Fung63

hi all,

We are looking to upgrade our little GLK when the lease is up and since our family is also growing, we wanted something larger

this vehicle will be my wife's main ride and since she wants a suv and not a minivan,... we are looking at 7-8 seater suvs

i would like to hear your thoughts and process on why you ultimately decided on the GL... be it this gen or the newer one. our main wants are

• comfortability for all three rows... especially the rear one. this is a must
• ability to buckle in at least 3 car seats
• aesthetically pleasing and storage space
• obviously safety
• gas ... least important of the 5 points

So far we tried the

• volvo xc90 - front seats are nice.. middle row ok... rear row was squished... looks were ok.. can fit 3 seats - conclusion... probably not
• audi Q7 - rear row is pretty non existent. can not fit legs in the back - conclusion... definitely not
• infiniti - jx - all three rows were surprisingly roomy .. can fit 3 car seats... however not in our desired spots. it fits 3 car seats.. 2 in middle row and one in the back. . looks we thought was ok... carry space in the back was little... will not fit a decent sized stroller .. conclusion... maybe
• infiniti - Qx - we didnt get the chance to go in and take a look but it looks quite monstrous
• GL - havent really taken a close look at it

any other models i should consider checking out?


thanks

alx

The gl satisfies all your requirements.

The 3rd row if suitable for full sized grown ups. I am 6 feet tall and I am comfortable back there. With the 3rd row up there is enough room in the trunk for a regular folded baby stroller.

JimBarnhart

My thinking is 2 vehicles fit your needs - the GL and the QX. Once you check those vehicles out you will discover that the QX gets has half the fuel economy.

carpersn

The two Infinitis may meet your criteria but roughly.

The QX is a truck-worse by far than the Tahoe, IMHO. And huge, but poorly designed for inside space. No comparison to the GL (either gen) in terms of refinement. And Jim is of course spot-on re: economy.

The JX is a well-thought-out but poorly executed design. Only in the driver's seat would you mistake this as a luxury vehicle. Everywhere else is hard plastic and cheap leather (not even the quality of MB tex).

The others don't meet your space requirements in the least. Plus, if you've enjoyed your GLK, you will be blown away by the GL.

Good luck!

cookstar

The QX56 is allot larger than the GL and the seats are more like couches than car seats, it is quite comfortable. The reason I did not go with it was mainly due to the fuel economy which is terrible compares to the 4.7 liter v8 you get in the benz, the tires are also quite narrow and I am not a fan of aftermarket rims at all.

The JX has the CVT that they have in the new pathfinder and I hate it and anyone that has driven one hates it, the dealer I spoke to admits it is hurting their sales as well.

The volvo is ancient in all aspects so I would skip that all together.

a2j

We were looking at Q7, GL320, and R320 to get our diesel 3row seat suv. We can actually put all three car seats/boosters seats on the second row of our GL.

KrustyKustom

We have 5 girls and have had 4 Suburbans. We bought The GL as we did not need so much cargo space, I liked the diesel and it is easy to drive and park. We rarely have all 5 girls with us however the third row is really the only decent one out there until you go with a bigger SUV like the mongo infinity.

We too liked the Audi but the third row was built for a pet, not even a kid and it feels smaller with the roof line dipping down low.

Wife took a bit to admit she likes the GL, but now likes it. Her only beef is the very non logical COMAND system and the wacky menus.

Airmatic is also something to get used to. It rides, lets say....plush!

alphaforcex

We have 5 kids and used to have 5 car seats in the GL and they all fit. Granted we have to buy the slimmest car seats available in order to fit 3 car seats in the 2nd row. The 3rd row has enough room for adults but getting in and out of the 3rd row is not as easy though. I think the '13 GL with sliding 2nd row will make it a little easier to get in and out but we haven't tried that yet. We still have a year left on our lease and is already looking forward to the '14 GL. One down side is that there is really not that much space after the 3rd row. We have to buy a rooftop box for our road trips.

It drives much smaller than it looks and wife likes the GL a lot now. Took a while for her to get used to the GL (replaced a minivan). We test drove the QX in the past and didn't like it.

Stoneseller

Have you driven the GL for any amount of time yet?
Once you do, I think all doubts will be gone. This is hands down the most comfortable, well performing, fun to drive, roomy, safe, etc, etc, vehicle available.
I believe it has received multiple best SUV of the year awards from several auto raters. The award is well justified IMHO.

jcbutta

JMCarter

Traded our 2011 QX for a 2013 GL350....absolutely no comparison.

Fung63

thanks for the responses so far guys.

the wife and I decided to take a test drive of the 2013 GL and liked it. I do find the lack of exhaust tip slightly awkward but then again I am just used to seeing them on my car. The GL was definitely a really nice ride and handled very well. I wished however there was a bit more room behind the 3rd row. the seating however was very nice... the 3rd row was comfortable. I also like the fact that you can position a car seat in pretty much any spot on the middle and back row.

sales guy told me all the 13s were sold so i will be placing an order for a 14. since I have months to wait, I will try to test drive a MY2010-MY2012 GL to see the differences. a 2010 GL here is almost half of the cost of a 2013-2014 GL so there is that factor as well.

we are thinking of keeping this GL for at most 4 years. reason being, it should get us past the baby to toddler years for our kids. then we can buy another gl or similar and hopefully the wear and tear would decrease a bit lol...

1st amg

Speaking from experience, we are extremely pleased with the 2011 GL 350 with AMG package. Hence we are seriously considering the 2014 GL350 also with the AMG package as a replacement. We have had not one issue with reliability. It is very spacious, we only have two car seats but the third row is utilized by adults such as my in laws or my parents on occassion,. Being my wife's daily driver, the mileage is very impressive for city driving for such a big vehicle. We recently went with the kids on a ski trip and with one seat of the third row folded we packed alot of stuff for a three year old and five yearold. And I highly reccomend if you can to get the rear seat entertainment as this has saved our sanity on many road trips. I looked at other suv before I bought her the GL and I am glad that I settled on this one. Ona another note, what has impressed me most as well is the four wheel drive in the snow. With a good set of winters this suv seems to have exceptional traction and stability. There is something to be said about the smoothness and the engagement of the four wheel drive. As in many other all wheel drive trucks, you can feel it engage from two wheel drive to four wheel with a slight jerking motion. With this vehicle it is virtually non existent. My vote is for the GL. Good luck