StevethePilot

One of the really good looking SUVs out there, and a great badge as well.

TamZ

Thanks, STP. I find her absolutely stunning in person. So far, I have only had one person give me a strange look (an in-laws older friend..lol) and she said, "Well it's certainly Boxy, if your into that sort of thing." LOL

Nearing 500 miles and so far NO engine light has came on and nothing has fallen out of the ceiling. Already a better start than my poor GL.

T.

MomsBenz

A gift from Tammy!



Thank you! Now my GL has some BLING!!! I absolutely LOVE it!!!

TamZ

Awwwwww.. *tear* My beloved frame.. But I am glad it found a nice home on your beautiful GL. (Everytime I saw your new GL in Palladium, it made me rethink my black!) Enjoy it in good health! Do you use your GL to pull the boat to Havasu? If so, I'm sure we'll end up seeing you there sometime and I'll see it again

You are welcome!!

TamZ

Well, as you know I drive a zillion miles and am just getting ready to hit the 1000 mile mark on the odometer of the new QX. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since we purchased it. I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts after 1000 miles of trouble-free driving.

Gas Mileage: SUCKS. BAD. 14.3 mpg…Average speed 27.7mph. LOL… I do so much in town driving from our ranch into town and to various schools and practices…and I do this over..and over..and over.. In the GL, I got at least 19.5-20mpg in town, so the GL350 diesel beats the QX hands down in this department. But I should probably mention that my husband says I take off from stop signs like I’m on a drag strip, so…that could have something to do with it.

Ride Quality/Parking/Driving: I absolutely love the way the QX drives. I don’t think it rides any better than the GL, it just rides differently, and I think I personally prefer the way it drives, more than my GL. I can’t pinpoint the exact reason, and I’ve not taken it speeding around many mountain roads to determine whether the new Hydropneumatic Suspension that I have makes that huge of a difference, but I do know that I love driving this thing. I am used to driving a bigger truck and that is essentially what the QX is. It’s COMFORTABLE…I guess that is the only way I can explain it. On the freeway, I think the GL was a smoother ride, but the QX is still so smooth, that after two weeks I can’t even remember what the GL felt like, really. Where the QX really shines for me is on our town streets, where the potholes and cruddy roads were hell in my GL with the run flats, and most likely still faulty airmatic. The wind noise is still non-existent at the windshield and this makes me extremely happy. At speeds around 75-80mpg I do hear the wind on the mirrors but I rarely drive that fast so it is basically a non-issue. Some reviews I found complained of not liking the way the steering was on the QX and that it was hard to keep straight on the freeway… I have not had any problems with that, nor with a “vibration” some felt they had in the steering wheel. I actually think the thing turns so easily, it’s amazing. But I got the feeling that is exactly what the reviewers didn’t like. Hmmmph. Parking the QX is not hard but is NOT has easy as the GL either. Luckily, I am a former H2 girl, so parking is a non-issue anyway. The main issue I have now is making sure I find a nice wide space because I don't want door dings and I am more likely to get them in the QX than the GL.

Fun Stuff: We had the windows tinted and he had the clear wrap put on the fenders and hood. (3M) The jury is still out on this to me..we didn’t do this with the GL and of course, we got 2 really bad rock chips right away. I know you can barely see it but *I* know it’s there so I DO see it. But I guess it will protect it. I just don’t understand why you don’t wrap the ENTIRE hood…why only go up to that certain point. But I’ve let my husband take over all his little “customization” stuff with this car. Sometimes I shake my head. Tomorrow it gets new tires and wheels—I’m scared. LOL We never had a chance to “customize” the GL because it literally started having problems at 500 miles.

Adaptive Xenon Headlights: SO NICE! I can’t compare them to the GL’s adaptive headlights because my GL didn’t have them but I can’t get over how they turn when I turn, they are auto-leveling, are perfectly aimed and work like a dream. Such a HUGE difference from my regular headlights in my GL. I know Pteam had a thread where he asked about not being able to “tell” that they were moving and you can really tell on mine. Maybe some might even find it so noticeable that they would think it’s distracting. I just think its awesome and living out in the country on dark roads, it is a LIFESAVER. I no longer have to worry about taking out a poor jogger on the backroads!

