2013 GL450

First time Mercedes owner. Waited only 2 weeks for my 2013 GL450. Black with black interior, P02 package, collision prevention, lighting package, appearance package, panorama sunroof, heated steering wheel, trailer hitch, rear seat entertainment, & lane tracking package.

Some thoughts:

- heated steering wheel - thought this would be a useless feature. Turns out to be a great one combined with heated seats.
- blue ambient interior lighting - looks very cool. kids love it.
- ipod media interface - kind of disappointed with this. should allow for video. it's not that it's not useful - was just hoping/expecting more.
- Navigation - I find it hard to use (inputting addresses). Thankfully, the mbrace 2 allows you to send addresses directly to the car. pretty sure I will keep this service.
- cabin - it's like everyone says: it's so quiet you can even hear everyone in the third row seats. amazing.
- sunroof - love it but was surprised the third row did not have a sliding cover. I may get it tinted. Anyone have any other solutions?
- rear seat entertainment - got it because I didn't want to have to constantly pack up ipads (plus iPads change every year). I was hoping for more from the system. Works fine. Wish there were more things that can connect to composite cable. wish I could get the Apple TV connected and plug it into the outlet underneath the second row right seat. wish i could also see what was playing in the rear seats from the front monitor.
- keyless go - big fan. so useful with kids to be able to just touch the door handle and have the doors unlock without having to take out the key. also like the ability to open the windows by pointing the key at the driver side door handle. Haven't had much need being Nov/Dec yet though.
- Harman Kardan sound system - really don't have anything to compare it to but does sound nice.
- Sirius XM - i would usually never get a subscription like this but I kind of like it for longer drives. also decent for traffic information though clearly it's not necessarily live (no traffic on christmas morning yet the nav was saying there was traffic because during that time on a weekday there would probably be lots of traffic).
- 50R 20" wheels (in 322 appearance package) - i like it but noticed some other mags available that i liked better. wasn't given those as options at the dealership.
- the car is fast and powerful - this is without a tune which i'm considering if anyone can tell me if it impacts the warranty (i have the extended warranty also).
- I do wish I was able to get one with Park Assist though I'm told that any spot big enough for the car to be happy with would be big enough for anyone to park it manually. But the rear camera is great enough.
- I thought I would dislike the lane changing warning. turns out to be a feature I use frequently. really like it.

sam9187

Congratulations. I can't wait to get mine.

fabbrisd1

- Navigation - mbrace 2 allows you to send addresses directly to the car. pretty sure I will keep this service - also you can do voice control individualization (increases voice control accuracy) then try voice control for "most" street names .

- sunroof - if you are concerned about light - then can be tinted with standard window tint, however installers "normally" don't warranty sunroof tint wince the sunroof glass in other vehicles doesn't have the same IR/UV protection so with those "standard" sunroof's (not your GL) tint ages/degrades (but that will not happen in GL). If you are concerned about heat (IR and UV) wait till hot sun to decide, again the GL sunroof glass has stronger built-in IR/UV block - but you can always choose to increase IR/UV block even more with new 3M Crystalline tint film which will knock down another 70%-90%+ depending on grade you choose from clear to 15% dark tint.

- rear seat entertainment - the only option to watch DVD from front monitor is to play DVD from the front AND have a 3rd party add-on from aftermarket installed called VIM module (Video In Motion) however, if you install that then using VIM knocks out GPS function when using VIM.

- on "ECU" tune, wait a year to reconsider that - I am NOT happy with my research on the tunes currently available - and way overpriced at the moment as well. I do have "ECU tunes" in several of my MB's by choice - but there have not been enough new gen GL450's out there to get the proper amount of tune work done, wait for Euro to get enough GL's since that is where good tune work really comes from.

There is a lot to love in the new GL !

Mbenz260e

Ditto

cookstar

did your vehicle have the 360 surround view ?

2013 GL450

it didn't. i think that feature came with the parking feature. wanted it, but didn't want to wait just for those two features.

Steve Maislin

I have the Parking Package. It has surround view. Both automatic parallel parking and surround view are superb, beyond my expectations. The surround view is as if there is a camera 20 feet over the car looking down. You can quickly tell that you are perfectly parked in a standard parking spot or you can see anything that is anywhere near the vehicle. Just hold the SYS button for a couple seconds and select 360 degree view. And, parallel parking makes you into an expert. Personally, even though I am quite good at parking in tight spaces, parallel to the curb, I could never do what it does without worrying and doing dumb stuff. And, I could never do it so quickly.

derek

I wouldn't worry about the tune or wait a year (I didn't). There are plenty of tunes out there for the 4.6L TT Engine, the OE Tune doesn't increase boost, rather it increases how long the boost is held and it's less than 1k as opposed to Renntech, which is nearly 3k.

blittle

Congrats on all the enjoyment factors! I am two months away from mine.....BUTTTT, am still enjoying my 2011 during the wait!

I THINK....its the parking assist package thats holding mine up! Or perhaps the Distronic stuff

cookstar

your delivery time is the same as mine I think, I am told delivery of around March 15th, I am actually happy that its coming that late as most if not all the snow will be gone by than.

blittle

Now thats a benefit I had not thought about!

blittle

Hey..... since you have the black interior and that's what I have on order....can you tell me what the color of the carpet is?? Gray or black??

I want to order some Weathertech winter floor mats and they offer them in either gray or black.

2013 GL450

Mine is black

JimBarnhart

It's black.

JimBarnhart

Thanks for taking the time to review. It's good to see you are enjoying your new GL.

I think there is a law in the US the prevents video in front of the driver's head.

2013 GL450

good point. but even when parked, it won't allow it. with young kids who can't control a remote, it's tough leaning over the back to hit play without seeing what's on the screen.

2013 GL450

That's what i was told. my wait would've been much longer had i waited for parking assist. i did really want that feature but then realized - i'm not going to park it on the street anyway to have someone behind or in front of me banging into my bumpers and scraping it. having said that, i still really want it.

2013 GL450

that sounds sweet. wish i had it (though I'm thrilled with mine without it!)

fabbrisd1

Rear seat monitors can be driven from front DVD, then at park you can see what is playing - no, you can't play rear seat DVD on front screen..

2013 GL450

So much to learn about this car. Love it.

Steve Maislin

After having the vehicle for a couple of weeks, finally took it for a one hour drive to go cross country skiing.

Cruise control is really good. Not only does it keep you at the speed you set, it slows you down on steep downhills. Any system will accelerate to keep your speed up on the climbs, but it sure was interesting seeing it slow me down, especially when I dropped the speed down when entering speed zones. Also, I really like how a small push on the cruise control lever adjusts your speed by a single MPH while a full push does it in 5 MPH increments. That's really convenient.

2013 GL450

one more to add - i wish the rear camera would turn on when i put the car into reverse even if the command system is turned off. If I put it in reverse and then turn the command system on, the camera doesn't turn on. at least not right away.

also took a few months, but finally used to the navigation system instructions. I no longer miss exits. If you're used to a Garmin system, you'll have a small learning curve.