Hello,

It's a few years too late to have any impact on the design of the GLS, but if Mercedes was asking here's what I would have to say I'd like to see changed on any new GL:

1) The keyless go needs an IQ boost. If you exit the car with the ignition in the wrong setting, you can't even lock the car. Also my car often allows you to open a door (with the accompanying alarm) after locking the car - perhaps that's limited to my car. Also the start button should be 1 touch.

2) The key should absolutely store your memory (seat mirrors etc.) so that when you unlock it, your spouses seat moves back to your setting. BMW offers this.

3) This one is an oops for the ergonomics engineers: The auto high beam feature should be activated by a button or switch, not by the turn stalk. Pushing the turn stalk farther away affects the use of the turn stalk - not well thought out.

4) In my experience with the GL thus far, there isn't enough service information avail. to the driver in the onboard computer. I know most MB owners are not hands on, but the check engine light went on yesterday (service appt. Monday) and the service menu read "0 messages"?? There are so many sensors in the car it knows when the back seat is down - it can't tell you something when a check engine light goes on?

5) General quality of the interior must improve. Its nicely designed and most of the materials are of seemingly decent quality, but the rattles and creeks can be reduced (more on that later as the suspension is probably a big part of that issue). I've honestly found that the german cars assembled in the south: BMW Xs and Mercedes SUVs don't compare with their sedan bothers and sisters. The fit and finish on an E class is far better than an ML or GL.

6) You cannot - cannot sell an ultra premium range topping full sized SUV without parktronic. I propose legislation to that effect (I'm half serious). Back up cameras are mandatory and in my opinion less valuable than parking sensors. Small cars don't need them as much. Nobody wants a stripper GL (with no options). It's not that kind of car. Stats show most GL owners have 3 or more cars (such as yours truly). I understand older people or super long term minded buyers wanting to avoid techy options that would be costly to repair outside of warranty like radar cruise control - again parking sensors aren't that kind of option. They prevent costly trips to the body shop.

7) This is the big one - the 800lb. Gorilla.....The suspension needs a genuine revision. I don't know if the adaptive damping makes a big difference, although I'd bet the active curve system does. I rode in a 2003 E320 with 200k miles last week (wasn't even in great shape). That was a Mercedes. My wife's E350 Cab with coil springs (derived from the C class chassis - not the E class sedan) rides beautifully. It's nearly perfect. Sublime. I'd be intensely proud if I produced that suspension. The GL is another story. I understand the laws of physics are working against you in a big heavy vehicle. So you can't compare the GL to a Cayenne or X5. Compared to an Escalade or full size Range Rover it fares well. But it could/should be better. The bags are too soft. That accounts for the mediocre body control when changing direction quickly or entering a driveway apron at an angle. The fact that the car doesn't lean as much as you'd think in corners suggests the anti roll bars are rather stout/stiff which could account for the relatively fidgety/nervous ride over imperfections and cracks that come as a surprise given the soft air bags. And lastly the shocks are stiff. I like stiff shocks but they need to be of a better design/quality and they need the latest tech like magnetic shocks (perhaps thats what the ADS is). I noticed the GLS advertises a new generation of ADS I think that active roll bars (the active curve system) should be standard equipment. If it only adds to the perceived sense of control while driving, put it on all the cars! (notice the AMG comes with different airbags, adaptive dampening and active curve standard) I'd bet the GL 63 would ride better than any other GL if you could put 19 inch wheels on it. The ride tech needs to be standard. I'd bet the percentage of non AMG GLs with active curve is abysmally low (I fault the dealers who order the cars). I want the air ride to remain, but the car should feel much more buttoned down. Perhaps with a more solid suspension, the interior wouldn't be as creeky. The current GL is a far more luxurious car than the X164 it replaced. But our 09' GL450 was more of a german autobahn mercedes than our current 450 is in my opinion. I blame 90% of that on the suspension. I read somewhere that Mercedes polled a bunch of customers in California for comments on improving the GL before redesigning the X166. Bad move. The best things in life are designed by the elite few who are truly gifted - so that everyone else can reap the benefits. Polling current GL drivers is like asking a 6 year old what they want to wear to school or eat for dinner. Just like parents know best and its their job to set the standard for their kids to follow....German engineers know how to setup a Mercedes for us to admire - NOT the other way around. Anyway, I digress...

