Daily Driver/How is it in the city?
 

Greetings,

I recently totaled a Mercedes E350 4Matic, when a drunk driver t-boned the side. Luckily, my kids weren't in the car at the time, and I walked away without a scratch on me. I am still amazed, and needless to say will be going back to Mercedes for my next car. I am extremely interested in the g55, but had some questions hopefully some of you can answer. Is the g a good daily driver? How is it in the city (I live in Chicago, river north area)? Thank you all, and looking forward to any responses.

Ahm, not really a daily driver, more like your second car that can do all the other stuff your daily driver can't (tow, do the beach, take a trip out of town), after a while you would realize that the G gets a little tiring to drive. I am sure others will chime in with their views shortly..

I own a 2002 G500 and a 2005 CL55 (debadged.) I live in Northern New England.

I used to travel to Manhattan on business and I always took the G500. I like to drive in the center lane as a rule. I found that taxis and people would get out of my way, and it was much easier to see nonsense and traffic jams forming up ahead because one sits so high. People would also keep "hands off" when it was parked on the street. Safety first!

If I could only have one vehicle it would be a G. I know that the 2009 G55 has the same engine and transmission as my CL, but I think that the G550 has plenty of power and better gas mileage. It is also less likely to attract the kind of person who covets than the G55 (or any AMG), which has a kind of reputation urban-wise for better or worse.

Important:
If this is going to be your only vehicle and you live in Chicago I STRONGLY recommend you purchase a set of H-rated WINTER tires for it, preferably those with the snowflake symbol, at a minimum. All-season tires will not work as well, trust me. I use Yokohama AT-S (I think I saw Yoko HT-S on the 2009 G550 that a local dealer has - they are not the same tire but they are a good tire!) all year round since I do outdoor sports year-round; Bizzaks are also a good choice if you want absolutely the best performance on ice. All season or summer tires such as come stock on either G vehicle will be like hockey pucks in the Chicago winters. Of course, during the summer you can put the stock tires back on. You have to take off the Blizzaks for wear and compound issues during the summer. Oh, make sure that the production date of the ice symbol tire is as recent as possible. The compounds tend to age quickly and lose their grip.

Tirerack supplied me with the Yokos and I had them installed by an independent - often the MBUSA dealer will NOT install anything but a V-rated summer tire. Although winter tire specs are on the door handle, my dealer had no ice tire options to suggest to me. They drive the darn things in Germany during ice storms - what do our friends in Northern Europe use?

Ivanj
PS
Several years ago my friend and I went to Boston after a terrible blizzard. There was a legal parking space in front of the restaurant we wanted to go to but had a mound of snow plowed into it. I drove the G up the pile, got the snow shovel out of the back and dug steps into the drift so the lady could descend gracefully. We left just as gracefully. I wish I had a picture!

Towing with the 2009
 

The 2009 MBUSA SUV brochure has NO spec for towing for the G class. It does for the GL (class 4.)

I use a U-Haul installed class 3 hitch to tow my boat with my 2002 G500, even though it is rated for Class 4.

The UHAUL hitch was less than $400 installed; MBUSA wanted $1800 for the class 4 hitch alone! AND there was a 3 month back order with 70 odd people ahead of me.

BTW the seats in the 2009 are more comfortable than the earlier Gs.