vdubpower

so i stopped by the dealer because i wanted to see a side to side comparison of the too,

inside room, pretty much the same,

both rear seat widths are the same, maybe a touch more legroom for middle row.

rear trunk space also seemed the same, seats up or down.

not thrilled there isnt electric middle row, atleast the 450 i saw didnt.

getting the seats to fold isnt all that smooth...gota make sure the weird, very weird head rest is in the right place....not so impressed and thats a key feature i think....

front dash set up was nice but pretty standard for the new mercs

JimBarnhart

The electric middle row is delayed until the 2014MY

blittle

Do you know if the "surround view" camera system will be available this year?

FastMoneyPlaya

Is the dealer expecting to get full MSRP or is there a discount?

JimBarnhart

I don't know for sure, but I believe it still has a shot in the 2013MY. I know it wasn't available for my build date.

vdubpower

thats too bad because moving the middle rows sucked big time, in both models

2006 denali is piece of cake compared to them
third row sucks in denali tho

vertrkr

Appears to be available. When MB first posted the 2013 GL on their site it was not even listed. A week or two later they added it as an option. Currently MB shows the panoramic roof and leather seating as 'limited availability' but the surround view doesn't have that restriction so it sounds like it's good to go.

vdubpower

btw are ALL GL'S made in alabama??

JimBarnhart

yep

ddruker

My GL is in the shop and I'm hoping they have a 2013 to look at when I go in to pick it up Friday or next week.

My three biggest complaints about my 2011 GL 350 are how outdated the COMAND and MBRACE systems are, the niggling towing problems (low tongue weight, weak hitch receiver, incompatible with LED trailer lights, no built in brake controller), and of course the DEF kludges (DEF tank in spare tire well forcing use of run-flat tires).

From the reviews I've read, it sounds like only one of these - the DEF tank issues - is solved. I can live with the relatively weak towing support, but I am hoping the new electronics are better than the reviews made them sound.

vertrkr

I hear ya on the command system. My dream car would be the GL with the Cadillac CUE system, now that would be something. Audi's system is darn good too but the Q7 is just too small for me. Haven't read up much on the GL towing deficiencies but hoping it will tow my 5000lb boat. Heck, my Honda does it with ease.

vdubpower

hell with that, not wasting 80 grand on an american made mercs.... rather get another gmc for half the price

JimBarnhart

That's a choice you can make.

My personal opinion is different. I believe it's the engineering, assembly logistics, testing, etc that make a Mercedes a Mercedes. That comes from Germany and then is implemented in the Alabama plan the same way it's implemented in Sindelfingen. Also, much of the assembly ( the engines for example) are built in Germany. I don't feel that American assemblers are in any way less skilled than German assemblers. It's the process, not the nationality of the people. But that doesn't mean the Mercedes brand right for you, it might not be.

I'll give you an example that to me set Mercedes apart. I had a ML500 designo as my first Mercedes. It was made in Alabama. It had a pretty significant rattle in it right from the start. I took it to the dealer, they had it a week and got it fixed. They told me it was a weld issue between the firewall and the side of the chassis. About 2 months later I got a call from a German accented lady. She introduced herself, said she was in quality control and wanted to have me describe the rattle, and then proceeded to tell me they have found that it wasn't an assembly defect (the human did everything he was instructed to do), it was an engineering defect. They had to modify their assembly process in order to improve the weld strength. As an engineer myself, I was very impressed by this event.

firstgl

Need advice dealing with a decision i have to make. I ordered a GL 2013 back in April and was assured that the options ordered were available. the car is at the dealership now (three weeks late according to dealer) however it doesnt have the promised surround camera.

I am told that not withstanding what the website says, surround camera can't be ordered yet. Best advice the dealer has for me is what you would expect "take the car now". I called another dealer who represented that car spec'd now will be delivered late nov/early dec and will have surround camera if selected.

I am disappointed with MB for launching a car before it should and with dealers that are either kept in the dark or are willing to say anything for an order. any thoughts?

43221B

Make sure you drive them both. You might not be impressed with the steering wheel coming out of the dash on an angle as if they forgot that someone would need to drive it. That pretty much sums up the design philosophy for the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade engineers.

vdubpower

i have a 2006 denali and i acutally like the way it drives, its the older model, less fancy than the current one,
inlaws have a 2007 escalade which is the current body style....dont like that one at all, feels very weird, odd positioning.

about our american mercedes?? is it just assembled here, or is the engine come as a unit pre-built in germany, and the other components all assembled in germany and just the final stages are in bama?