It will be interesting to see how many, if any at all, of my issues are addressed on the GLS....? I'm hoping some of the lessons learned from the GLE coupe trickle down to the GLS

Happy holidays,
DRP

 

You forgot one more : AMG package for US customers of GL350/450 models. I spoke to MB corporate office and asked them about it. They said " according to our marketing research team - we don't need it in US ".

That BS left me speechless (literally speaking). I couldn't say a single word for about 15 minutes after that conversation. My wife was very concerned

 

+1 Great point! A sport package would be great.

Time to fire the marketing team


DRP

 

ROFL Well said.....

 

drpesq; We are fortunate to have a 2014 GL550 with Active Curve. My sense is this option makes huge difference on fun roads. On highways, the car is superb-especially in sport mode (we also have the off road package.

Regarding quality my wife's car is a 2014 E550. It is exceptional in may ways-especially acceleration and sound, but clearly not as comfortable as the GL. WE both have the Designo interiors and I do not see a difference in quality between the German manufactured E and the US manufactured GL.

I agree with your thoughts on adaptive headlights-both cars have them and the stalk is not a good place for switching-although I over-ride the adaptive all the time since ambient lighting seems to keep both cars on low beams-Interestingly, the E has LED lighting while that was not available on the GL-I don't perceive a significant different except for the Kelvin temperature of the lighting.

I agree that the AMG package-which the 550 has makes the SUV look much better.

With ab out 19K miles, the SUV has been trouble free with exception that I receive occasional-every 2 or 3b weeks-random faults on adaptive lighting or active curve, which clear the next time car is started. The E has been completely trouble free (14k miles).

Happy Holidays

 

Amen!

 

amg package as in appearance only? Or more like a sport pack with mechanical (suspension) changes too??

I feel like german manufacturers all think americans hate diesels, manual transmissions and sports suspensions. Because many of their cars offer these features in markets outside the US! It irked me that BMW built an m sport X5 in spartanburg for export only!!

Why not offer it here? I think part of it is preserving the appeal/market for the halo version (amg) of the car. Lets face it, if you put the amg seats/steering wheel and suspension on a 450, you'd have 90% of the 63. Personally, I think much of the top of line models purchasers are motivated by bragging rights. In other words, offering a 450 amg pack shouldn't take markeshare from the 63??

DRP

 

I'll be satisfied with only appearance package. Canada has it and it cost only about $4K. GL350 performance is enough for my needs.

 

Me too, appearance only. Maybe add an option, Sport Appearance Package or Sport Package.

 

I agree with the product positioning in the US whereas only the GL550 and GL63 have the AMG body kit. And this isn't because I own a GL550. Any product manager would layout a product line this way. It's good business, not bad. Also, I personally think the GL350 and 450 look great, they look like a true SUV off-roader. The GL550 and GL63 off-road just looks completely out of place. Even so they're just as capable.

As for all the other wishes I'm sure we'll see a lot of these in the next gen GL. You're not going to see them in the GLS, well, you already know that. Another thing to keep in mind is when pen-hit-paper for the current GL, it was probably 2009 or even earlier. The technology during that cycle is what made its way into the GL. And a lot has changed since then with automobile technologies so you can bet the next GL(S) is going to be amazing.

 

I think "ANY" product manager applies only to US territory. I just don't understand this discrimination. We are the main market for GL and don't get access to the most desirable appearance package of that model. There is clearly something wrong with this logic.

 

Of course, it's good, better, best positioning. From TVs to cars. The US consumer eats it up. And just look at your deep desire to have the AMG styling... they're not going to leave money on the table. Your desire as well as others enventually leads one to go upstream and drop the $$$. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the logic, you either pay-to-play or move on - simple as that. If there was something wrong with the logic a lot of businesses would go out of business.

 

I've spent considerable time in both the X166 450 and 550. The X166 550 is very similar to the X164 in the handling and ride departments. For whatever reason, Mercedes decided to soften things up a bit on the 450 and 350. I also didn't find the X166 450 to have as good of an on center feel at freeway speeds. The X166 550 is just like the X164 was and what you would expect from a German designed vehicle.

I don't have Active Curve on my 550 but if I did, I would probably find the suspension close to perfect for such a large vehicle. Without Active curve, the 550 is still very very good.

 

I don't have Active Curve on my 550 either and find the handling in Sport mode to be more than acceptable. And this is coming from guy who owned a few incredibly handling machines in my past. I don't expect or need my giant SUV to handle like a sports car and have my family's heads bopping around like it's a lowered M3. But what I do expect is it to handle well enough to where it's not dangerous. And the 550 delivers this regardless of Active Control or not. I agree with 43221B that the 550 drives like a German designed vehicle, at highway speeds (80 plus) it's 100% stable and straight. I'm more than impressed. And I can only image how amazing it is with Active Control on the back roads... but in all honesty, who really drives a massive SUV on back roads like that with family in the car and why?

