It's been a few weeks since our car was delivered so I thought I would share my first impressions both good and bad.

Good/Like:
1. Looks great and much sportier than our previous LX570
2. Very smooth and quiet ride. This is a nice surprise as I didn't think anything would come close to the LX.
3. Love the electric power steering.
4. Love the Active Curve System. It makes the truck feel really stable during cornering at all speeds.
5. Brown satin ash Wood Trim is really unique and a nice touch
6. Good power and acceleration
7. Good brakes with nice feel
8. 360 degree surround view system
9. Lane keep assist
10. Blind spot assist
11. Good sound system (Standard HK)
12. Fold down third row seats which results in great loading capacity
13. The buying experience was one of the best I've ever had with any car. If you live in the DMV area ask for Johnnie Turner at Euromotorcars in Bethesda. Dude hooked me up with a deal you couldn't even get with 2013 in stock. I'll buy another car from him any day.

Need to get adjusted to
1. Seat/driving position (having a difficult time to find the right spot)
2. Smaller door mirrors
3. Less leg room than the LX for the second row
4. Navigation and operation of functions around the dashboard

Bad/Dislike
1. Owners/Operation manual in the on-board computer. (just print it out MB)
2. Suspension setting is only sport or comfort. No normal setting.
3. How changing simple driving settings is buried in the on-board computer
4. Very cheap materials used for door lock pins and other plastic switches
5. Fit and finish is not even close to Lexus quality
6. Standard leather is cheap and overall seat quality is poor. (Get Designo)
7. Using the rear entertainment system is a hassle and frustrating
8. Transmission is clunky at low speeds and hardly seamless
9. Many controls are concentrated on the left side of the steering wheel and not easily visible while driving.
10. Parking sonar sensitivity is terrible and cannot adjust distance and sound level.

Not sure about the MPG yet but doesn't look too promising even compared to the LX which was terrible.

Overall, we love this truck and it is going to take some time to get adjusted to. I just hope it is as reliable as the LX over the 3-5 years we plan to keep it. Here are few photos and a shot of our car parked next to a Diamond White 550 for a comparison in color.

 

Congrats on the new ride and the tip on Euro. I have used Germantown and Baltimore dealers, Germantown was a good experience but didn't buy such a high demand model from them.

Agree on the plastic door pins, terrible on the E as well.

 

lovely

i actually prefer Polar over DW too - nice work, and good combo w/ the auburn leather and satin ash

 

We also traded a 2011 Lexus LX570 on our GL550 but we are very satisfied. We found the driving position in the LX to be uncomfortable no matter what adjustment we would make. The GL is much lower to the ground and thus easier to get in and out of. It drives better the LX, has powered headrests, and soft-close doors. All of which should come standard on the LX at $89K. This is not as important but you will find that more people will be impressed and ask you about your GL than the LX. In fact, I don't recall getting any compliments on the LX but we have had numerous complements on the GL (one just yesterday by a gentleman driving a Lexus ES). Anyway that has been our experience to date.

I hope you enjoy your new ride as we do. BTW, our GL550 is Diamond White with an Almond Beige interior.

 

Don't get me wrong, we love our new ride as well. I've already received compliments while waiting at a signal, which never happened with the LX. However, there are some simple things that are over engineered and aren't user friendly. The build quality and parts used around the car aren't very impressive for a $100K car.

Like I said, being our first ever MB there are things that we'll just need some time to get adjusted to but I really do like how the truck looks and drives. I just hope it's reliable as the looks.

Love that diamond white!

 

The MB has it's quirks for sure. You mentioned many of them. They also are a little different in some aspects and take some getting used to.

You do get a lot more head bending with these than practically any other SUV. Enjoy the ride!

 

Is it just the 550 or does everyone else struggle to keep the car clean even in good weather. The entire rear gate and doors get covered with dust and debris just after a few days of driving (white body doesn't help). It definitely get's dirty quicker than my M3 and I've got the wheels flush with the fenders. I think the car needs mud flaps or something because this is a handful.

 

Due to the shape of the rear end of a larger SUV like this, it creates more drag at the rear that tends to have a bunch of road dust sucked up and blowing around back there. I don't think there's much that can be done about it since it's a fundamental aerodynamic "feature" of the vehicle shape. I am happy my dealer offers free car washes :-)

 

Paint Protection package from your dealer is the best way to go.

 

Not sure what the paint protection pkg is but I do have the full front and portions of the rear bumper clear bra'd to protect the panels.

 

Im driving a 450, but in essence, all the GL's are the same minus the diesel .... I agree with probably 90% of your assessment except this one:

"Fit and finish is not even close to Lexus quality"


I have not ridden in an LX, but it sure must be amazing because all the reviews that have been written in the car mags have said that the new GL ( 166) lives up to the tag: "s class of SUVS" and really praised the fit and finish. I have 0 body gaps, the paint finish is beyond anything I have ever owned including the last two GL's, the leather...while not designo is very well stitched and the comfort is typical "European." I have no rattles, squeaks, etc. after 15k on the clock. I do agree the plastic door lock pins are stupid on a car of this class!

