sk31

What is ORP?
Can anyone recommend which options to get? cause im confused as to whether i should be getting distronic/headlight washer or not.

BJ021

The GL550 has the best look by far! If money is not an issue than a couple mpg's less shouldn't bother you either - go 550! I wish my 320 had the chrome trim under the windows and on the roof rails. But as far as ride and fuel usage goes - I love my GL320!

BJ

GL Troll

ORP = Off-Road Package.

From what I hear, Distronic tends to apply the brakes pretty hard, pretty often to keep the prescribed distance in front of you. It’s a little weird and quite costly. The Distronic on the GL also doesn’t have the more advanced features of the S class.

I’ve been driving since I was 14 and I’ve never once found myself wishing for a headlight washer.

Stumblefoot

Living through many snowstorms and the resultant splash back for days after the storm is over, I couldn't imagine not having the headlight washer. It sure is convenient and it's very nice that you don't have pull over and get out of the vehicle to keep your headlights clear at night.

tm4exc

OK, I got a 450 with P2 (which includes almost every option, including the Bi-Xenon lamps and cornering option which you should want and comes with the HL washer which you may never use), full Leather, hitch, running boards, voice control, and ORP. Did not get the 19" wheel package as I had concerns of traction with the wider and lower profile tires as has been discussed on this forum and ORP comes with the skid plate and underride protection and I wanted ORP for winter traction. You should note that distronic is not available on the 550 and I would not have it anyway as you should not be using CC when there is danger of running up the *** of the car in front of you. Run the packages and accessories on the MBUSA web site on the two models and you will see that the price difference is about 8K at MSRP. You also may be better able to deal on a 450 than a 550 as I discussed on another thread. Take it from there!

sk31

just a quick and perhaps, a stupid question, is a 10k difference on the 450 and 550 something to consider?

oknish

My experience with Distronic on my GL has been pretty good. It only brakes when the car in front slows down dramatically or someone cuts in front of you. Otherwise, it uses engine braking and downshifting to slow down. I used Distronic for 3 hours out of 4 hours drive to Vegas, each way, and it was very smooth.

The only difference I know of between GL's Distronic and S class's Distronic Plus is that GL Distronic maintains speeds above 15 mph where Distronic Plus will go much lower.

infamily

For me .. it is worth a consideration.. but then again I am a GL 320 owner. One of those frugal ones..

Stumblefoot

That's a personal decision imo.

If $10K doesn't impact the decision, then it comes down to the features vs. benefits between the different GL models.

Good Luck with your decision!

Waiting-4-550

Best advice thus far!!!

sk31

anyone here besides oknish added the distronic option and had fun with it?

im seriously considering both the distronic and headlight washer (of which i thought to be useless)

ReachWest

I have every option available on my 08 GL450, including Distronic, which I find great on the highway. (With Distronic, I don't need to disable and reset the CC when I approach a slower car ahead .. very nice and leaves a good safe distance between the GL and the car in front. If I change lanes to pass, the cruise set speed takes over and the GL passes the slower vehicle.)

I really like the 550 styling, but as others have noted, no Distronic and no Enhanced ORP available on the 550.

In Canada, very few 550's are being brought in.. I have yet to see one in the wild .. so I purchased the loaded 450.

Which ever unit you decide to get, 450 or 550 - you'll end up with an amazing SUV.

oknish

Like Stumblefoot pointed out, if you live in area with a lot of rain/snow, those washers are worth it. In So Cal, where I live, they are useless.

With that said, you can't get just the washers. They come as a part of lighting package which also include Active Xenon lights and cornering fog lamps. The lighting package by itself is around 1K and is part of P2 package which is around 9K. The lighting package is worth every penny, IMO.

Stumblefoot

If you really want Distronic, better make sure you get an '08 450. Could be like those Willie Mays baseball cards in the future.

sk31

just wondering. has anyone tried using voice control?

550s do have headlight washers right?

sorry for my awkward questions, i dont know anything about this car. I usually do all my research at the internet and just go to the dealer and give him the check .

GLDriver

Lighting package is worth every penny. Too bad they don't offer as a separate option unless you get P2

Stumblefoot

No worries on the awkward questions. That's what this forum is about... helping each other out. Sometimes we might tell you where you can go to find the answer yourself (i.e. research) and other times, we give you the answer straight up (i.e. we actually know the answer )

The 550 does have the headlight washers.

I have tried the Voice Control, but I have not read the manual yet on how it works exactly. Therefore, I haven't had a lot of success with it, but my assumption is that once I understand the commands, it will work much smoother. I think Nish has used it with some success if I'm not mistaken.

sk31

Right thanks

So the headlight washer on the 550 gives it a +1 for me, but im still wondering about the voice control. Anyone with the experience of using voice control could share it with me?

ReachWest

I have the Voicetronic on my unit. Have used it, but not extensively. It dials phone numbers nicely for you through the bluetooth module. Most of my current voice command repertoire consists of things like "radio", "FM", "AM", etc.

infamily

I use VC all the time.. .. I use it for dialing phones numbers, entering street address on GPS, changing radio source, you can store phone numbers by name and then use names to recall.. really nice feature to have and I think it adds to road safety as I don't have to fiddle with buttons while I am driving.

sk31

perfect, just the kind of response i need!