I put down my deposit for a 2014 GL350 a week ago and it has a build ETA of 3rd decade July but a 6-8 week delay for the designo interior. I'm not in a particular rush so that's fine. Here is my configuration with comments. Interested to see what y'all think about the different options.

Paladium Silver exterior - might be tempted to even go Steel Grey
Designo Auburn Brown interior with Satin Ash Trim - loved this look in the pics I have seen. I have seen that trim in person, but not an actual car with the auburn brown in it
Lighting package
Panorama roof
Premium package
Harmon/kardon stereo upgrade
Keyless Go
Multicontour front seats
Heated and ventilated seats
Parking Assist Package
Driver Assist Package - was almost going to do just the lane tracking, but got the feeling like the active systems might save a collision
Trailer hitch

A couple options that I left off that were interesting:
Running boards - while I think they look good, it seems like they might get in the way more than being helpful. The dealer said he can order it with them and then remove them and credit us that amount if we don't want them. Not sure if we should do that, or just not even have them in the order.

3 Zone Climate control - seems like mixed opinions on this. Our last 2 cars had the rear control and we almost never used it.

Active curve - would love it if it were my daily driver, but this is for the wife and when the whole family is going together.

 

Nice build:

1) 3rd decade July build would be a MY14 - if your build is on schedule you can expect dealer delivery 1st round release - which unofficially will be pulled into 4th week August

2) Parking Assist - please re-confirm with your dealer if your build includes surround camera or not - best to know that upfront - there have been some shortages again going into summer builds

3) If dealer is willing to pull/unmount running boards and give you credit - I would choose to do that - reason being it is much more expensive to "add" running boards after delivery - like "double" to add

4) 3rd zone climate control is a good thing in the GL - as compared to old generation air delivery is much nicer - you can "opt" to turn that off from the front console

5) I have a high opinion of active curve - especially when your truck is fully loaded and running around thru traffic.

Great GL - keep the beat !

 

I would get the active curve system, its not just for high speed cornering, very useful in everyday life. We have the 3 zone climate control and love it. Multicontour front seats and gimmicky and next to useless, same goes with the ventilated seats which maybe make a 5% difference.

 

Agree and disagree.....the ventilated seats seem don't seem to do much BUT...on a 400 mile trip, the multi contour seat does provide me with better back support and relief.

 

From my side - on ventilated to me it goes back to the deicsion tree between MBTex and leather - I know families with Designo leather, but I lean more towards MBTex if you want low attention and highly durable and cleanable interior.

Ventilated to me basically helps cool down the seat surface faster - and personally I have never had "sweaty back" issues on either the MBTex perforated material or MB leather for that matter...

Some say tomato some say tomAto kindof funny most considered "ventilated seats" as "cooled seat".. which is a misnomer..

 

Agree with you on MBTex, we transport grandkids often and really think we made the right decision to go with it on our 2013 GL350. We also waivered on the running boards but think they really enhance the lines of the truck...as do the optional 20 inch wheels. Active Curve? Really think that you're going to be pushing your diesel 6000 pound SUV that hard? Not me...well, not with the wife aboard and after all, it's her vehicle. The GL350 is a great vehicle however it's equipped, I can't praise it enough.

 

active curve is not solely for going through corners at 80mph, it makes the vehicle much smoother on everyday driving on straight roads as well.

 

see post #68 on what Active Curve does.

https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...ml#post5619987

 

+1.

Active Curve is worth every penny for a truck this heavy. I am so glad that I ordered it and I too was on the fence about whether it would be worth it and I really notice it in every day driving and when entering or exiting freeways with curved on ramps and off ramps.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to consider the active curve seriously. I was trying to keep the options around $20k but maybe I'll have to extend even further. The GL I was able to drive didn't have and I can't imagine there will be one that I could drive before the order is locked so that makes it even tougher.

I could obviously lose the designo but I feel like that will really make the car special. I do have kids regarding leather vs mb tex, but they are a bit older now (5, 9,12) and not quite as messy as they used to be...

 

if you are financing or doing a cash purchase than get all the options you want, I got almost all options on my GL and have had zero regrets, only options I really wanted was the active curve which is not available in Canada.

 

I almost ordered Designo and decided to drop that and get Active Curve instead and I am glad I did. I really wanted to drive one with Active Curve before ordering but could not find one at three different dealers and just decided to take the plunge and ordered anyways. I can definitely notice a difference between the one I drove that did not have it. Body roll is much more noticeable and literally zero at all with it.

 

I agree that running boards enhance the appearance of the GL. Every old and new GL I've seen without them looks just naked to me, like something is missing. Not to mention the night time illumination is just snazzy!!

Also, I'm an adult female, 5-7" and still like stepping up/down on the running boards every time I enter or exit the vehicle. Maybe you guys don't have an issue but getting in and out of the GL in a skirt isn't that easy without the running boards. Same goes for my 3 and 5 year olds. They love the running boards.

We didn't have 3 zone on our X164 GL and really wish we had it, primarily to add the side vents in the 2nd row and the third row ceiling vents. I could care less about being able to set temperature or fan speed for that separate zone, but the fact that it adds 4 additional vents is a must for a car this large. Now we have it and its much appreciated - the kids really noticed the extra air!

Active curve is nice. I didn't have It on the last GL and didn't mind though. However, now that I have it , it is a noticeably flatter ride. and the sport mode really firms it up significantly. Sport mode is a little too bouncy and a tad rough with the 21" wheels so I usually don't use it unless the kids are out of the car.

 

I knew posting this was going to cost me money! I've added the 3-zone, but while I'd like the active curve, it's quite a lot to add as it's already more than I was trying for (<=80k).

