Mercedes offers full-sized GL to combat Cadillac Escalade.(Mercedes-Benz USA Inc.proudly calls the 2007 GL Sport utility vehicles)

Byline: Rick Kranz

Mercedes-Benz proudly calls the 2007 GL a full-sized SUV.

"We are aiming at the mainstream full-sized SUV buyers, those people who still relate to full-sized SUVs, still need full-sized SUVs and still desire full-sized SUVs,'' says Ron Mueller, manager of sport utility and touring, for Mercedes-Benz USA LLC.

The top priority for these buyers is owning a big SUV that seats seven and can haul a big trailer.

"They want to have large toys such as a 30-foot boat or a three-horse trailer,'' said Mueller, who was interviewed at a Mercedes event here in California's Napa Valley.

The result is Mercedes' Cadillac Escalade fighter. The seven-passenger 2007 GL is a V-8-powered SUV with a 7,500-pound towing capacity, capability that neither the Mercedes M-class mid-sized SUV nor the recently introduced R-class crossover can match.

The basics: The GL is …