cookstar

March 6 2013 Picked up the car a few hours ago and started fiddling with all the tech in the car, Active park assist is awesome for what it does, only down side is that if you have snow on the side streets and even though the arrow points showing you can park you still have to use common sense, when the active park system is backing up it does not look at the snow on the ground and will continue to climb the snow backwards. If no snow is around it works flawlessly and parks pretty close to the curb.

Also tried the distronic plus which worked great for the 5 min I had it on, will post a detailed review later on once I get some milege on the car ( did not want to keep it in the highway too long)

I also have the active blind spot and active lane keep assist which weirdly enough did not come on when I left the lane on purpose, I checked in the dash screen and all systems seems to be activated, for one of them it was a choice of adaptive and something else ( adaptive was selected so I just left it as is)

Now regarding interior noise, it is better than the last gen but it is nothing to rave about, diesel noise is much less than before and the clunky sound is no more!, the 7GTronic+ is slightly improved over last time but no where as smooth as a ZF 8 speed.

leather quality is good, ( I got the Tobacco Brown with black headliner) the brown looks crap in pictures but in reality is very stunning, the seat cushions seem allot softer too, not sure if its the leather or new design.

The nav screen is better than last time by a huge margin but this new nav screen seems to have a fan attached to it so when the car is off and radio is off you can hear a fan noise coming from behind the screen ( when the unit is on and screen is off you can still hear it)

All in all a great vehicle, the 21 inch rims feel a tad harsher than the 18's I had on my 08 GL320. For those looking to get the MSX rims, I have been told that it was limited production and that most new GL's can not be optioned with those rims. Glad to see that they put proper Pirellis on it instead of the contis some people are getting.

ended up getting the paint protection which can be used in the U.S and Canada, same with the wheel protection which is good in both countries (unlimited fixes, no deductible), both came with 5 year warranty, pocket pain was felt but future headaches hopefully wont be felt.

JoeMa

Congrats, please post some hi-rez photos when you can.

cookstar

JoeMa

I love it! I have a GL550 on order (Artic White with an Almond Beige interior) so your GL is hitting all of the right notes for me.

Are those wheels the same used on GL 63? They are different than US GL550 wheels.

Do you have some interior photos you can post?

cookstar

congrats on your purchase, mine is Diamond White, same rims and tires as you get on a Canadian GL63

Joyride

Congratulations to a fellow Canadian we will have identicall GL's, at least looks wise. I also went for the Diamond White, and mine will have the same wheels! Even the interior colors are the same, with black headliner, and brown seats, except mine will have the designo package. Can you confirm the soft close doors, do you have it? You have a spare wheel, correct? I heard that if you go with B&O sound (which I ordered) you loose the spare... The hitch comes standard on all GL's correct?

Joyride

Can you post more pics? From the back and interior especially. Thanks!

blittle

CONGRATS! I haven't had a chance to play with the active park yet, but did note when reading the manual( during my 4 month wait ) that they did mention the very situation you noted ( snow ) and that there numerous other factors that may affect the ability of the system.

Quietness? I find it phenomenal.... Better than my 2011, and miles better than any other vehicle I have ever owned.

Unfortunately, I only had two days to play with it all before we flew down here to Florida for a week.......missing some snow in Pa and a chance to try the off road snow program!

cookstar

yep soft close doors come with the vehicle, funny thing is once I was doing the inspection yesterday I asked them how lightly I could close the soft close doors with the mechanism engaging and the sales rep was adamant that it only came on the 550's, I showed him otherwise.

I do not know if future Gl350's will come with this feature but my guess is that it will carry on, I know for a fact that the first cars that rolled off the line did not have this feature, when did you place your order?

features are a bit weird with MB, a guy in the ML thread that got heated/cooled cup holders but it was only put into a few cars for 2013 so you cant really say what MB will do.

rmemory

Congrats. I'd like to see pics of the interior as well when you get a chance.

And I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't have garage space for this car. I feel like I'm neglecting her!

sraza

I hope these GLs are prewired/equipped for heated cooled cup holders so when it is available we can simply add it on...

JMCarter

I'd trade all the gizmos for a decent HUD....use the one on my BMW for speed, audio inputs, next turn info, etc and it's undoubtedly the nicest new feature to come down the pike (autobahn?).

blittle

Good point!

Dalema

Congrats - hopefully worth the wait!!

I hadn't noticed the fan noise - will need to check. One nice touch is that when a phone call comes in over Bluetooth the system will automatically reduce the heat / cool system fan so it is quieter for the call.

cookstar

leave the car off, put radio to mute and you will hear a distinct fan noise.

cookstar

March 7 updateThe car came with a Harmon/Kardon disk which shows off the capability of the sound system, with the disk it does sound quite good, even close to Burmester quality, seems like they improved the system over the last Gen HK.

allot of other little things have improved as well which previous GL owners would appreciate, for example the mirrors when folded do not touch the car like
last gen.

also noticed that when you want to get into the vehicle no noise goes from the airbags , for those have not had the last gen I am talking about the whoosh noise when you unlock the car.

Joyride

My order was placed in November of 2012. I should have the vehicle next week some time. (Sad part is I am leaving overseas, and will return on March 30th, so I won't even see it till then). But I am glad your's has it. Plus in the Premium Package it does stat that is has Power Assisted Trunk & Doors, so I should have it as well. My dealer also told me that only the 550's have it, but I showed him on his own spec print out that it states otherwise.

cookstar

dont worry yours will have it, I placed my order mid october. dealers know nothing, my rep was convinced that I would 100% get the AMG red brakes on my car ( the MSX rims are advertised with the Performance pack brakes), I knew otherwise of course but I went along with it, and at delivery ripped him a new one.

cookstar

interior shots

JoeMa

"I could never love a car like that, its ugly!" (Vacation)

Seriously, that is a beautiful interior. You are as close to a GL 63 that one can get without buying a 63. In the US, we do not have many of these same build options available.

rmemory

Very nice, especially the wood trim.

blittle

I too ordered the "satin ash wood"...... Was not 100% sure that it was going to be something I like .... BUT I love it! It really does add a finished look to a luxury level interior! I assume you are happy with it....!

cookstar

drove in sunny weather today and got zero glare which is an added bonus.

sraza

yup- love the satin- no glare and every satin dash looks different cuz its cut out differently so the grains and lines are different- no offense to shiny finishes- they too look nice but i think its time for a change- the satin ash is a great option to have- which most GL buyers/order placers arent really familiar with cuz its hidden with other spc orders noone knows about!

new h&k is def improved over 1st gen- no doubt..

and yea theres no whooosh! though that does sound kinda cool..

JimBarnhart

That is one beautiful interior. I so wish I had it.