Well.... I'm now riding in my new 2011 Obsidian Black GL450! Picture later.... Differences from my 07: the leather seems softer, better! Like the paddle shifters.... you can see 'em! Like the bigger mirrors! The instruments look "richer"...... the Nav system is TONS better! The blind spot assist is cool! The LED running lights are nice! Tailgate operation is much quiter and smoother! Also got the running boards and optional light package for them..... cool! The 19in conti tires on this rig feel better than the 18 conti's that were on my 07..... they never could get those things balanced. I know they won't last long.... will be looking for some 19's with a bit more grip for my winter adventures!

Only one concern after several hours of ownership...... a couple of really harsh transmission shifts..... will be monitoring that!

 

Congrats...

 

pictures! pictures!

 

By the 2nd day of ownership... the hard shifts are gone!! Must be the tranny has to "learn" or "loosen up" or maybe there might have been some "production gunk" stuck in one of the valves...... anyway, working smoothly!
Spent an hour and a half studying and learning the command system.... It really is different from the 07 model..... particularly the voice activated stuff.

 

+1 ......

 

And here we are....! Not sure the photography does justice to the Obidian Black .... but check out the sky reflection in the hood shot!!

 

Looks nice..enjoy.
My "almost" son-in-law has Obsidian ML and my E is plain black. I barely can see any difference when they parked together.

 

Looks great but why no appearance package. It would look even better with the 20" OEM wheels.

 

Beautiful and congrats! I love OB not only because I have the same colour but on such a large and imposing vehicle like the GL, black looks best.

 

The big difference with the appearance package IS INDEED the 20in wheels and I can't use them. I take this vehicle through 3 miles of deep snow in the winter and the same road is pure mud and bone jarring potholes in the spring........ the larger the wheels and lower the profile the tires makes that kind of driving more difficult...... so, I need a beautiful beast that double as a mountain goat when needed! They would look nice, however.............

 

Yep... the look is one of a "frostiness" and really is only completely obvious when you are up close. It's one of those "like it or not" paints.

 

I think you are right....... black and bit of chrome to say "I'm here!!"

 

Haha, gotta let your presence be known and arrive in style.....

 

Only one concern after several hours of ownership...... a couple of really harsh transmission shifts..... will be monitoring that!
My harsh shifts never went away its really bad when car is cold(i always let it warm up for at least 5 min before driving) the worst shift is when it goes from 2nd to 3rd, been in service for that and dealer said they could not find anything and computer sofware is up to date. Will drive it like that for one more week and if it dont go away back to the dealer, this time i will take the service advisor for a ride to show him the problem.
Did you get yours with cooled seats and 3rd zone climate? If you dont mind me asking how much did you get your GL out the door with all the option you have?
Thank You

 

Yeah....if mine had continued to shift like that, it would be back at the dealer for sure! The harsh point was somewhere in 2,3,4 range and it was rough enough to be heard and felt!! I managed 9K off of sticker.

 

Congrats on the new ride!
I'm sure you will continue to enjoy it even more that your '07. I sure am

Are the ORP controls still he same? I've yet to see a '10 or '11 with the package.

 

Exactly the same..... like all vehicles, this car has improved from its intro year..... this is the 4h year from inception and they have made many improvements. Few people realize what you can do with with the ORP ......granted, you wouldn't WANT to but if you NEED to it is amazing!