Anyway, When confirming the order the dealer added a special order option for rear side airbags that I don't think I've seen anywhere before. Anyone know some specifics of what these are? I thought it already had rear side airbags.

293 Rear Side Airbags (SPC) $420

 

I'm interested in that airbag question too since I have a 450 on order right now. Looking at the official GL brochure it says it comes with 4 side airbags standard, so I figured that covers first and second rows right? So what is that option code for?

 

We have been driving a loaded 2007 GL 320 cdi for 6.5 years. It has been a great car. I did not even consider a different car for this year, we are just replacing it with a 2014. I drove a few others, but like our 2007 better than 2013s from Audi and GM. The X5 is just too small for teenagers and road trips.

Ordered a 2014 about a month ago. My dealer did not use the term Decade...what does that mean? Ours is scheduled for early August production and end of August delivery.

The only points of difference in our order are:

- We chose Diamond White, and special ordered Almond Beige/Black Interior. Also got the Satin Ash trim and the matching Satin Ash steering wheel. (Forces us to forgo the heated steering wheel, which is a bummer.)
- Being in Minnesota, we got the heated rear seat and the heated windshield washer reservoir. The heated rear seats are used often in our current GL.
- We also had a bunch of special order items: Rear Sunshades $380, Acc. Chrome $225, MB Tex Lower Wrapped Dash (standard in Designo) $300, Rear Quarter Window, Rear Airbag, Soft Close Doors $550.
- Running Boards...I just like the esthetic.
- We just got the Rear Pre-wire, we did not use the DVD player much and most of our discs are Blu-Ray now. I got the pre-wire in case I want to add iPad mounts later.
- For 2014, you can get Active Damping without Curve Flattening for $800 as a special order. We did this. I could not justify justify the $2000+ price for curve flattening since my 2007 GL always had a very stable feel on curvy roads.
- I passed on the active seats, although there are times the massage is nice. I have the massage in my Audi and rarely use it except on long trips, when it is a really good feature. I had active seats in a BMW and they just did not seem important.

So aside from color and a handful of special order items, our option choices are almost the same.

We also did not get the 3 zone climate. We do have it in our 2007 GL. We live in MN where it is often 90 in the summer and -10 in the winter; so if any family could use it, it would be ours. But we never did...and for $1500, it always bugged me that I ordered it. People in the back were always comfortable, and left it alone.

We did also get ventilated front seats, which I have had in most of our cars for the past decade. I leave the driver one on almost all the time, regardless of season. It is subtle most of the time. But on a hot day in dress clothes, it is far from subtle; so I disagree with the sentiment that this is not a desirable feature.

I love the diesel in our 2007 GL...it is so well matched to a big truck and uses 40% less gas than the 450/550. I never have trouble merging or passing, and in normal/city driving it is super smooth pulling away from stop signs and lights. We always get over 25-26mpg on the highway and never less than 19 in town...pretty impressive. The new 350 is even more powerful and efficient, I bet we will get close to 30 mpg on the highway sometimes, pretty awesome for a big AWD family hauler. Let's see a Tahoe/Escalade do that! It is so nice to be able to go 500-600 miles without visiting the gas station. It is not just the money saved, it is the convenience.

Can anyone shed light on the delays people are talking about? My dealer has not said anything. It is hard to see all the special order interiors, so I assembled a pdf and attached it.

 

What are the rear airbag and rear quarter window options? I haven't heard about those.

 

Option 848 is Power Rear Quarter Windows...I assume they are manual or not moveable without.

Option 293 is Rear Side Airbags...I don't even know where they are exactly, but I have kids in the back a lot, so I got them.

 

I posted this in another thread, but does anyone have an order sheet for 2014s?

 

It's confusing because most of the reviews I've read say the power rear quarter windows are standard on GL350/450?

Any 2013 owners care to chime in?

 

That was my impression too, that those rear windows had a standard power tilt out function. Also, my dealer didn't list that as any kind of special order option.

Just realized that my order confirm shows this item on the rear windows:

848 ** PRICE NOT ON FILE **

 

I believe decade means the week of the month. Mine was originally late July build but that now shows late August. Presumably this was due to the Designo but maybe there are also other delays.

 

the third row rear quarters are POWER on my 2013, and i believe it is standard on all '13 X166.

maybe they decided to eliminate this seldom used feature from "standard features" to cut costs , like they moved the soft close doors from 2013's P2 package to 2014's SPC items

i like having them because my kids are still too young to operate a manual rear quarter window tilt, so if i am driving i can control it for them as needed.

 

Oh well they are on my order confirmation, so I guess either:
1] I get em for free.
2] I pay for them.
3] I bring it up and loose my place in line.

Why does "2" seem so much more likely?

 

Keep in mind that "not using " it is still using it. If you always had it, you didn't realize that NON- 3-zone GLs don't have side vents, ceiling vents or third row ceiling vents!!!

Our 2011 GL didn't have it and literally the only vents 2nd row passengers have are the ones by their feet in between the front seats. The third row passengers get zilch. It wasn't easy for air to reach the kids in their car seats which are raised 6" off the 2nd row bench. I also had a rear facing infant carrier that basically never got any air!

So getting the 3-zone this time, Just for the 6 extra vents was worth the money. I NEVER have the thing on zone back there and rarely have the fan speed different from the front, but boy do my kids notice a difference in air circulation now with all the extra vents.

It always surprised me that such a large luxury SUV didn't have those extra vents standard. Screw the "zone" feature, I just need more air channels in different spots for the rear passengers! I'm pretty sure most three row SUVs and minivans have them standard, so I'm not sure why Mercedes cant give the GL the extra vents.