MUSIC BOX (just like in my Z): you pop in a CD and it will automatically record it into the harddrive, organize it by album, etc. I LOVE THIS. I missed it…my GL had the hard drive but would not recognize any CD’s to record them to the HD so I just used the iPod. I tried making mp3 Cd’s to get them in the Hard drive for the GL and it STILL wouldn’t work. I finally gave up. I find the iPod interface (actually the entire stereo/nav/etc) just MUCH easier to use than the GL’s comand system. Of course, I have teenagers who do most of the “work” for me when it comes to this so I didn’t have to learn much.

So that is my little 1000 mile review. I probably won’t bore you with any more reviews unless something major comes up. I still can’t quite get a way from the forum and pop in here and there to type a sentence or two on someone’s thread.

Thanks guys!
Tam

mdadgar

See, you TOTALLY should have bought my Escalade. I averaged 11.6 in that.

- Mark

TamZ

Mark, what am I going to do without you and your Escalade!?!

Brocktoon

There is a reason the Nissan Patrol is the most popular truck in the Middle East!

TamZ

Brocktoon-- lol...I guess! Although I guess if you think about it, its smack dab in the middle of where I was (H2..10.5mpg)...and where I went (GL 19-20mpg). I guess 14.3 probably isn't terrible for town driving in a huge 8 seater SUV with 400HP...It says 20 highway, I wonder if I will ever see #'s near 20. I can always dream.

MomsBenz

Awww, Tam! Thanks again! Yes we use the GL to tow the boat to Havasu so you will have to watch for me (now that you know exactly what you are looking for ) at the launch ramp at Park Moabi!!!

Brocktoon

Just trying to keep you in the LOL!s...

newyorktoLA

The Infiniti sounds better than the GL... I wish I had the lighting package haha

TamZ

No...I wouldn't say it's better..it's just different. The GL offers the headlights, I just didn't have that option on my GL so I am thinking it's the most wonderful thing I've ever seen. It would probably not impress me as much if I had experienced the option on my GL. Honestly, most people think the headlights in general are ulgy on the QX. I don't but that's just me.

I took some more pictures today of the QX. Jury is still out on how I feel about the wheels he came home with yesterday. Luckily, my husbands friend has a wheel shop, so..if I hate them I'm gonna switch. I'll give them a try. Original wheels were 22's. Apparently these are 24's with a lower profile tire. So far I feel like the steering is a bit tighter (maybe a wider tire?) and I can tell a SLIGHT difference in ride quality. I think that is because of the lower profile tire. Not enough of a difference from the 22's to the 24's to bother me. It's the area of "black" on the rims that my husband loves, that I'm not sure about. I'm almost 39 years old and sometimes I think maybe I should stop letting him "fix up" my cars. hehe... Most of the rims are Chrome but it does have some black. The pictures make them look darker than they are, I think because it's in the shade. I tried to take an inside picture as well.

I am still blissfully unable to see the ugly, thankfully!

Brocktoon

Nice.

TamZ

Thank ya! It's growing on me. I just got home from driving it all morning, though, and I definitely feel a difference in the ride with the bigger wheels on the freeway...not quite as smooth. And as you can tell, Brocktoon...there will be no 4X4'in in this "Nissan Patrol"..which is why the pictures you sent of the one flying over the sand sort of cracked me up..mine is simply going to be a carpool queen.

SixPak

Hello there, congrats on a very nice-looking QX and I really like the Pearl colour. However, I'm a little surprised that your husband changed to 24" wheels especially knowing that you drive the kids all over town. Personally I would never have done that if it was my wife's car. I would be asking for all kinds of trouble with the negative effect on the ride quality. Your QX came with original multi-spoked 22" wheels that are very sharp-looking, in my opinion. But if you're happy with the looks and don't mind the harsher ride then that's all that matters.

