I am eager to learn all I can about the new GLE 450 and so far am very favorably impressed. One feature that does seem a bit off putting though is the location and design of the gear shift lever. Please share any thoughts and experiences with the lever. Thanks.

 

It seems a little old fashioned to have the column shifter but there reall isn’t much room for it on the center console. It doesn’t bother me.

 

Before I moved to MB I had a discovery where I had the theatre of the gear change knob rising from the lower consule when the ignition was turned on. When I bought a GLC I was disappointed with the stalk gear lever but soon realised how good it was, no looking down to check what gear you are in.

 

I always thought that it was odd but when I drove a GLC for two weeks as a rental I realized its actually a blessing in disguise.
The should probably just make it into a small rotary button somewhere on the side in the future - how often do you use it anyway?
I really like it not taking unnecessary space.

 

I still miss the center console ignition switch on my SAAB's

 

You are going back!

 

Since the shifter is nothing more than a switch they could put it anywhere. Putting it on the column frees up space on the console. My problem is that my wife's Lexus has the shifter on the console so when I get in and go to shift into gear I turn her wipers on because that is where the GLE shifter is!!!

 

I'm used to the windshield wipers being where the gear shift is so it took me a little while for my muscle memory to remember this. I went so far as to once nudge the gear shift (was trying to do a single swipe of the wipers) which put the car into Neutral just as I was making a turn. It was not fun to rev the engines but basically sit still as on coming traffic rapidly approached. I ended up with enough space that it wasn't a real concern; it was more just the moment of mild alarm as it took my brain half a second to realize what was going on.

After a few weeks, though, it's fine.

 

I confess.....I have the same problem. Adjusting to the Mercedes went smooth but now when I get in my wife’s car I have started with the windshield washer lever. Funny how we do some things without thinking about them.

 

With my 2016 I put the car in neutral several times while trying to turn the wipers on. Glad we have two Mercedes now, no more confusion.......

 

That's for sure. Just hope the guys in the missile silos don't get the launch button confused when they get a new toaster!!!!!

 

Looked so cool back on the day but totally annoying if you had a lot of keys and had to put handbrake down.

 

Back on topic I used to feel it was weird when I moved to my w205 but I love how easy it is to change from D to R when parking and vice versa. I thought I would miss manual shifting in the centre but turns out I don’t need it use it much in a diesel.

That being Ing said I don’t like the new thin standard shifter stalk vs older ones which felt less cheap. I get that it’s a standard part across more Mercedes models but it feels like an A class part rather than a GLE vs what I had in my w205 c class.