GLE 450-Some Random Thoughts & More
 

The GLE 450 has exceeded my expectations in every way. Quality, features, fun to drive and the perfect size. If ordering again I wouldn’t change a thing except maybe try again to get the Acoustic Comfort package that somehow got dropped.

As a new Mercedes customer these are some things I’ve found or comments about features in no particular order. Feel free to add to the list.

1. Heated Steering Wheel-switch is on the steering column with the switches to telescope & move it up and down.
2. Mercedes has two Phone Apps-The me App and also Mercedes Companion.There is also the Mercedes me Portal (Thanks Cnnn) that can be accessed from a Web Browser. There are a lot of cool things that interface with the GLE-some work and some don’t & I am still figuring things out. This might be a great subject for a thread of it’s own but I'm not far enough along to tackle one yet. I’ve started a list of specifics for later. My comments are for Android but Assume the IOS is similar!
3. Sensor for “kick to open” the rear hatch is located right of the hitch for those so equipped.
4. The MBUX Augmented Nav is just awesome and blows people away! The Camera and graphics quality are very good. The front and rear cameras are automatically activated when parking to show real detail.
5. Ambient lighting and the ability to change the colors adds an extra touch of quality to the interior-impressive at night.
6. Golf Clubs will fit across the back although a longer driver is tight, I rotated the bag so the driver is on top. Three bags will fit on one layer and two more bags on top of them. So you could take 5 golfers but the center rear seat has a floor hump so not real comfortable for a long drive.
7. The Two screens have a lot of configuration options, great graphics and rapid response time. This is another “Wow” feature the first time people see it.
8. My wife is the only person that has noticed the fake air vent out of a dozen people. It adds balance & doesn’t bother me but It’s still a head scratcher. It seems like they could have made it active and eliminated one or two of the other four small ones.
9. The Gesture control where it recognizes driver and passenger hand functions hasn’t seemed very useful yet but it’s too early to make an informed judgement.
10. Xpel had just completed the templates for the protective wrap so my install was delayed a few days. They wrapped the front hood and both sides and did a perfect job. As I looked at the hood design it became obvious that this was not an easy install. They also wrapped the bumper and other painted front for better protection along edges. By wrap I mean that there is not a leading edge exposed- some installs have a small gap of about ⅛” that can still get a rock chip.
11. EQ Boost is very well mapped with the Turbo. It is close to perfect in that other than seeing it function on the dash meter it’s near impossible to feel. The overall engine is getting crisp-much smoother than the GLE 43 I tested several times last year. Even with less than 300 miles it’s getting crisper on the throttle.
12. I found a setting for the air suspension that drops the car when parked. It’s almost 2” at the driver/passenger entry point and closer to 3” at the rear bumper. I didn’t spend much time trying to get an exact number.
13. As I mentioned before fit and finish and initial quality is first class. I haven’t found a single flaw except for my miscues. My manual is getting a workout.
14. I think fuel economy will be very good. I’ve been doing some acceleration runs and a lot of idling so can’t give meaningful info at this point.
15. “Hey Mercedes” works better than I expected. It’s not as good as the Google Assistant but could catch up. The ability to control some vehicle systems is a plus. Google Assistant is available through BT by long press on the Voice button.
16. The hard plastic lower doors and kick panel may be a put off for some but doesn’t bother me. You don’t see that part of the car and will be more practical long run than leather. Future enhancement or AMG feature maybe???
17. HUD-best I’ve seen for relevant data. It’s large, in your face and easy to read….some might say too much so. I hardly notice it now but find it helpful when I do look.
18. I don’t find elevation data on the map, sometimes interesting when in the mountains.
19. Soft Close doors are nice but not a must have, IMO. No more half closed doors.
20. The Pano roof is huge. Since we rarely have passengers the upgrade wasn’t necessary. If it’s too hot I’ll have a Ceramic film added and for sure will do the windshield and front side windows.
21. There are a lot of redundant controls for convenience and safety. For example-Touch screen, large touch pad in the center console and small touch pads on each side of the steering wheel. There are lots of buttons to switch functions, still figuring all these out but it’s nice to have one touch vs drilling down through a menu.
22. Homelink, Bluetooth Pairing, Seat memory all easy to use. Most functions are intuitive and make sense but there is just so much tech that there’s a lot to learn….maybe more for me since this is my first MB. Some things like our Audi, other functions different.
23. The rear seat is very roomy even with the front seats back. I would prefer a bigger boot but this is a minor point. Most will prefer the roomy backseat.
24. Mine came silent on locking so in a noisy environment I couldn’t tell if they locked. Found a mod so now the horn beeps, locking. The me App sends me a notice that the car is unlocked and an option to lock it from a remote location.
25. The turning Radius is very tight for this size car.

I know I’m forgetting a few things so will add more thoughts later. Feel free to add your own. Regrettably I did not log where I found some of the changes. Made a few stumbling on features and trying them out.