 

I'm about to pull the trigger and order a GLS450. I'm considering ACS. Do you guys think it's worth it? I know the GLS offers Dynamic Select standard which has sport mode but would this suffice?

 

I have it on my 550 and I would highly recommend it. The truck handles like car with limited body roll. For the cost of it, it is well worth it. When buying my truck I test drove one with Active Curve and on without. Very noticeable difference and feels like a completely different truck.

 

Not sure on this one.

Agreed, my old CL600 had this feature and that was a model from 12 years ago.


They are not changing this. MB's have had this feature for over 25 years.

MB does not want you to self diagnose or repair the car yourself. That would cause problems with dealerships. Don't believe they will make the change.


MB's have never had the nicest interior. It's nice with function and durability in mind. Cracks and rattles should be addressed.

MB can and does sell cars without parktronic, HID, and many other items that should be standard on GL's. It's all about profit margin here. They want you to pay more so they can make more money.

The GL handles really well for a SUV. Larger wheels and tires with lower profile tires helps quite a bit in the handling dept. Again with the options, MB wants you to spend more money getting those options you really desire. Don't see them making any changes here.

 

Well, since I have the 2013 Escalade ESV and leasing a 2015 GL550, I wouldn't even compare the two, IHMO. The Escalade is a truck, built on a truck platform (GMT900) and drives like a truck. The GL is more of a crossover and drives like a car, since the ML and GL have the same platform (166).

Also, if they were to make changes, I would say this:

If the GL is going to be called the GLS (the S-Class of the SUV), actually make the interior look like an S-Class with better ambient lighting and full LCD screens on the DIC and center dash. The center looks exactly like the ML/GLE with small elements of the S-Class added.

Also, I agree with the suspension. It needs to be revised. Since this is the second benz I am leasing, I am really disappointed that I have to keep changing the tires at certain miles. I am already close to 20k miles and the tires are close to being worn. I would suggest the suspension wasn't running on double wishbone that gives it the negative camber. I can understand its better handling for going on curves and giving more surface area on the tires, but blowing $2k on tires every 15k-20k is not worth it and dangerous if you are driving on the highway at highway speeds. It happened to me last year on my 2012 GL550 when driving the 70 mph speed limit on the interstate. All 4 blown along with a bad camber and caster. It's an SUV thats is meant to carry cargo and families, not a performance car. If it's on the GL63 AMG, thats understandable. I recommend straight struts on the lower ends like the 350-550.

I never had to change tires on my other trucks. My H2 which is at 65k miles and BFGoodrich KOs tires aren't worn yet. Also my ESV is already getting close to 50k miles and the tires still looks fresh.

 

Is it noticeable at normal driving speeds or do you need to push it a bit to notice it? This will be my wife's day to day mostly.

 

Wish list for the GLS.....

We saw the need and manufacture front Camber and Caster adjustment kits and also rear Camber and Toe kits (rear kits double the existing adjustment range).

Restoring from the early 90’s full, ongoing precise adjustment capability to “fix it right the 1st time”– to resolve steering pull and costly, premature edge tire wear. A result of altering height, load carrying, fitting wider profile tires or curb knock damage.

Kits replace the 4 highest wearing front and rear suspension bushings.

Bonus with front kit is that it also replaces at same time the 2 rear bushings that are subject to premature failure necessitating the expensive purchase of complete new lower front control arms ($4000 plus).

Front and rear kits come with instructions and bush extraction tools. So no other special tools are required.

Front (Camber and Caster) kit #504016M $565
Rear (Camber and Toe) kit #504026K $480

Delivery MB World members USA/Canada $30 one kit or $40 front and rear. Can pay by Visa, MasterCard or PayPal.

 

Regarding #4, you want the car to have a built in code reader to tell you what the CEL is? What car has that? That would just make most people nervous because they would have no idea what the information meant. The Messages are for things you as the average owner can do something about - low tire pressure, door ajar, etc.

 

C'mon...no commercial please. Let us alone here

 

I did not realize as of 2015 the Panorama roof no longer covers the 3rd row. I guess this decision was made because of the exploding Panorama roofs?

 

My '16 doesn't have it. Not sure why but don't care either. It seems nicely balanced with out it.