edofloat

I have the air freshener system in my current vehicle and like the extra filtration it provides, the agarwood scent flacon smells good too. The vehicle does smell much fresher than the same car without the system, no musty smell from the A/C when it starts. I will have it on my GLE when MB is good and ready to ship one my way.

I have MBtex now and have found when it is hot it doesn’t seem to get hot spots like leather and it cleans up easy too, that said I am getting leather next to get the massage feature in the seats. I will say the MBtex shows almost no wear and has been very durable thus far. If I could have the massage feature with MBtex I would do that again.

GregW / Oregon

A lot depends on your personal preferences.
In my opinion, yes. It gives you the ability to control ride firmness and height. Downsides are more cost, and more things to go wrong.
I got the Dinamica (synthetic suede)/MB-Tex. Straight MB-Tex wears really well and is a good choice if you have kids. The standard leather is not particularly pliant. If I had it to do again I would get the Nappa. All the color choices I find very uninspiring and limited.
No experience with that
The augmented video nav feature is kind of cool, but not a must have. I think the 360-degree cameras are great for close maneuvering and give you rear cross-traffic alert and other niceties.

Philamg

Nappa leather is very good, air freshener system is ok but not having a great sense of smell I don't notice it but wife does, air suspension very good, augmented reality just a gimmick and much easier using normal navigation system.

user 7208224

As others have said, these are all personal preferences. If we all had the same preferences, we would all be driving the same vehicle. Just think how boring that would be!

I had no need for the Airmatic but I loaded up on other extras. The HUD was a must have for me. I use to think it was a toy until I had one in my 2018 Yukon Denali. I'll never have another vehicle without one. (The one in the BMW X5 is truly awesome!). Cameras were another must have for me. The enhanced NAV is cool but not necessary. It really impresses passengers (As does just about everything else on that dash!!) I wanted the massaging seats so leather was mandatory. I am a retired electrical engineer and a ham radio operator, so I am gadget oriented. The more the better in my book.

When you do decide and then take delivery, learn how to do manual map updates for your NAV. The voice files that go along with the map data files do not update automatically if you just rely on the auto update feature.

Philamg

Agree about HUD, being my first car with it I keep forgetting it is there and look down at panel for speed but will get used to it, not a must have but nice.

Electric Lizard

I've heard that polarized sunglasses make the HUD hard to read. True? Is the HUD available as a stand alone option or only as a part of a package?

GregW / Oregon

[QUOTE=Electric Lizard;7841027]I've heard that polarized sunglasses make the HUD hard to read. True?/quote]
True.
No, only with the DA0 Technology Package, unfortunately.

tiri

I wear prescription sunglasses that are also polarized. The polarized lens basically dim the HUD display. I would have been really annoyed if it disappeared completely.
If I tilt my head one way or the other, the HUD gets brighter or dimmer. Again, not a deal breaker, just a nice extra gadget.
The HUD's brightness adjusts automatically during the day as well as at night. It's pretty nice overall as there is a lot of information that is packed in the small area.
In addition, the HUD image sharpness is clear, without bleeding edges, even for small fonts.

AMMBGLE

I was looking to get regular leather and ventilated seats anyone prefer that option as opposed to Napa leather and AMG interior package also not sure on Panorama roof option is it worth getting also is MB-Tex wrapped dash worth getting?
thank you

Ron.s

I have those 3 options and like the leather a lot. Haven’t seen the Napa so might like it more. After having the Pano I could do without. Without the dash option they look cheap in comparison.

DaveD9

We like the leather and ventilated seats in our GLE 450. My wife has the designo in her E450 Cabriolet and we would not make that purchase again.

bigpern23

The panorama sunroof sold my wife on the car. She sat in the back on the test drive and she loved it. I think it looks fantastic. I think others have noted here that it adds some weight to the car, but unless you're a real performance enthusiast or street racer, I imagine the difference in the driving experience would be negligible.

user 7208224

I wear prescription bifocal sunglasses and have no problem with the HUD in my GLE. It was very hard to see the HUD in my GMC Yukon, so there must be something different about the MB implementation.

user 7208224

For me, the ventilated seats were a must. For some reason I find that my back gets hot with the MB leather seats, so I use the ventilation a lot. Never had that issue in any of my previous vehicles. Maybe it's an age thing! I got the pano roof for my wife. I do not like sunroofs (I don't like the light coming in over the top of my glasses.) I keep the cover closed but it is a nice filtered light that comes thru, which is nice as compared to the total "blackout" in my previous vehicles.

Ron.s

Short update! I just completed the first leg of a trip to Colorado. I averaged a little over 23mpg for about 800 miles calculated and about what the system calculated. My average speed was almost 80 with a lot of elevation changes and a gain from start of over 3000 feet. Actual speed was mostly 85+ with a slight headwind or crossing wind. Very pleased, I am running 37psi which helps economy.
As I mentioned in another thread, I’m convinced that I have the kinked AC lines getting my electrical components wet. Appointment next Monday to find out. Today Distronic worked fairly well except that the lane change function would not work no matter how I used the turn signal. In heavy rain it worked very well. After using steel wool on the windshield the wiper chatter was nearly gone...a little as the rain almost stopped so not much lubrication. The ALKA stayed on for a 30 minute period after we stopped for lunch. Just the one time...it’s never stayed on more than a few minutes in the past. There was the usual experience of some random things that did work today with some other new issues. I’m still impressed by the thoughtful integration and usefulness of MBUX. Debugged it will be tough to beat.
Edit: I now have 5200 miles.
Edit: At that level of economy my range calculated was about 550 miles.

Philamg

Can't believe the mpg that you guys are getting, I have covered 1500 miles and mpg is uk 23 which is 19 US mpg. Have a day trip to Belgium planned on Wednesday over 400 miles round trip mainly motorway, will be interested to see mpg.

Ron.s

Phil, I get that or better in city driving and with 10% Ethanol content. Could it be fuel quality? A friend that’s a Chevron Dealer tells me that the Octane rating is calculated at the factory so our higher elevation Refineries with 91 Octane are comparable to 2-3 point higher fuel at Sea Level Refineries like California & Texas. I think you use a different calculation in the UK but don’t know how it compares.

tiri

Keep in mind UK and USA use different sized gallons when calculating MPG.
Perhaps if your two countries did like the rest of the planet, and switched to metric, things would be simpler.

Philamg

Thanks for pointing that out, the fact I put the conversion in my post should have pointed out to you that I was aware!!!!!.

And as for metric, no thanks.

Philamg

Ron, our fuel grades are named after you. We have 2 grades of petrol, 95 RON and 98/99 RON, 95 is recommended in the UK (inside fuel cap), I have tried both and makes no difference, will let you know what mpg I get on Wednesday.

Would be interested to hear what mpg other UK 450 owners are getting, if there are any on here..

GregW / Oregon

I guess that means you wouldn't want to learn to drive on the correct side of the road then either?

Nico49_75

At least they are using Celsius degrees for the temperature! That's a good start!

Philamg

Not a chance Greg.

Philamg

Fahrenheit Nico.

tinman831

Good ol freedom units!