in Artico, a faux leather upholstery. As these materials go, it’s quite convincing and barely distinguishable from the genuine article.

One curious feature of the GL63 AMG are its door mirrors. At first glance they look far too small and square for the size of the car and they are undoubtedly smaller than other large 4x4s’ mirrors. Usefully, the mirror surface is convex, providing a wide reflective angle but a few square centimetres of extra surface area wouldn’t go amiss.

Even though it’s a high-performance machine, with its air suspension Mercedes-Benz GL-Class AMG comfort levels are extraordinary.

You’d imaging 21-inch wheels with shallow tyre sidewalls would have a negative effect upon ride quality but the air sprung system successfully cossets the GL63 AMG’s passengers from rutted road surfaces. The AirMATIC system is at its optimum in Comfort mode but even selecting Sport doesn’t induce an unsettling quality to the ride.

Not only is the ride comfortable, there’s a vast amount of space in which to luxuriate inside the GL63 AMG’s leather-lined cabin. With supportive seats, the front two rows of which are heated, however long your journey is you’ll leave the car lacking signs of fatigue.

That third row of seats, while smaller than the ones in front, are suitable for adults although admittedly taller people may find there’s not quite enough leg and headroom to get truly comfy.

Various features in the car, either standard or optional, ensure that comfort is further promoted with high quality in-car entertainment systems including television tuners and DVD players, rear privacy glass and blinds for the side windows.

Climate control for the heating and air conditioning is naturally a standard feature but you can upgrade further to a system with separate controls to zone out areas in the rear.