Hi,
I'm considering 2015 GL 450 with it's sticker gas mileage is 17/21 city/highway. Would like to know new 2015 GL 450 users experience. Are they getting the advertised number or lower/higher?

The advertised GL 350 mileage is 19/26, which is approximately 20% better than 450, however, the diesel price in SF bay area is roughly 20% more than
gas, given this, does 350 have any mileage advantage over 2015 GL 450?

Would appreciate all the current users thought/experience.

 

I've had my 2015 GL450 for about 35 days. Currently has 840 miles and getting 14.5 MPG. I drive 70/30 city/hwy. 14.5 probably isn't accurate since it's winter time and I usually start my car and let it run for 10 mins in the morning before I pack the kids in. Will know better once the car breaks in and the weather isn't below 20 degrees in the morning.

 

I have ~35K on my 2013 GL350. I live in a rural area, drive 18 miles back and forth to work, rarely find my self in stop and go traffic.

I get 22-24 mpg without trying. In winter it might cheat a little lower in that range and in summer a little higher in that range. If I go on a longer trips I've gotten 26-28 mpg depending upon weather, speed, etc.

 

My GL350 is about 3 months old and has about 3K miles on ODO. Average shows 17.5 mpg. This is NYC driving, 50/50 city/highway.

 

In town, my 2015 GL450 gets 14 to 16 mpg. On the highway, it gets 20 to 22 mpg.

 

After about 4,000 miles, we are averaging 16mpg (70 hwy/30 city) on our GL450. Used mostly for soccer mom duties.

 

Not that you asked , but 2014 GL550 with 8800 miles shows avg 15.5 from initiation. Driving it like a 550 should be driven. Interestly, on highway with Distronic engaged at 65-70 the SUV is at 19 mpg.


Great car

 

Now at 9800 miles on my 2015 GL350 and 75% highway/25% city I've averaged 24.2. Price of diesel has come down significantly. Paid $2.49/gal yesterday near Pinehurst, NC and it was 6 cents cheaper than premium.
Performance wise..........I like the V-6 turbo diesel vs the V-6 TT gasser. Low end torque is phenomenal and if you are planning to tow anything, the diesel is a no-brainer.
BTW, the city mileage is better than expected @ 20.5 mpg and the highway mileage is a little less than expected at around 24.5 mpg.......probably due to my lead foot averaging 75--85 mph on the highway.

 

Please understand the "advertised fuel economy" are the actual Federal mileage ratings - which are tested under same driving conditions - best served to compare between different models and/or compare between different models and brands.

All states now tax diesel at higher rates than they tax gasoline - and "most" states adjust disel taxes to that diesel ends up "about" the same price as premium - California chooses to tax disel even more steeply, and commonly for California - diesel comes in a bit more that premium most of the time.

As gasoline prices rise and fall - diesel will follow the same price trend a bit more slowly - - meaning diesel falls and rises a bit behind - and for gas prices trending down over the past 6-8 weeks - diesel for most states is just now catching up to the down trend in gas prices.

the BT engine has a different driving characteristic than the 450 twin turbo V6 - and you should test drive both to see which character you prefer best.

With added fuel filter changes every 20K - and the minor cost of AdBlue/DEF top off every 10K miles (most affordably and easily done DIY) - the disel maintenance cost over time/mileage is a bit higher.

For owners that tow - disel has advantages with higher torque.

In today's world - useable life for a Mercedes gas engine and a Mercedes diesel both now share similar "forever" characteristics without rebuild.

Fuel savings really is dependent on ownership miles/age plan for the vehicle.

The avg 600 mile range of the diesel gives you a definite time savings from fewer stops at the gas station - for sure !

Diesels are "rarer" since Mercedes limits the number the build more closely than gassers they build.

It's a matter of choice - but really/really the choice of drive experience you prefer !

Keep the beat !

 

We just bought a 2015 GL 350 BlueTEC. I use an app called Road Trip to track each and every fill up using a calculator to measure MPG.

We are averaging 21.1 MPG over our first 4,218 miles. So the engine is not nearly broken in yet. Most of those miles are approximately 75% city and 25% highway. I did take one all highway trip. Did St Louis to KC to St Louis in one day. For that trip I averaged 25.82 and it did include about 10% city driving.

So far we are highly impressed with the power, refinement and fuel efficiency of the diesel.

The 450 and 550 have great engines. You really cannot go wrong w/ these MB engines.

It's all about personal preference and that's what is great about the GL. The vehicle caters to a very wide audience.

 

+1 Well said!

A couple of further comments:
The variation between Federal official test ratings and actual mileage do tend to vary between technologies. Engines which are very enjoyable at high revs tend to have worse real world mileages as it makes no sense own one and drive as if on an economy run. This can make some low rev diesel models better in the real world compared to gasoline counterparts than the official figures suggest.

The dollars you save through economy are not that significant compared to price, so economy is really about better range and how you feel about having a lower consuming vehicle.

Diesels and gas models at are their best when driven differently. Drivers accustom to gasoline can initially find the diesel model having no power and diesel drivers moving to diesel find the gasoline model has no power. How can this be? One drive is accustom to making the best of horsepower and the other drive accustom to making use of torque.

In the US and some other markets diesels may be rare, but in many other countries almost all GLs sold are diesel. In the UK neither 450 or 550 is offered at all, only diesel or AMG. In many other markets a single 500 model replaces the two 450/550 models and sells in lower volumes than the 350.

 

[QUOTE=fabbrisd1;6323313] All states now tax diesel at higher rates than they tax gasoline

State taxes aside......diesel is lower than premium at several stations (Shell and Hess) near Pinehurst, NC. First time I paid less for diesel since owning the GL.

 

For the first 3600km on my 2015 GL 350 CDI I got an average of 11.1 L/100km (aprox 25.2 Mpg), 70% Highway / 30% City.

Highway speeds are usually between 140 to 170 km/h (87 to 105 Mph) and "normal" driving in the city, meaning that I don't drive either too softly or too agressively.

Driving carefully, trying to keep speed constant at around 130 to 140 km/h (80 to 87 Mph) on the highway the car burns on average 9.0 L/100 km (31 Mpg).

This morning while driving to the office (aproximately 70km) I kept speeds between 160 to 205 km/h (100 to 130 Mph, it's quite impressive how this little engine on a car so big can pick up speed without pressing too much on the gas and if you are not carefull) and averaged 11.1 L/100 km (25 Mpg).

Top speed achieved so far (without instisting for too long, say around 30 sec from about 170 km/h) has been of 230 km/h on flat road and 238 km/h on a slight downslope.

Keep in mind that the Diesel versions we get here are unrestricted (no speed limiter) and due to the very high sulfur % on Diesel (500 ppm) there is no DPF filter on the exhaust system.

Take care,
Alessandro

 

Thanks for all the comments, appreciate it very much. I've decided to go with GL 350 BT, will post the details soon.

 

still in the break in period but was averaging 24mpg on a day trip burning half a tank - speed was varying 70-85mph -

Love my GL - now just need to get past the damn break-in period

 

A wise decision young man. One that you will not regret. Congrats!
I've put 10k + miles on my '15 GL 350 since November and have loved every mile of it! It's my first diesel and first non-V8 gasser in a long time.

 

Here is the fuel consumption on my 2013 GL350. 50/50 hwy vs. city. Live in the Toronto area. 11.5L/100 km or 24.6 mpg. I'm pleased with this performance.