To those stuck in Limbo, stick it out...this is a car worth owning. It’s an almost perfect balance of Luxury, Comfort and decent Handling and Performance. Probably the best in its class until the AMG’s get updated.

Mercedes seems to be taking the high road and taking losses rather than put out an inferior quality product. But maybe I just got lucky, time will tell!

Great report Ron, good to have from an actual owner, keep us updated.

Really informative Ron.
How is the Airmatic suspension working out...??

I need a little more driving time in various conditions to be able to say a lot about it. In Comfort mode it absorbs bumps very well but has a little bit of lean in corners. There is a street near a high school that has a series of traffic calming humps-it takes those with ease in Comfort.
Sport Mode seems to be a better overall driving mode but obviously you lose the plusher ride. Still good but just a little more controlled.
The GLE has a very quiet interior and I think the Airmatic helps reduce tire noise on recently seal coated roads. There is no tire noise on smooth roads but a little on rough ones.
The 20” AMG tires have more sidewall than I expected so they may contribute to the ride. Incidentally mine came with 36 lbs front and rear. The tire says max of 40 while the door sticker (38F & 48R extra load) and gas cap (31) seem to be for the 19” wheel with 255/50’s.

EQ Boost is amazing. Coming from a C300 with auto engine off, it is night and day. It makes 450 worth the extra.

On build quality, I wish the two touch buttons on steering wheel is more solid. On mine they have a little wiggle room when I swipe on them. The interior light control buttons are not well aligned. Hopefully not a universal issue.

All my buttons are tight and light buttons good so maybe I got lucky.

I lucked out no such issues with mine. Was yours an early build....might have been some of the QC issues that caused delays.

Nice writeup Ron, thanks - funny, the Acoustic Comfort Package was dropped from mine too.
- Rob

A few more things:

Driver Assistance Plus-The controls are on the left side of the steering wheel. You need ESC active for it to work. There is a shortcut button on the left side of the center console (between seats toward dash), middle button with a car picture brings up a group of off/on for maybe nine things, ESC being the first one. There is an off on switch on the left steering wheel. With that on a greyed out image appears in the upper center of the Driver display. This means it’s ready to activate by rolling the steering wheel lower center rocker switch up “set+”. This will get you started but the instructions start on page 200 of Owners Manual. Still confusing to me since there are several functions and strange terminology in the DA Plus package.
I found that it doesn’t work for stop lights-deactivated twice as I approached a red light. I got a warning driving with one hand and again with two but a loose grip trying to evaluate how it holds a lane. Audi monitors slight pressure so that on a straight road you get a warning. Mercedes may have a sensor that monitors touch, still trying to figure that out. I was able to set cruise speed at 40 in a 35, I think there will be a limit to how much over but could be wrong. I won’t use this except on the Freeway on a longer trip.

Another nice feature is the way Mercedes reads speed limit signs. It reads the primary speed limit sign but also recognizes the special signs like school zones, curves and off ramp limits. Those limits are placed in the HUD (&DIC) below the posted limit so there is now your current speed, the speed limit and the “ temporary limit”.

I found a big lag accelerating today. I was turning out of a parking lot onto a busy street and attempted to accelerate quickly. Not much happened until I completed the turn. This might be the safety system recognizing other vehicles or something similar.

My conspiracy theory....was it intentional because of a parts shortage?

Initial comments
 

It's only been 2 1/2 days and 100 miles, but some initial impressions. No major disappointments or issues so far.

Tires
o My 21s came with Pirellis Scorpion Zero All Seasons, about $1,270/set at The Tire Rack https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ero+All+Season
o Tire pressure listing inside driver’s door is size specific for 21s – 34F/39R. Notation inside fuel flap (non-specific) is 31F/31R normal; 31F/39R loaded. I think I will go 34/34 for normal use. Not sure why Mercedes does this (was same on my ’12); it’s confusing.

E-ABC
o Road Surface Scan & Curve Inclination functions are only active in “Comfort” drive program (actually “CV,” not just “C”). I really wish they worked in Sport.
o Curve function has 3 setting levels. Level 3 is quite pronounced and interesting. Takes a while to get used to, but kinda cool.
o When car is off it lowers down instantly and looks pretty racy. Also lowers while driving in Sport & Sport+.

Exterior
o The AMG package and the big wheels really make this car IMO.

Interior
o The Dinamica/MB-Tex sport seats look good and are comfortable; not as quite as luxurious as leather, of course. Saves almost $3k, though.
o The designo Black Flamed Open-Pore Ash (in architecture this is called Shou Sugi Ban) wood sure doesn’t feel like $850. Could be plastic if you didn’t know better. Not terrible, but I should have gone with Metal Weave.

Electronics
o Like on my M4, the Head Up display is not visible with polarized sunglasses
o The MBUX system is easy to learn the basics of; many things still take a dive into the manual
o The Video Augmented Navigation is cool.
o Don’t miss the driving nannies I didn’t order at this point. Maybe on a long trip of if I was commuting a lot it would be a different story.
o Parktronic beeps are a little obtrusive backing into the garage, even turned down. Need to figure out how to turn them off.

