jdmmbz

Had a chance to drive a 13 GL450 for a week in SD and wanted to drive it for a extended period to help my buying decision. First off wasn't sure if I would be in a 12 or 13 rental. Asked Hertz to give me a 13 but they never responded. Once I arrived in SD. Grabbed my gold # walked around down the isle and saw a white 13 GL all the end of the row. Once I got there another guy was loading his luggage and I asked him why he was taking my rentals... He said he messed up his rental number.

The drive:

I was immediately in love with the power from the GL450 from the get go. Hard to imagine needing much more so being able to drive it has helped me decide that a GL550 would fit perfect and no need for a AMG. Also consider AMS has turbo kits now to 1000PS.

I drove over 750 miles while in SD and it's a great drive for the highway and handles really great for a big tank.

The rental;
The 13 GL450 I rented was while with black leather and has pack 1 option. Couple of interesting things missing in my tester, no push button second roll tumble feature (sorely missed). I agree with everyone else who posted that the base stereo sucks. Another frustration for me was figuring out how to raise the volume of the NAVI Directions. Never did figure it out even going into the the various menus for a week !

Good points;
Power was great, loved powering up the hills in SD. Exhaust note is perfect for me also. Very confortable driver and drives easy even in tight spaces and making alot of U turns. Used it for moving my son into a apt for college and it is very useful. Passed with the wife test also. Great driving in the parking garage with the windows down hearing the turbo whistle. Also the brake hold feature at traffic lights is a great touch.

Bad points;
Mentioned problems getting NAVI volume raised. Could be a rental issue ? The most important lesson learned. BRAKES ! I've read folks here say they have had pulsating from brakes from warped or cracked rotors. My tester had 7K miles and had really back throbbing front brakes from warped rotors (my guess). Only downside from the whole week driving.

Buying choices;
I've been trying to decide what 14 model to order. First color. After living with white I was deciding between it and black. After the drive I'm getting black. Also same interior wise. I've decided against black and good brown ! Also a GL550 will be perfect for me. Fully loaded with designo brown leather. If I get used to the power, time to call AMS. Bigger question is can you fit AMG brakes to a 550 ??

mjgood

I flew into LAX first part of May, Hertz had screwed up my reservation and put me in a 2013 GL450 to make up for their mistake.
I drove to San Diego for my nephews graduation from MCRD, then back to LA area for a week... I was really impressed with the vehicle.

When I got back home I traded my Mini Countryman for a GL450, guess you could say I really liked the car...

Mercedes should thank Hertz, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't have purchased the car, I've been a die hard BMW (9 cars over the years)... up until now....

walt2810

From a mini to a GL, that is definetly a different driving spectrum.

Dalema

What a great way to get to know if you like a car and what options you may like. I have a GL450. Wife loves it and I enjoy it a lot. Paddle shifters are a lot of fun.

For the nav volume - simple as hitting the volume button while she is talking (at least that's my simple way of doing it).

Brake wise - I had that issue - warped rotors on an early production car. Fixed under warranty. Doubt you'd need any more braking power - perfect once fixed. Shame the one you drove had that.

The MY14 has some changes in base packages so search this forum for good info eg power 2nd row seats in P01 package.

Agree on the power - search the forums for some inexpensive tunes coming on line now. It's the same engine as the GL550 - just limited through software. They are tuning the GL450/550 to almost AMG specs - that's the route I'm going.

Good luck.

wamochi

i didn't even know about the brake hold feature! will have to give it a shot.

how much did the GL rental at Hertz cost per day?

jdmmbz

Issue with NAVI for me if you are listening to the stereo while using NAVI the driving instructions are drowned out by music. If you turn up the volume the music gets louder along with the NAVI. My odyssey has a seperate control for the NAVI voice so you can raise her directions higher. Tuning wise, AMS has their E63 tuned car running 10 sec quarters. They have simular kits for the GL63/GL550.

http://mercedes.alphaperformance.com...the-dragstrip/

http://mercedes.alphaperformance.com...ha-9-packages/#

amdeutsch

Hertz Rental

wamochi

ok i don't know if its just me, but i can't get the brake hold to work.

i looked through the manual (pg 211) and it says you just come to a stop and then keep depressing the brake pedal until HOLD appears on the Multifunction display.

this didn't work for me. i pressed the pedal ALL the way in. it is only on certain cars or packages? AFAIK it's part of the "Adaptive braking technology" which is standard . am i missing something?

vertrkr

Once stopped try backing off the brake just a tiny bit then press down again.

Dalema

Pretty sure the nav sound and radio sound are separate. I'll have to check next time I'm in the car - but turning the volume down while the nav is talking I believes works and leaves radio volume the same as before

Dalema

Agree with above - just push a little harder and maintain until hold pops up. Also - search this forum - people's different techniques were discussed. It is hard to get at first!

jdmmbz

To engage the brake hold you do have to push down pretty hard on the brake pedal and hold it. Maybe you aren't pushing hard enough. It was easy for me, Navi volume wasn't.

Steve Maislin

While Nav Lady is talking, you turn up the volume. You must do it while she is talking. That's it.

If you do this and then turn up the audio, the audio will quiet down a bit when she talks. This assumes you pick that feature under the Nav options.

Steve Maislin

Brake hold is a quick double pump just after stopping. It is quite easy once you get used to the idea. The fun is when you get into a car without it and forget it does not do the same.

wamochi

Thanks. I will try the double pump and some of the other suggestions . Do you have to let off the pedal during the pump enough to let the car lurch forward?

It's a little strange it's not easier to use. I test drove a new X5 and the brake hold was automatic when you came to a complete stop at a traffic light. There was no driver learning or action required.

Steve Maislin

When you come to a stop, you just give it another press. You don't need to let up. I find it to be flawless in my GL450, never really have to think about it. Though I do look for it to say hold on the display just to be sure.

Steve Maislin

And, if you accidentally mute NAV lady, just use the RPT (repeat) function on the bottom of the NAV display to get her talking again. Muting her is possible if you press mute while she is talking.

mjgood

Once I come to a complete stop I just push the brake pedal once until 'hold' appears in the instrument console... feels like I'm pushing the pedal about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way to the floor.

Also, if you have Distronic Plus, that needs to be turned off for the hold function to work...

medici78

I also rented a GL450 this past weekend in SoCal. I usually rent the GL for family vacations and was happy to see they had already moved to the '13 since the last time we rented one late last year.

The Hertz cars have practically no options and come with MB-Tex which is a huge contrast from the way I have configured my recent order.
If you're on a budget, the basic model should not disappoint as it has all the essential features. However, I went all out on mine with a mid $90k-sticker (including Designo), so it might as well be a different model. What this gave me a chance to gauge was the power and interior layout and ergonomics compared to the previous model. It did not disappoint and I am glad we decided to buy one of these impressive cars.

Noname007

Was able to rent one as well, flew into Ft. Myers, FL, picked a MY2013, white on black GL450, only 27 miles!. Drove north to Anna Maria Island for a week. The biggest complaints with this tank are the very loose steering feeling and with only 27 miles it had the worst brakes I have every experienced. Either the hertz people abused this car to no end in 27 miles, the rotors are defective, or the pads weren't bed properly. Anyway, the positives are, its very roomy, the height adjustment is a nice touch, and the twin turbos really help this beast get up and go.