Mercedes-Benz just added a new member to the GL-Class for 2008, the full-size GL550. The GL550, joining the GL450 and the diesel-powered GL320 CDI, is designed to represent the best the GL line can offer; nearly all previous options are now standard equipment on the new GL550. On the outside, the styling is distinct. 21″ AMG wheels fitted with low profile tires, fender flares, chrome trim, blue-tinted glass, and a larger Mercedes-Benz star on the front grille give the GL550 a distinguished look.

The interior offerings of the Mercedes-Benz GL550 are superb, as they should be in a vehicle with a price tag of $77,750. Heated leather seats with memory settings for the driver and co-pilot, a navigation system, satellite radio, and dual moonroofs are just a few of the features that give the GL550 its luxurious feel. The non-touchscreen navigation system leaves much to be desired in terms of easy use, but most controls, including the height-adjustable Airmatic suspension and sport/comfort settings for the shocks, are easily within an arm’s reach. The GL550 is well-equipped for road trips with passengers thanks to the independent climate control and DVD screens for those in the back seats. But, if you are only carrying three passengers, the third row seats can be stowed with a push of a button, lying flat to give you maximum cargo space.

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Mated to the 7-speed automatic transmission found in several other high-end Mercedes, the 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL550 is powered by a 5.5L all-aluminum V8, the same engine that’s in the S550 sedan, producing 382 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 391 lb-ft of torque at 2,800-4,800 rpm. Unfortunately for the wallet, the GL550 takes premium fuel, burning through it at an estimated average of 13 city/17 highway.

If you’re in the market to buy one of the new GL550s, watch our 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL550 Car Review Video for more on the GL-Class’ newest member:

You can also watch the 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL550 Video on YouTube.

The Toyota Highlander has been upgraded for 2008 model year, growing taller, wider and longer by offering 95.4 cubic feet of total cargo capacity, an increase from the predecessor’s 81.6 cubic feet. The Highlander has really packed on the pounds with the added cargo space and some of the new features, making the ’08 Highlander 500lbs heavier. Luckily, the engine was upgraded to compensate for the extra weight. Now, the 2008 Toyota Highlander uses the RAV4 engine that debuted two years ago, the 3.5L V6 that produces 270 horsepower @ 6,200 rpm and 248 lb-ft of torque @ 4,700 rpm.

The interior of the 2008 Toyota Highlander is luxurious and practical. Our tester came with a voice-activated navigation system, rear backup camera, moonroof, seating for seven, and independent climate control for the backseats. While easy to operate, the third row is not as flexible as some; no 50/50 split option in the Highlander. However, the second row seating configurations make up for the lack of flexibility in the third row by allowing the entire middle seat section to be removed and stored in the center tunnel, leaving a pair of minivan-style captain’s chairs.

You can also watch the 2008 Toyota Highlander Video on YouTube.

If you can get by without all of the bells and whistles, the 2008 Highlander LTD starts at decent $34,150. Our Limited Edition Highlander, however, came in at a competitive $39,639, a price that includes the leather interior, power rear door, moonroof, and voice-activated navigation system with satellite radio.

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Jaguar’s XJ line is the epitome of tradition. The basic shape, with its classic long hood and deck, hasn’t changed much in the last few decades. The four circular headlights, the double-kidney grille, and the leaping cat are as recognizable as any set of automotive features on the road.

So when I clambered behind the wheel of my first XJ – the top-of-the-line, long wheelbase “Super V8″ – I was expecting to find something dated and anachronistic. Burled walnut was everywhere, and Jaguar’s trademark “J-gate” shifter (which is certainly an anachronism) greeted me by forcing me to dip my right shoulder in order to shift out of park without hitting the contents of the Jag’s cup holder.

However, once I got the big cat moving, I found something totally unexpected and even a bit scary. The Super V8 is equipped with Jaguar’s infamous supercharged 4.2-liter V8, which makes 400 horsepower at 6,100 rpm and 413 lb-ft of torque at just 3,500 rpm. This is the same motor found in the XJR and XKR, and if you’ve ever driven either of those sleds then you already know how nasty this lump is. It hurls the car forward with unexpected ease and unrelenting fury, blinking to sixty in just over five seconds and howling through the 1/4-mile in less than 14 seconds, all to the stirring soundtrack of the supercharger’s distinctive wail.

