I am typing this from my iPhone
after arriving to my hotel room this evening.

325 mile trip with the 550
With four adults with ease...

Man is just me or do you love this truck the more
you drive it?

Does the power ever stop on this beast??
hit triple digits today several times without even relizing it!!

Looks wise its even growing on me more as well!!

What a great machine....

 

Wait till you hit 10K miles. It truly adapts to you. That has been my experience, at least. The more I drive it, the better it gets

 

+1

 

+1 One word to describe the ride and power of the GL550: SMOOOOTH!

 

Dare I say that I enjoy the GL550 more than the S550...:-) Well it is looking that way. The S was a little more refined perhaps and maybe a little quieter, but the GL is more fun and as sunny says...the power is unending. With the A/C off it jumps off the line and zooms when requested at any speed.

The ultimate test coming up starting on Thursday morning when I launch this Beast eastward for over 2000 miles by Monday morning. Then a week later make the return trip...5000 miles total. Should be a blast and I mean that literally...:-)))

 

What I meant to say is I
took a 325 mile run with the 550.

I have just about 3500 on the clock ....

I have to agree with NJ,
I like driving the GL more then are S550!!

 

I can't wait to make the comparison. I heard from my dealer this weekend that my car was shipped 3 days ahead of schedule. I love my S550 and I am glad that I will be keeping it for my personal use. I do all of the family driving and we plan to use my wife's vehicle (GL550) whenever WE go places. I will get to drive both on most days and I am looking forward to sitting up a little higher!

 

Good for you! Let us know when it arrives.

 

!!!! Oh boy! Where are you located? Thais is great news!

Does anyone know how often trucks ship out from the factory? I assume that they wait till they have enough trucks to fill a bunch of rail cars, every couple of weeks maybe. I hope one of our GL550's has been shipped out!!! I will hear from the dealer later today, but he usually doesn't have much information.

 

Stumblefoot and I are experts on train transportation of MB GL's from Vance going West...LOL

Champion is the freight company that handles MB train schedules and your dealer should have contact with them to find out when the truck is due once it is consigned to the carrier in Vance. He should know the general time it take for delivery from Vance to his dealership. Keep on him Dodson...he can get the information if he is persistent. Greg Weiler gave me almost daily status reports on my shipment which included a train breakdown and god know what else.

 

Dodson,

I'm pretty sure that S550 & GL550 is in California, so we've all got our fingers crossed that you will receive yours in the next week, or week and a half. Sure would be nice to see your 550 in Vegas!

 

It took me a little while to get used to the steering feel and slightly truck-like handling, but I've been more impressed every day, and now I flat-out love it. When I bought my 540i, it was considered by some to be the best sports sedan available. Now I prefer to drive the GL550. Nearly as entertaining to drive, but the comfort, quiet, and luxury features are unsurpassed among all cars I've owned. Plus, I have the confidence of knowing that all the power I'll ever need is under my right foot.

 

I think it might take an extra few days. I have a feeling that even though the train probably goes right through Reno, it probably unloads cargo over in the bay area. Then it will take an extra couple of days to sort things and have it shipped via truck back over the hill to Reno. Just my guess.

 

Some days I prefer the GL450 over the C55 to commute to work with. Not sure why, probably because I don't always need the brute power and hard ride everyday (anymore). The GL450 more than handles itself on freeways merges and uphill battles with other sedans.

I'm still trying to figure out if the GL450 lowers itself at speeds above 85mph, I'm pretty sure it doesn't but it sure looks like.

 

Ok. I just checked with the dealer. They said that it is about 15 days out. It looks like it has left and is on a train. The girl I spoke with confirmed that it will be off-loaded in the bay area and then will be trucked back to Reno. She said this can add up to an extra week, if it sits while they wait for the truck to be full. I have my fingers crossed.

She also said that the second GL550 had a build date of Nov. 5th. Both trucks were ordered at the same time.

 

Dodson,
A train arrived in Benicia Ca on thursday and my gl550 was trucked to Fresno on saturday. I take delivery today. My order date was mid July. I hope yours was on the same train.

 

With Air Suspension the GL will go to lower position at 65mph I think. According to the manual it should be in the lowered position for normal driving and in the raised position when road clearance is close or you intend off road use. Page 281 of the manual if I remember right covers the "up and down" adjustments.

 

i am switching from a GL450 premiere edition to an S550 4matic. Will definietly post my opinion when the car arrives. I guess I toook the opposite route to nevada jack

I almost thought about getting a GL550, but wanted something different.

The GL was the most comfortable MB I have owned yet!

 

I think you will find the S "the most comfortable MB you have owned" after driving it awhile. It is a different kind of ride...more limo oriented. Plenty of power and with ABC an absolute perfect ride.

 

The truck raises 3.1” above normal by the button on the dash (without off-road package) and lowers 0.6” below normal at “high speed” according to the manual. It doesn’t define “high speed”.

 

As Brian mentioned I am indeed right now in Southern California where I plan to take delivery sometime early next week? I also have a home in Incline Village that we are at about once a month. I was the one that commended you on a great job of negotiating as I was only able to get Reno MB to split invoice and MSRP. In SoCal I was able to get it for $1000 over invoice which is why I ordered it here. Good luck with your delivery!

 

S 550 & GL 550 - there may still be hope for you for Vega

BTW, here is a person's impression of their GL http://www.benzworld.org/forums/gl-c...-reliable.html I think he lives in an area that gets slightly more snow than Stumblefoot.

 

Now, that is quite interesting. Glad to say that I've never had to "chain up" to get to my house.

 

From what everyone has been saying, we may actually get lucky and have at least one GL550 by next week!

 

We just hit 10K on our GL450 and there's a nice difference. It seems as if the SUV has adapted well to my driving style and just handles like a pure dream. I wish the brake dust and all would surrender to the consistent car washes but I guess, everything else is just gravy!

Hey Nevada, how's the gas consumption/brake dust on the 550?

I am really looking to put those fender flares on the 450, where can I find those bad boys?