New Member-2011 GL350 Diesel-Wind Noise :(

I don't know how your survived it. I hope your second time around is better.
I went for the GL for exactly the same reasons you did. Had ours for a month now. Our first Benz.
Washed it for the first time yesterday - felt like washing the house.
I reallllllly liked the QX56??? Like, shockingly liked it. Everything I've been reading about it during my research talks about how "ugly" it is but I just don't see the vehicle as "ugly"..and I'm trying to, I really am. I looked at it..and liked it from the side..I don't mind it from the front, the only part I might not have liked as much was standing directly behind it and maybe the odd shape it came seem to take from that angle...but I guess I don't see the "ugly" factor. But this is also from a woman who used to drive a Hummer H2 and I know a lot of people found those things atrocious. Mine grew on me... I'm not sure what I like about the QX's exterior styling--everyone hates those vents on the sides, yet I think they sort of remind me a bit of a Range Rover--I don't know..I didn't think it was ugly..so it was hard to read all the harsh reviews on it's exterior looks when I got home and did some research. Hard to drive a car that everyone in the world thinks is "hideous." I know the only thing that matters is if *I* like it-- I know several people who don't like my GL and think it looks like a station wagon. I like the GL A LOT--which makes my being enamored with that QX even more surprising.
Where the QX really shines is on the interior. I am pretty sure I have not sat in a nicer luxury SUV than that----- WOW. I also love that they have a power button that automatically tips up the SECOND ROW SEAT--amazing feature for a mother like myself who's little 8 year old has a heck of a time getting the second row to flip up sometimes--I have even had to get out and run around the vehicle to help him a few times- Even when you do it manually, they tip up with total ease. I must have stood there and released that second row and watched it go up 30 times, until my husband finally asked me to stop doing that. LOL...
I finally found a car that caught my eye almost as much as my GL did.......it sort of made me sad today!
It drove very nice...drove bigger than my GL, but I'm used to driving big vehicles. And let me just say, it was a windier than heck day today and there was barely a smidgen of noticeable wind noise... (there is SO something wrong with my GL's windshield, I'm even more convinced of it now!)
Someone tell me something bad about the Infiniti--I want to hear all the good, the bad, the ugly--The hydropneumatic suspension option appeals to my husband more than the airmatic--especially after all the airmatic problems our GL had.
So..I really love the GL...but that Infiniti QX turned my eye in a big way today...Sigh.
Tam
Last edited by TamZ; Mar 7, 2011 at 01:30 AM.
!! LOL

But..400HP...I must say..I liked the get up and go it had... it's a powerful piece of machinery.
I have looked at such an eclectic variety of vehicles lately, in my quest to at least look at every 7 passenger SUV/vehicle on the market before committing to another GL-- Heck, today I even test drove a little Acadia Denali--not even in the same class as our luxury SUV's, really- but hey I was willing to give my husbands love of GM products another look--He likes the Yukon Denali (bigger than the Acadia) but I just wasn't feeling it.
Honestly, this "hideous" QX56 is the first one that has really even made me think twice about my love of the GL. Yet I can't figure out exactly WHY.
Tam



My least favorite "view" of the QX..this is the only picture of the back I could find on the internet.
Good luck with your choice of vehicle.
Bish
Glad you're got the buyback. I've owned Infiniti's in the past and they're made very well. Your biggest problem is that it may be so reliable that you'll be very bored compared w/ your GL, LOL
Enjoy.PL
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
I'm happy you liked that car. Any of your friends need help finding a car? I'm full of ideas.