The motor doesn’t deserve all the credit for this, though. The XJ’s body is made entirely of aluminum, and the entire car weighs just 4,006 lbs. That’s light as a feather considering the Jag’s competition. The long-wheelbase models from BMW (the 750li), Audi (the A8L) and Lexus (the LS460L) all weigh considerably more, with the Lexus closest at 4,332 lbs.

The aluminum construction gives the Jag an unfair advantage. It gives up nothing to its rivals in terms of size; in fact it’s got a longer wheelbase than anything in its class save the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which only comes in one size. Yet it’s lighter, and more powerful. The supercharged V8 bests the Lexus’ 4.6-liter unit by 20 horsepower and 46 lb-ft, the Audi’s 4.2 by 50 and 88, the BMW’s 4.8 by 40 and 52, and the Merc’s 5.5 by 18 and 22, respectively. It also moves better than any of those cars. It feels lighter because it is, and braking is outstanding. The Super V8 grinds to a halt from 60mph in just 118 feet.

It does fall behind a bit in terms of appointments. There are only four cup holders in the Super V8, and all of them are too small. The two up front are part of the center armrest, so forget about opening it while the cup holders are in use while the rear pair are only accessible when the backseat center armrest is open.

You can also watch the 2008 Jaguar XJ Super V8 Video on YouTube.

The armrests themselves are not up to snuff, offering very shallow and scant storage. The XJ has a large and thick center console, yet lift the front armrest and there is scarcely enough space for a credit card or two. With all that space taken up by the transmission tunnel, why couldn’t the compartments be deeper? Questions of this nature plagued me until the next time I put my right foot down, and then promptly disappeared.

The Jag’s interior is by far the most distinctive of the bunch, and it has the traditional British elegance, accomplished with touches like wool floor mats and acres of burled walnut. However, in overall quality, the Benz and the Audi are just nicer inside. The Jag’s switches and dials don’t feel cheap, but they are not the finely detailed decorations the Germans are using.

There are some neat features, however. The rear seat is a triumph of luxury, despite the Super V8′s sporting nature. Both outboard seats have reclining functions with memory capability, and the person riding in the right rear seat can also adjust the front passenger’s seat with an independent set of buttons (a feature that is ripe for abuse on family trips). There are manual sunshades for the rear windows, and an automatic one for the rear windshield. The rear passengers also get individual audio controls inside the folding center armrest, and, as the Super V8′s crowning achievement, their own LCD screen embedded in the rear of the front seat’s headrests.

The net effect of this big cat’s perceived inferiority in the interior department is a prized quality in today’s market: simplicity. The XJ line, and in specific the Super V8, are remarkably easy to operate compared with the German offerings. No tyrannical ‘smart’ button, no poring over the owner’s manual to figure out how to get the car in gear.

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This car isn’t for the luxury-car buyer who wants to be coddled. The ride is too firm and the motor is too noisy. And, it’s too damn fast. It’s a driver’s car to the core, not a pretender. And thankfully, it hasn’t played follow-the-leader and become some kind of straight-line appliance, choking on its own technological complexity. If you think that the full-size, high-luxury segment needs a shot of raw testosterone, but you still want a well-crafted interior and an elegant shape, look no further.

No car is perfect, not even the Super V8 but there is a price for this particular brand of luxury: about $95,000. Our test car had no options; ‘loaded’ is just how Super V8s are built, apparently. Ninety-five large isn’t cheap, and represents a premium of almost thirty thousand dollars over an entry-level XJ8. However, if I had the money to shop in this segment, this would be my choice. Whatever the Super V8 gives up in interior aesthetics and fun-smothering technology is more than compensated for by its muscular engine, sharp handling, and uniquely British style.

What to do next: Visit the Jaguar XJ8 Forum

For 2008, Subaru has significantly re-vamped its full-size Tribeca crossover SUV. The original Tribeca, released in 2005, was puzzlingly called the “B9 Tribeca” and featured what looked like an upside-down Alfa Romeo grille. For those of us with a sympathetic eye toward daring design, the car was fine the way it was. But we don’t make up the bulk of automotive consumers, and the Tribeca had to change.

