pteam

True but theres no need for two 7 passengers SUVs for me. The hummer was sold for the GL350

BJ021

We own a GL & an X5 - I wish we had 2 GL's. We have a lake home - so constantly transporting not only our 3 kids but other people/groceries/dogs/toys, etc. etc. all the time. Both our vehicles are loaded down often.

That said, glad you got out of your Hummer for a diesel....must be odd not stopping at a gas station every 3-4 days.

pteam

Wow you really have no idea. The GL is 10x better than the hummer, and I had the new redone hummer 2008 which had the new engine, 6 speed tranny, and upgraded interior which was basically the cadillac escalade interior. I would routinely get 12mpg in the hummer. When my chauffeurs drove it they would get 10mpg (I own a large limo company). I've been averaging about 25mpg in the GL350 and its wintertime I expect even better milage in the summer. I went like 3 weeks before I had to fill up my first time in the GL!

Nstar

I've driven in an H2 when on vacation and it was awful to look at and to drive. It had good ground clearance but tiny tie rods that would surely snap at the first hint of tough off road conditions.

As goes having two GLs, they are great SUVs but If you're an enthusiast my guess would be you'll regret it rather soon as it'd be pretty boring to have two of the same. I'd look at the LR4, great on and off road and very affordable. Only downside is there's no diesel option. New Touareg may be worth a look, their diesels have always been reliable and the new one Touareg is supposed to be better built and to drive.

Forever

Well, since I'm the one that started this thread, I think I owe you all an update.

This all started when we traded my wife's Lexus LX-470 in on a GL320. I was so impressed with the new car that I wanted to get rid of my SL500 and drive a GL diesel. Instead, I just went in and traded my SL500 for a SL550. They are surprisingly different. The 550 is a lot quieter, better steering, much better acceleration and electronics, Bluetooth speaker phone, warranty, disctronic (which is really cool), better seats, etc.

Having said all of that, I think the GL is much quieter and more comfortable.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts.

StevethePilot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxrdwXXat14

D'OH!

ForceFedV12

I was all set to order a GL350 Bluetec tonite, and I found out that they are on run-flats with no spare in order to acomodate the urea tank.

And my dealer wasn't exactly forth-coming about this.

As a firm believer in Murphy's Law, I've got to believe that old man Murphy is having a field day with these trucks as soon as people are two or three hours away from a metro area.

Somebody please tell me why I am wrong?

Forever

We bought a 2008, in part because of this. It is the best car we have owned... and we have had a lot of expensive cars.

No question, the Bluetec model involves tradeoffs.

mdadgar

1) when was the last time you got a flat that couldn't be repaired?

2) Tire Rack can get a tire to basically anywhere overnight

- Mark

43221B

Ideally, I would like to have runflats on the car and a spare in the trunk. Having said that, one of the concepts behind the runflats is that they lose very little of their handling characteristics immediately following pressure loss. This addresses one problem that SUVs (with their higher center of gravity) have always had which is loss of control following a flat at high speed. We have all been on those freeways in the mountains that make you think about the what ifs as you round sharp high speed curves. At least the runflats make those drives a little safer. As has been said before, if you are getting a GL with runflats, make sure you have the Goodyear Runflats (apparently more repairable than the Bridgestones) and make sure you have a tire plug kit and compact compressor with you.

ForceFedV12

Well - it was two summers ago in our Suburban about 45 minutes away from a major center, returning from our summer cottage, towing a boat.

A piece of metal got into the sidewall - tire was totally flat in ten seconds. I assume the metal piece fell of a semi or something.

The Suburban was running basically new Michelin LTX at the time which is a light truck tire, not a passenger tire, so they are pretty tough.

Dropping the spare was a messy and a pain in the butt, but it was also only about a two hour delay overall in our trip.

ForceFedV12

I agree completely. Run flats with a spare would be fine, maybe even a good idea as you suggest.

I live in the snow belt and would typically run a set of winter tires also. Do they even make winter runflats?

bzliteyear

Forever - how about test driving the R diesel? The face lift looks pretty good, and from my test drive it actually drove firmer (GL felt higher up). Further, I still can't get over the GL's 2nd row head rest being set up below my neck, as if set up for 6 yr olds. On the R, the 2nd row is set up for adult size, imho.
p.s. we used have two identical E320 wagons -both silver...people could tell we REALLY liked the cars.
PL

mdadgar

I agree with that, too. I'll probably end up putting a spare in my race trailer for when I tow. That pretty much guarantees that I'll never have a flat.

I can't even remember the last time I saw a catastrophic tire puncture. Of course, having said that I'll now have one next week.

- Mark

43221B

There are no winter runflats that I'm aware of. Some people on here have mentioned that they are ok with how the Runflats do in the snow. I think they are acceptable but not great. If you want snow tires, your best bet would be to buy a set of 18" wheels and put some good snow tires on them. Again, keep a tire plug kit and compact compressor in the tool storage area. It is MUCH faster to yank a nail out and plug your tire than it is to change to a spare. I'm also not a believer in changing tires along the side of the interstate on a $70,000+ car or really any car for that matter. I personally know of two separate and tragic incidents that occurred as a result of vehicles being parked along the freeway/highway. The runflats at least help you get off the freeway and to a gas station.

By the way, I'm not sure what kind of boat you were towing, but you probably wouldn't want to tow it very far or at all for that matter on the space saver tire that comes on GL's without Runflats. You really need a full size spare if you are towing.

MB Tex

Well said! A little thing called freedom of choice.

It's your money and provided it doesn't hurt anyone else, why shouldn't you be able to have three GL's if you want.

I love our GL but would probably go E or S for my next one, as long as we still had the GL parked in our garage.