Driving
o “Comfort” driving program IS comfortable & plush; as I mentioned above, I’m not sure how much the Road Surface Scan is helping. For my style of driving it’s slightly too floaty, but my wife will love it and will be fine on trips. Would be even better with 20s instead of my 21s.
o “Sport” is I think my favorite overall. Handling is firm. Ride height is lowered and roll controlled.
o “Sport+” is very firm but not uncomfortable on good roads. Gears are held more aggressively. Ride height is lowered even more.
o The active exhaust gets more assertive in Sport & Sport+ but is not all that loud.
o Start/stop system is instantaneous and unobtrusive. No reason to turn it off. It turns off automatically in Sport & Sport+, though.
o Steering lacks feel but is accurate; feels quicker than my ‘12.

What I’d do differently
o Nappa leather upholstery instead of Dinamica
o Metal weave trim instead of Black Flamed Open-Pore Ash
o Heated & cooled cupholders (forgot my wife drives around with a can of Lacroix a lot)

I have a feeling I'm going to regret the audio choice over the AMG exterior. Poor packaging on MBUSA part. Thanks for the thoughts, Greg. Wanting to get your opinion on E-ABC as time goes on and yo have more miles on it.

I'd love to take a GLE for a spin with E-ABC. The Curve feature would be really interesting to experience. But maybe the biggest advantage you have is that it automatically lowers when you turn off the engine. This is likely very fast as well since E-ABC operates at much faster rate compared to existing air-suspensions.

I disable much of the lane-keep assist in our X7 but I do use the active cruise control daily. Can't get it without getting everything else.

@Greg - Can you actually order the metal weave trim? I've seen them on cars at the dealership and people have talked about it but I thought those won't go into production until Jan 2020 cars?

Wanted them but was advise my order would be rejected due to trim unless I pick something else?

I have found one feature that I might not order again.....Driver Assistance Plus. The legal guys may have had too much input. Yesterday I got a chance to use it on the Freeway for about 25 miles. The Distronic seemed to be OK except that it seemed to leave a little too much distance as speeds slowed. A car changed into my lane and Distronic applied the brakes. Then at a speed of 77 traffic started backing up and we slowed to 60. There was a wide open lane to my left but the car stayed in the same lane. I read later that you have to activate the turn signal for the lane change assist to work.

There was excessive on the throttle and braking in heavy traffic. Not as smooth as one would expect.

The Vehicle ignored Speed limit signs and I can’t find any activation feature that I missed. I thought it would automatically adjust the vehicle speed to the current limit but was going 77 in a 65. Not necessarily a bad thing being able to set it higher. Still looking for a setting I overlooked.

I had an instance where the car ping ponged between the lane markers our Audi seems to work much better. There didn’t seem to be anything like glare from the sun or poor lane markings and it worked better before.

I had hoped for something better than plain Cruise Control but Its not there yet for me. I had hoped that on a long trip I could relax a bit more with DAP. They have a long list of the individual features but there may be too little integration into a quality package.

Please chime in if anyone else has used this feature. What is your experience? I’m still hoping that I have missed some settings.

Thanks for this. Interesting insight. Hopefully I didn't waste money ordering this. Not sure if I'll find much use or value out of this. It was more of a nice to have package.

It was available to order through November when orders first opened. I’m not sure when it was no longer available but I had it on my order in late November but changed it later.

Probably supply issues again. The latest DOG said it wouldn’t be available until Dec 2019.

Metal Weave trim
 

I could probably have gotten it since I got the another delayed designo trim. I think they were able to fulfill a few early orders.

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A couple more initial comments
 

I continue to be impressed by this vehicle. Here are some more observations.

1. The owners manual has some obvious mistakes. They have probably updated it from another model or prior Gen and it shows.
2. The wide front offset on AMG Wheels is probably to accommodate the huge brakes. There is very little clearance now so it may be a challenge fitting Aftermarket wheels. I have a set of 8 1/2” with et35 in my shop that I will try to fit in the next week or so. I’m doubtful they will work. I think hub bore and back spacing will be an issue. Tire Rack is the only place I have found fitment info and I think it’s is for non AMG vehicles. I may call them to confirm after I try my set.
3. Mine definitely reads traffic lights. I turned on some off functions and now each time I stop it flashes a notice across the upper screen that I can activate traffic..... touch and the front camera comes on. Really don’t see the use now but there may be some plan for the future.
4. There is a setting for Dash Cam but it is not functional-might be another future enhancement.

It would be awesome if the dashcam can be activated, this way I don't have to go through the trouble of installing one. Dashcam is a must for me, especially on this car.

Two random questions:

- Looking at getting wheel locks, what size for the 21 multispoke AMG rims?
- Has anyone thought of installing either bumper bars or bull bars?

Thanks

For the most part German cars have Stud bolts instead of a Nut so you may be limited to a Mercedes lock that can be ordered. Check the Accessories thread here....down a little on this page, Greg posted a PN and Price.