The “B9” is gone, as is the original grille. The Subaru Tribeca now has a conventional front end that resembles a Chrysler Pacifica or even the Saab 9-7X. The profile and rear end are mostly unchanged (save a slight re-working to round off the tail lamps), with good reason: they looked great in the first place. The new car has larger mirrors, and the severe kink in the rear side glass panels has been re-worked for a more conventional look. Subaru knew they needed to fix some things, but they left the good stuff alone.

The original interior was very cool, and has even spawned some imitators from other Japanese marques. So it, mercifully, carries on unchanged. The dash is fashioned in the cockpit style that is growing in popularity, and is clustered with controls and buttons that are easy to read and operate. The climate-control buttons themselves are pretty neat, with a digital display inside the knob itself on both driver and passenger sides.

Our ‘Limited’ test car came in Satin White Pearl, with a very inviting two-tone interior, featuring cream-colored leather with black accents. And it wasn’t short on storage. The center console features two large cup holders, with two roomy cutouts attached to them. They would work well for candy, cell phones (they are raised a bit so as to avoid spillage from the cup-holding portion), or a pack of cigarettes.

You can also watch the 2008 Subaru Tribeca Video on YouTube.

The second row also features an abundance of storage – a large drawer in the back of the driver’s armrest – and cup holders: one in each door, and two in the center armrest. The second row also features considerable sliding and reclining adjustment, as well as excellent access to the third row.

Our Tribeca was a five-passenger model, so we didn’t get a chance to experience the third row. It is rumored to be one of the tighter fits in the class, but since third rows are typically used for seating small children, this may or may not be a sticking point for any given customer. Instead of the third row, we got a handsomely executed under-floor storage system. Aft of that is the storage area for the jack and spare tire, which is very neat and not conducive to losing items placed in it.

The Tribeca has taken a jump in performance, due to the larger engine. The old three-liter horizontally opposed six is gone, replaced by a 3.6-liter version with 256 horsepower and 247 lb-ft of torque. That’s a jump of eleven and thirty-two respectively, and it has a noticeable effect on this SUV’s performance. Fuel economy is essentially unchanged, with EPA estimates of 16 city and 21 highway for 2008. But the new motor runs on regular fuel, whereas the old lump required premium. More power, unchanged mileage, and cheaper gas? Yes, please.

The idea of the Tribeca is to give Subaru buyers something to buy when their Outbacks are just too small. The Tribeca preserves much of the Subaru character – the Boxer motor and the Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive that directs 55% of power to the rear wheels under normal conditions – but delivers it in a much larger package. True to Subaru form, our tester was filled with optional equipment, like heated seats and a touch-screen navigation screen.

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The Tribeca is competitively priced for this segment. A base price of $34,995 got us a very well equipped vehicle – another hallmark of buying a Subaru. As with the Outback we tested recently, there were very few optional features added. We got a cargo convenience group, another convenience group with some lighting features, and a popular equipment package that added a crossbar kit and splash guards. These small-ticket items, as well as a $645 destination charge, added less than $2,000 to our grand total of $36,758.

As always, Subarus appeal to a select group of consumers that value substance over style, and want a vehicle that is unflappable in poor road (or off-road) conditions. This SUV will capture that demographic and then some, as its more conservative looks and heartier powertrain are sure to win some buyers away from Honda, Toyota, and Nissan.

In 2004, the brand-new Nissan Titan was the biggest, brawniest full-size truck from Japan. A 305-horsepower V8 and freight-train styling raised the game, and alerted Detroit to an attack on one of the last segments the American Big Three still dominated. It didn’t offer as much variety as the established lines from Ford, Dodge and GMC/Chevrolet, but was more of a one-size-fits-all truck.

Three years later, the Toyota Tundra kicked it up a few notches. For 2008, Nissan has followed suit, offering more configurations and more power. The Titan’s 5.6-liter V8 now makes 315 horsepower @ 4,900 rpm and 387 lb-ft of torque @ 3,400. That’s only fourteen pound-feet shy of the Tundra’s 5.7. Fuel economy is standard for huge pickups at a rated 12 city and 17 highway.