South Ocean1

If it is an option you really want, I would wait and slot into a later order. To me, that seems like a really nice option that would be worth waiting for. And I agree with you - shame on MB for launching the car without all of the options they have touted in their press junkets - like the power easy entry on the third row and this surround view camera.

Given how these cars have just come out, why wouldn't your dealer be willing to slide you into a late fall build? Presumably they can sell the GL that you ordered reasonably quickly? Oh - I guess they are saying you can't order one when another dealer is saying you can. Seems like a call to MBUSA would be in order to resolve this unfortunate dispute.

And on a separate note, and as an owner of a German-build MB, I have no issue whatsoever buying an American made MB. In fact, I would be happier to buy one build here rather than in some other country.

blittle

That would impress me as well.....

blittle

Also.....am i hearing correctly? Leather seating option is "not available" at this time???? I think i read that somewhere..... Leather not available??? Really??? Im an MB??? Isn't that sort of like saying there's a shortage of rearview mirrors or something???

43221B

The diesel engines are built in Berlin. I'm not sure about the gas engines. Car and Driver had a chart a year or so ago that showed where the parts come from on "American" made cars. The GL only had something like 1 or 2% of the parts manufactured in the US. It is only assembled here.

I really can't imagine anyone purchasing a Tahoe based SUV if they have driven the GL. It is night and day. You would have to have something very large to tow that the GL couldn't tow. Keep in mind that the GL is the best selling luxury SUV in the US right now. There is a reason for that.

ddruker

I sat in a 2013 GL today at the dealer to check out the new comand system.

First impression is that it is barely updated from the current system. The screen is placed higher in the dash and the screen looks smaller than the one I have in my 2011, though it is clearly higher resolution. The connectors for your phone have moved to the center console instead of in the glove box. There is now a control wheel / clicker like BMW has for iDrive that controls the system. There are some animations as you switch between screens and the UI is generally a bit crisper / cleaner than the current system.

It's still not touch screen, and the sales guys still try to tell you why touch screen is a bad idea - this particular sales guy told me it was a bad idea since my wife could scratch a touch screen with her fingernails - until I pulled out my Galaxy Nexus smart phone with Gorilla glass and said "are you joking?"

Not mostly Mercedes fault, but it's also instantly incompatible with a hardwired connection to the new iPhone 5 - which has a new connector. Perhaps it will work with an adapter, perhaps not.

The only real new feature that jumped out was that it now supports bluetooth audio streaming. Which is useful, but should really be a software update for the system I have in my 2011.

The sales rep did not know much more about it - did not know whether any of the SD card limitations had changed, the size of the new built-in storage, whether the new real time traffic was any better, etc. He wanted me to compare it to the BMW system, which doesn't exactly make sense for a GL.

Impression was this is a basically minor software update overall with the addition of the new control wheel.

It's not close to what the Japanese cars or Audi have, or the much higher bar set by the iPhone / Droid - so all in all another big disappointment.

vdubpower

the audi mmi is horrible, and dont bother with touch screens, cadillacs CUE is horrible too

just drive....

JimBarnhart

Your mileage may vary ;-)

When I ordered mine, the salesman told me the thought it might have limited availability. When they went to enter it into the order system (actually it was modification of a vehicle already in the system) it took the leather option. So mine is coming with leather.

Now if it comes and doesn't have it, like the story here, I'll wait. But they sent me a printout of the order, it's in there, so I'm hopeful it will happen.

FastMoneyPlaya

I disagree. I've got the 3G MMI on my 2010 S5 and it's pretty solid - much much better than the COMMAND on my wife's 2011 GL350. And now Audi is onto 4G MMI which has a touch pad on the console which lets you write letters and scroll in addition to the puck style controller. The MMI controls on my S5 are on the console which makes it easy for me to control by feel so I can watch the road while scrolling through Sirius channels or zooming the NAV or scrolling through my phone contacts.

Whenever I drive my wife's GL, I don't even bother with the COMMAND - I just use my Google Nav app on my Android - it's much better.

It's a shame Mercedes didn't do a major overhaul of the COMMAND system on the 2013 - it's really the weakest selling point. I expect better from a $70K vehicle. A $100 Garmin unit is better. The free Google Maps app is better. I believe I read somewhere that Audi is working on the next generation Q7. If they can improve the styling it will be steal market share from the GL. We didn't like the styling of the current Q7, so we never even considered it - the GL is the best looking large SUV in my opinion.

Wolfgang

MBUSA put up some COMAND photos:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...8794348&type=1