 

You are in for a rough ride if reliability is top of your list with an MB. I fell for that illusion when I bought my GL (yes it was a 2012) however I think MB has lost it's way. I have countless stories of friends buying a Benz (old to new) and the last thing anyone mentions is reliability. I think the brand has been reduced to a status symbol.

From the overpriced parts to the poor engineering I would run far away at this point. I'd rather drive a "cheaper" brand and spend more time on the road than the dealer.

FYI: Service advisors know my wife by name. That's ridiculous.

For 100grand the car better fart flames and rub your back. I can think of 10 cars better than this and you won't go broke "maintaining" it (I use that term in quotes as MB has some of the most ridiculous requirements of a car that I have ever seen just to keep it road worthy).

 

Jason- you should sell your GL ASAP- the resale is pretty good and since you have had such a negative experience, you should sell it, buy a "cheaper" brand, and you will have a new car and $$ left over.

 

+1

We're all sorry for you, we don't know the conclusion to your story on the X164 forum, other than the dealer appeared to misdiagnose what others are suspecting as bad fuel issues.

I'm certain that commenting on forums isn't going to help your case. It might be providing good therapy for you.

The MB brand in my mind is around 2 things. First, they provide higher end and higher cost vehicles that are attractive to the more affluent. Call it a status symbol if you wish. The second brand image is around safety. MB focuses on making it's passengers safer in an MB than they would be in the average vehicle.

I have never seen an advertisement or proclamation that MB wants to provide best cost of ownership, wants to be the most reliable manufacturer, wants to have cheap or competitive maintenance. That is not the brand image. Don't equate the higher price of initial purchase to something it's not.

I think it's best for you to find a vehicle whose focus is aligned to your desires. Life's too short to live angry.

 

I've never seen a car that costs this much have such a poor TCO or reliability factor. I'm completely amazed that anyone buys the trucks after what I have seen.

Reality: Most people that buy a MB are not "car people" (look at people posting how to change spark plugs like that's a hard concept). The result is most of these issues are buried in the archives of dealer service records.

I've had several people PM btw with the EXACT same issues my GL had/is having. Funny how that works.

As for being angry: I want people to know the truth about the almighty star brand. I recommend people consult with guys that actually turn wrenches for a few real world opinions. The dealers and MBUSA sure won't.

FYI: I'm all about great cars (and fast ones at that), however I refuse to spend 60+ g on a truck that has to be maintained with white satin gloves and comes with a dealer network that blames oil cooler leaks on dirty air filters (true story).

I'll post the conclusion of my story shortly. You will chuckle.

 

What year is your GL I maybe interested. Seriously

 

Jason
Please tell me what year you GL is and mileage. Is it for sale?

Sorry for double post there

 

I don't want to start an argument with you, but what experience do you have with the X166? You are on the X166 forum and are telling people to beware of that GL's reliability, yet you own a X164. We are pretty early in the X166 model to measure reliability (most haven't gotten to their 2nd oil change). There has been a common problem with brake/rotor contamination, a few unique glitches (A/C system, etc). But I haven't seen enough to accurately formulate an opinion on the reliability of the X166. Can you provide more insight in your reliability assessment of the X166?

 

Good point, I don't. I also see that in 2013 the engine is different (block differences/etc).

I'll bow out other than to say I never touch MY1 cars with a ten foot pole. You are effectively paying to be their beta testers (this goes for any car manufacturer). I try to buy end of generation models when at all possible (hence my MY2012 that unfortunately didn't work out).

 

The main thing the LX does very nicely is the attention to detail and overall build quality. As for the driving experience and looks, the LX trails far behind the GL550.

I must say the interior fit and finish on my GL is good but the exterior is a different story. I'm not sure what you mean by 0 body gaps. Every car has gaps and levelness issues between each panel and my GL is definitely not the best. I have to say I am Very biased on build quality of the LX as I have years of sweat equity in the production engineering and launch for both the 470 & 570. Of course there is much to more to build quality than just panel fit but it's a quick way to look at how the body is put together from the outside. On the inside, you can get an idea of panel/body fit by how the inner, reinforcement and outer panels meet/overlap without having to pull out gauges etc.

Again, being my first ever MB, maybe I need to adjust my level of expectations when it comes to quality? In any case, I'm going to enjoy the car while we have it. If something happens, than it happens and I just hope I'm not the owner when the car starts to fall apart.

 

I just read a review by Motor Trends that voted it SUV of the year by a wide margin.
So you owners don't agree with that evaluation.

Every review I have read is mostly positive. Some of the negatives I am able to live with. Such a speed to 60 mph
I drive an 870000 lb 18 Wheeler 600 MPH I'm into slowing down a bit