Nissan has also added an off-road trim level called the PRO-4X, and that’s what they sent us. The Pro-4X comes standard with off-road specific shocks by Rancho, a specialty division of Tenneco with fifty years of experience making truck suspensions. There are also skid plates for the transfer case and the lower radiator. Serious enthusiasts will make further upgrades, but the Pro-4X’s purpose is to save them some work, as well as to simply provide the casual off-roader with a turn-key package.

The Titan PRO-4X’s interior has drawn some criticism for being too plain. That may or may not be important to the truck’s demographic. It is simple and blocky, but it’s still miles ahead of a mid-nineties American full-size pickup. Our PRO-4X tester carried unique interior treatment, some of which we liked (steering wheel and shift knob done in leather with red stitching) and some of which we could have done without (“PRO-4X” tags attached to the front seats). More importantly, it works. The Tundra has a few more nooks and crannies, but the Nissan Titan is no slouch. Six cup holders and two bottle holders, as well as an extended roof console and an appropriately oversized center console, make it a capable swallower of stuff.

You also watch the 2008 Nissan Titan Pro-4x Video on YouTube.

Roadfly had a long-term Nissan Titan last year, and it scored pretty well with our staff. Neat little features like the dampened tailgate assist and the lockable storage box mounted in the driver’s side of the bed add little dashes of practicality, as does the power sliding rear glass. Bigger features like the “Utili-track” system, with tie-down clamps that move around on a system of rails in the bed, make still bigger improvements in the Titan’s capabilities. The handy track system is part of the $800 High Utility Bed package, which also includes a spray-on bed liner, bed lighting, and a 12-volt DC power outlet. If you skip this package, you should probably stop here and consider buying a Sentra instead.

Our PRO-4X had a lot of options, giving us a case of mild sticker shock. The base price of $33,950 was a bargain, but it ballooned to $41,870 after all the added options. Some of them were no-brainers, like the bed package, the tow package (Class IV hitch, extending towing mirrors, trailer brake pre-wiring) for $450, and the $900 moonroof.

Others were more expensive and you may want to go without them if you’re looking for a steal. The “popular package” included (to name a few) an eight-way power driver’s seat, power adjustable pedals, HomeLink, Bluetooth, XM Satellite Radio, and steering wheel-mounted controls for the 10-speaker Rockford Fosgate audio system. This is neat stuff to be sure, but at $2,250 it might be something the hard-core off-road clientele are willing to forgo.

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Ditto the rear-seat mobile theater system for $1,450, which gets you a flip-down 8-inch monitor, a DVD player with auxiliary inputs, remote control, and two sets wireless head phones. However, this might be a very worthwhile option if you plan to use the PRO-4X for tailgating or camping.

A tough call would be the side airbag package our tester was equipped with. It supplies the Titan with side-impact air bags mounted in the front seat, curtain air bags mounted in the roof, and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) and brake assist. This is all really good stuff, especially since big trucks in general are heavy, roll-over prone, and easy to lose control of. However, it’s a pricey option at $1,200.

Whatever options you choose, the Titan PRO-4X is a pretty impressive truck. It’s not as speedy as the Tundra, but it has a specific enthusiast flavor that vanilla-bean Toyota has yet to inject into their full-size pickups. In reality, the 2008 PRO-4X is more of a competitor to the Ford’s formidable FX4 off-road trim level of their full-size F150.

The 2007 Lexus GS450h represents a new era in the hybrid car category: a hybrid with a luxury sport sedan’s performance. However, it’s going to cost you: the price of the Lexus GS450h starts at $54,900 but if you add features like the touch-screen navigation system and Mark Levinson audio system, the price quickly rises to $59,955.

Performance-friendly AND environmentally-friendly, the 2007 GS450 is powered by the 3.5L V6 engine from the base-GS350 matched with a small electric hybrid motor. Combined, the two motors put out 340 horsepower @ 6,400 rpm and 267 lb-ft of torque @ 4,800 in the first-ever rear-wheel drive hybrid. The CVT has three setting options: snow, normal, and sport while the shocks also have a performance setting that you can choose with a push of the button on the middle console. Even with a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds, the GS450h produces respectable MPG numbers: 25 city/28 highway.

Watch our 2007 Lexus GS450h Video and let us know if it’s worth the nearly sixty thousand dollar price tag or if you’ll just stay with a more affordable hybrid, like the Prius.

You can also watch the 2007 Lexus GS450h Video on YouTube.

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