TamZ

Thank you. And I totally understand your confusion...except I've been with the man 23 years and he has always chosen looks over comfort. (or what he perceives as better looking than stock wheels) He has never left ANY vehicle stock, and there were originally plans to put 22's on the GL as well, but it started falling apart on us so quickly, he put that on hold. I agree with you, I actually really liked the stock 22's that came on the truck!

The kids LOVE the new wheels, they think its just the coolest car we've ever had, so that's good. They are completely unaware of any ride deterioration. Even myself, I have to admit there is such a slight deterioration between the stock 22's and these 24's that I would never actually complain about it, but it is there. Is it something I can live with, only time will tell. See, my GL rode roughly on regular roads with the run flats and the faulty airmatic...that this seems, even with 24's...to ride like a dream. So in essence, I don't really "know any better" which is probably best for my husband's sake.

My only concern about these wheels is the black behind the center spokes. I am not a black wheel person. My husband is. He likes black wheels on black cars and the only car I think black wheels even remotely look good on is white cars (which I realize most people don't agree.). I'm just not a huge fan of the black on black. I like chrome wheels. These wheels are mostly chrome with that black backing behind the center inserts for the "star" part. I'm trying to let them grow on me. In the sun, they sparkle, but in the shade, walking up to them, the black reflects off the chrome and I feel like the rims look black. So...if anything, its the rim color that *I'm* having an issue with.

Trust me...I'm just thankful he didn't want to put a 6" lift on the thing, or lower the thing 6"... LOL

Thanks again!
Tam

StevethePilot

If I see black rims, I think "cop car". Sorry. Especially if they're black rims on a white car. However, as it sits on your car, I think the black in the middle of the chrome makes the wheels look even tougher, which is pretty cool.

Sorry about the MPG, by the way. I know for me it would rub right up against "deal killer" but we have to live with it that way here in the USofA until someone realizes the marketing potential of clean diesels with excellent mileage and no huge battery/complexity/etc.

STP

TamZ

Thanks STP I tend to agree with you on the black wheels. When I see black rims, I think it sort of looks how the old SPARE TIRES look with their black wheels. The problem is, a lot of my husbands work is in some pretty high end areas, so he sees this every day...and everyone seems to do this black wheel thing... I just don't get it. And I don't just mean kids, I mean grown adults with money to spend on VERY nice cars...they put black wheels. These particular wheels were the 'compromise.' I have some time to see if I like them or not.

You can't beat that Diesel for the gas mileage. I can't lie, I TOTALLY MISS the fact that you can go over 600+ miles on a tank of gas in the GL350. I am lucky to get about 320 out of the QX. I go to the gas station twice as often. I think as LEOSOPHIA reminded me once,when I was thinking about the GL550... my gas expenses gets swallowed up in the middle of all of our other big work trucks and tractors, so in the end I guess it's not such a big deal, but I did enjoy the longer travel times in between visits.

LEOSOPHIE

Remember with 400 H.P. you can get to the gas station faster than with the diesel!

TamZ

StevethePilot

+1000 Point to LEOSOPHIE!

TamZ

Over 2 weeks without posting--a new record for me Hope everyone is doing well. I just turned over 2500 miles on the QX and am still enjoying this vehicle immensely. I encountered my first little "issue" with something, it seems there must be something wrong with the motor on the seatbelt retractor thing. The motor sometimes turns on whenever I open the door, and sometimes runs a long time after the seatbelt has already retracted. I'd rather be safe than sorry so it's going in to service to be fixed. My only other complain with the vehicle is the number of times I have to visit the gas pump now compared to the GL350. But I still can't stop smiling anytime I get in the thing--

Luckily, while the QX is in service, I thought I'd post a quick pic from my cell phone of what my father in law is providing me to drive in the meantime. I truly feel like with my QX and the S550, I get the best of both worlds today!

Miss everyone!
Tam

Khoa Dang

where i can buy nox sensor for gl350? thanks for help.

TamZ

I would have absolutely no idea, other than the dealer. Mine went out right away on my '11. Honestly, I don't even know what it was. I do know the first mechanic at the first dealership said he's only ever seen a few go out. Of course, I got that one. figures!

Good luck,
Tammy