This is my first winter with the GL350. During the first snow fall, I was scared to death. It slid all around and I was unable to control it going downhill. I was sliding down the hill with ABS going crazy and no ability to stop even when I tried to descend the hill at 10MPH.

The good news is that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the GL in snow and ice. We just need the proper tires on the car. Mine came with "performance" oriented run flat tires that also happen to be at under 50% tread-life at this point. I decided I needed dedicated snow tires so I bought some OEM rims off eBay, a set of 265/50/20 Continental WinterContact tires, and some TPMS sensors. Night and day difference. The GL is still a heavy vehicle but it goes and stops MUCH MUCH MUCH better now. I'm confident taking it anywhere now.

 

 

Agreed - our old Jeep Grand Cherokee with all season tires was great in the snow. The tires on my GL are much more aggressive and softer than what came on the Jeep. The GL also has very wide tires and wide isn't great for the snow.

FYI - Tire Rack gave me a hard time when buying snow tires. When you type in the GL, it will point you to some outrageously expensive Pirelli Scorpion snow tires. I don't know about you, but our GL350 is a family truckster that takes the kids to their activities and occasionally pulls a camper (not in the winter though). I don't need sticky performance tires that wear out in 30K miles. I tried to go off reservation and ordered some 255/55/20 Bizzak DM-V2 snow tires. They refused to sell them to me for liability issues. They called me to talk about it and tried again to get me to buy the $350+ tires. At first they told me that the load rating of the Blizzaks was insufficient. While it wasn't as high as the ones on the car, it was still over twice the GAWR of the GL by nearly 10%. They went back and thought about it and decided it was ok after all. Later they said they wouldn't sell me the Blizzaks because the max PSI wasn't high enough. Evidently on the door jam, the GL asks for 47PSI but near the gas flap they suggest something like 36-37PSI. No one run 47 PSI from what I can see. They came back and suggested the Continental WinterContact because their max PSI is higher than the Blizzaks and if I went to the wider 265 tires, the load rating is also higher. Fitment still works fine but speedometer error is slightly higher. They were also cheaper than the Blizzaks so I went with them.

Don't be pressured into buying $350 each snow tires! The Continental WinterContact SI was $172 and they have been great.

 

I just got my rig on Saturday. The dealer had just put brand new Continental Crosscontact UHP tires on it that are rated M+S. Even though these tires are brand new, they are slippery as hell in this arctic weather and the traction control turns on quite regularly with no snow on the ground....just a little dusting of salt on the pavement. They are rated as performance summer tires, but somehow have a M+S rating too. Running these tires on the big 21" stock wheels doesn't yield very good performance in the cold. God only knows what they'll be like when we get a decent snowfall. I never thought I'd ever have to run dedicated snow tires on a 5800 lb truck with 4matic, but it might make sense to do so.

 

Compared to my W164 it handles better except, as you said, in the braking category. I believe its the weight verses any other thing (design, tech, or tires (excluding the use of snow tires)) that makes the difference.

 

Handling problems in snow is 100% to blame on the tires.

I was standing on the brakes yesterday to check conditions and she stopped straight and without drama, with Blizzaks DMV's, 275/45/20
Stock AS Conti's, same truck, same hill, same test, felt it like was on ice skates.

 

You should remember that m+s / all season marked tires are really not suitable for winter conditions with snow. I have Pirelli Scorpion tires and was forced to drive with them the first snowy days last winter and even in the city, it was not fun. I bought Nokia studded tires and imho, that is the best option for a car that big and heavy, I had no problems on snow or ice with them. For you guys in USA, where I believe studded tires are not legal in all areas, there is the second best choice: https://www.nokiantires.com/winter-t...user-opinions/.

 

Does it seem like 10 or 15yr ago all seasons were better in snow than today?

 

They weren't better in the snow back then. They are actually better now. People are just more brazen drivers than they were back then as they think the newer tech in their cars will save them from their more aggressive driving in slippery conditions. And even though an AWD car or SUV will accelerate better in snow than a RWD or FWD vehicle, they certainly don't stop any faster. If you want decent winter performance, you must purchase dedicated snow tires. And preferably new smaller and narrower wheels running a taller profile tire. 19x8" rims are a good idea on these trucks for winter tires.

 

I have Conti DWS 04 on my 21" factory wheels and they work great in the snow.

 

Tires! Tires! Tires! Tires!
All seasons are not going to provide anything that is considered acceptable in snow. Add to that 5,800lbs of weight in MB Gl and you have one have rocket on slippery rubber.
Get snow tires, there is no substitute for that.

 

Any tire that has UHP or HP in their name is like thinking whether Speedo are OK to wear on -30 degrees.

 

Since it doesn't snow much here the best substitute is to stay home or at least wait for the first snow plow to pass. However, I drive out, pre snow plow, to see how the roads are every year. Slow and easy is the way to go but the GL will take about 10+ feet extra to stop in an emergency from 35mph.

 

You can't expect to do everything wearing your sneakers, from running a marathon to dancing to shoveling (or even just navigating through) 4 inches of snow and ice. Likewise, your cars also require winter boots or they won't have any traction just like you won't wearing your sneakers on snowy sidewalks when you really need some boots with a gripping tread design. There is no such thing as a tire that works optimally under all conditions, every aspect of tire design requires compromise. Winter tires wear more and give up much performance compared to summer tires during warm weather, for example, so don't run them year round. All season tires grew out of a marketing strategy back in the day switching people to radials with advanced tread designs and making them think they were getting more than they paid for.
I took off my original 275 50 20 inch Pirelli assemblies and replaced them for winter with a set of 19 inch Mercedes rims wearing 255 60 19 Blizzak dmv2. This size change preserves both the load rating and the overall diameter (speedometer accuracy) while giving me something slightly more narrow with more sidewall to, respectively, better dig into snow and better withstand the incredibly terrible road open gaps and potholes along with hidden curbs and other winter hazards we have here. Cost is better, too.
m&s is irrelevant. Look for the three peak mountain symbol on winter rubber, and test results from CR or elsewhere online including tirerack.

 

If anybody in northern NJ is interested, I may sell my winter set for $1,500 - they are 20" AMG replica wheels with TPMS sensors and 285/50/20 Yokohama Ice Guard iG51v tires. Great condition, no curb rash, very low miles

 

I have Blizzak DMV1's, purchased from Tire Rack - not sure if it's the tires, the vehicle, or both - regardless I'm very disappointed with performance in the snow - came out of 4 Audi's to go MB, may re-think next time.

 

Curious as to what issues you are having, as I run the older DMV1's as well. I've run these past 3 seasons and they been great in up to 18" of snow last season. Might be able to get one more season from them.

 

In general just doesn't seem to be secure on the road ... some sliding, sense of instability, lack of traction ... overall, just not a sense of control/comfort. I realize it's a heavy vehicle, but at highway speeds appropriate for conditions I don't have the confidence factor