I'm still doing my research on the vehicle on the internet. But I'm learning, with any vehicle, that can be scary. I've found a few instances where people have had problems with this QX..one a transmission problem, another a loud fan noise that comes on (several of these) although I only found one complaint about INCREDIBLE wind noise..lol... I can tell them a story about incredible wind noise. LOL... but as we all know with my GL, there can always be a bad one in the bunch. I know that when it comes to the internet, you often don't see as many good consumer reviews, because when things are going good, people don't come here to talk about ir, but when things are going bad, boy do we ever. I'm trying not to place too much on some of the negative things I've read about the QX--if everyone based their opinion on the GL on my thread/review, nobody would ever want one.
I agree with Bish..the pictures don't do the QX justice. I expected to really hate the vehicle based on all the negative things I had read about the exterior appearance. "It looks like a Beluga whale.." "doesn't everyone know port holes went out a long time ago", "bloated" "fat"...it goes on and on. People seem to be VERY vocal on how "ugly" this vehicle is. But as I stood there admiring it yesterday,both under the showroom lights and outside in the sun--I couldn't even make myself not like it a little bit--and I wanted to because I'm so hung up on getting another GL. (My husband says if the put the Mercedes emblem on the front of the QX, I'd absolutely love it...I know he's partially right...sigh. lol)
The inside SEEMS a bit nicer than my GL350, but It's a different kind of nice. The GL appeals to my understated yet refined sense of luxury--the QX has all the bells and whistles that made me literally sit there speechless--they compare it to the interior of a luxury lear jet--and I can see it. (not that I find myself in a lear jet--ever LOL)
The automatic tip up/fold second row seats are something I think every single SUV with a 3rd row should have. I still can't stop thinking about it, silly as that sounds. But it's those little things that can sell a car.
If I decided to get something other than a GL, though......does that mean I am banned from the GL threads of the MB forum?? Wah

Tam
Last edited by TamZ; Mar 7, 2011 at 10:31 AM.
Never, not EVER! You created a thread that will 'live in history' IMO you will be at least an honorable member forever. Grandchildren will talk about this thread to their children and portions will be required reading in M-B school!!
Never, not EVER! You created a thread that will 'live in history' IMO you will be at least an honorable member forever. Grandchildren will talk about this thread to their children and portions will be required reading in M-B school!!

good, because I can't imagine not coming here to at least say hi! Unfortunately (or fortunately) it sorta 'feels like home'. LOL!

From what I have been reading, the reviewers like the QX better than the Escalade... every review I seem to read gives the QX wonderful remarks and yet still manages to fit in the "but it looks a bit like everyones favorite whale" comment. Sigh...

I will think of you, Mark, everytime I see an Escalade!
I can't get this truck out of my mind. HELP! (and they use my little sons favorite word, "ridonkulous" when they talk about the 22" wheels)
http://www.evomaxi.com/asian-auto/20...x56-full-test/
Last edited by TamZ; Mar 7, 2011 at 04:19 PM.
I can't get this truck out of my mind. HELP! (and they use my little sons favorite word, "ridonkulous" when they talk about the 22" wheels)
http://www.evomaxi.com/asian-auto/20...x56-full-test/
But I'm a "nice car" person. Ugh! Sometimes I wish I wasn't.
.71 vs .78 g's don't really mean much since most of us won't take corners agggresively with the family onboard. Yeah yeah, more safe due to better handling.... blah blah blah.
Same with cars, make yourself happy first, then wonder about what some 22 year old blogger who will never be able to afford a luxury car thinks!
I'll level with you guys, I'm not really bananas about the way the GL looks, but it is so good in every other way, I'm willing to live with it. You know, as they say, sometimes a lack of looks can be made up for with uh, other departments... anyhow, before I dig myself any deeper with this one, I'll just sign off.
Same with cars, make yourself happy first, then wonder about what some 22 year old blogger who will never be able to afford a luxury car thinks!
I'll level with you guys, I'm not really bananas about the way the GL looks, but it is so good in every other way, I'm willing to live with it. You know, as they say, sometimes a lack of looks can be made up for with uh, other departments... anyhow, before I dig myself any deeper with this one, I'll just sign off.
As for the GL, I have been told that it looks like a too tall station wagon as well as a "funeral home hearse".. But that still didn't stop me from buying one, so I'm not so sure why I'm bothered by the many reviews I've read stating that the QX is such an unattractive SUV.

Speaking of which, we finalized the buy-back settlement today--I'm so glad it's over!! Now, we're just waiting for the check and the "surrender" of the GL, I guess. It's nearly over....

Tam
Oh, and MB Tex cleans off nicely - there was a slight stain on the seat when I got home.
Oh, and MB Tex cleans off nicely - there was a slight stain on the seat when I got home.

Admittedly, the interior on most cars is what sells me, of course, as a mother, safety is important but I can't say MY concerns ever go much past the airbags, etc. I'm sure my husband knows more of this technical talk.
I actually like the MB-Tex--with kids, it's amazing and I [was] looking forward to 5-6 years from now, having it still look brand new, compared to the "worn" look real leather can get.
Glad your okay, STP!







