Any one ordered GLE 450 2021 with below options, At the time of my order I didnt have option of 22 Inch so I went with 20 Inch.

Are they worth upgrading ? My dealer says my Build is in Red locked and ready for build on November 1st.

AIRMATIC Suspension Package
And
22-inch AMG twin 5-spoke w/black accents

 

I wouldn’t do it. For every incremental increase in wheel diameter, ride quality goes down. If we order one, we will be hoping to stay with 19’s.

 

We stayed with the 19" in our GLE. Likewise, when we ordered the GLC 3 years ago, our rep advised staying with the 18" for that exact reason. Greater wheel diameter = harder ride.

 

Wow I didnt know that, Better off with 20 then.What about Airmatic suspension package ?

 

[QUOTE=.What about Airmatic suspension package ?[/QUOTE]

Yes... The air and 20’s has a good ride,IMO.
Less sidewall improves handling in curves but more risk of bent wheels.

 

I have 21 wheels with air suspension. The ride is very comfortable. I should add they are all season rires non run flat. My wife’s CLS has 20 run flats and the ride is made for absolutely perfect roads. We have bent three rims and cracked one rim so far. After arguing with MB for 6 weeks, they are refunding me 1538.00 for the rim as a goodwill adjustment.

 

I HIGHLY recommend AirMatic. It will give you a much better ride quality.

 

Quick question! shipping date from AL was Sep 22rd. Do you know when will it be here and when I can probably pick up the car?

 

I did something today that might hinder my 2021 order............... I drove a SQ7.

 

So how did you compare the two? I looked at one before ordering the GLE last summer. My build came to $110k with some Porsche type goodies, a lot cheaper than a Cayenne. The ergonomics weren’t there for me but loved the performance...sure to increase ones speeding ticket collection. Audi makes a “Drivers Car” more like a BMW M with better reliability.

 

@Ron.s First, the dealership was a lot nicer in so many ways. Newer, felt bigger (even though it probably isn’t), great customer service (not pushy), and the sales person knew their product inside and out. Something I needed since I know very little about Audi, (This is comparing mostly a 580 to SQ7 only. My 580 build is at about 94,500 and the SQ7 was 94,400)

Things we (wifey and I) liked. At first look, it looks so much better. The front grill is more sporty looking than the luxury look of the diamond grill on the 580. The SQ7 looked lower and wider. The interior feels so much bigger. The rear hatch area looked larger and at first I didn’t realize it had a third row of seats as standard until the sales person pointed them out (I could careless about a third row though). I also liked how the second row could be lowered all together or three individual ways. The second row also adjust forward and back a lot easier. Sitting in the drivers seat there was a lot better filed of view. It kind of felt like a cockpit with the glass seemingly going all around. The A pillars looked so small. The interior has a mixture of different materials from leather to the appearance to carbon fiber that made the interior feel very sporty too. The air vents blended in better too and just made the interior feel more up scale. The pano roof felt so much bigger but this could be because the SUV is actually bigger. The seats felt softer and the stitch patterns were better looking.
Now the drive. It’s fast! It launches harder and faster then the 53, 580, or the V8 supercharged RR sport I’ve recently tested. There just does not appear to be any turbo lag when pressing the skinny pedal. It has just enough exhaust sound and tone too to be a nice daily driver but still have some fun. The car felt more planted and did not roll as much as others when wobbling the wheel or In turns. Visibility is excellent and with the 4 wheels turning is handles like a smaller SUV at speed.

Things we didn’t like. The touch screen and controls are not as easy to use. You have to touch and press the screen and wait for the haptic feedback front the input. It also took a little more to find certain functions but again I was in a new car. I did not like the side bolsters in the seats. They were too intrusive. I could not find how to control them and the salesperson said he did not think they were adjustable. I find that hard to believe. The rear A/C and heated seats looked to complicated. There was just to much going on and with smaller children back there I could see this being a problem. The outside rear (from the back) of the SQ7 looks like the designers just stopped. It’s to squared looking and it looks like they just gave up here.

Now the drive. It rode rough. Not as bad as a 53 but seemingly more than a 580. It was very quiet inside (it had the equivalent package to the ACP and I have not drove a 580 with the ACP) but I did hear some noticeable tire noise. Even with the 4 wheels steering it was harder to get in and out of smaller parking spaces. The different camera angles were nice but I felt as though I had to turn each one on and there no good “one” to accomplish everything.

So here’s my problem. For the price I really like the SQ7 and it appears to offer more. But after owning about 12 MB over the years Ive got a great rapport with the local MB service center. Do I really want to start over (we tired changing once recently with a M550i and it was a nightmare).

For now I’m keeping my build and price but I am going to research the Audi more.

 

If I hadn’t owned a GLE 450 and compared them cold I would have likely gone with the SQ8 over the SQ7 or GLE. It’s been about 4 months so I’m a little hazy on specifics. Until you own a car you really only get somewhat superficial details. Maybe I’m a little biased by our smaller 2018 SQ5 that I love in so many ways. It’s been trouble free for over 3 years except for a thermostat failure that required removing bumper and radiator to change.
The lower profile of the Audi’s makes them handle a lot more like a Sports car but also makes entry and exit a little more of a hassle. The more bolstered lower seat is also a pain to get over around town but is nice on the road. Mercedes allows more customization of ordered options. The Audi cup holders are disappointingly useless and on a trip a minor annoyance gets to be a hassle. The Audi had a way to leave Drive Mode unchanged after turning the car off as long as the engine is not in Sport Mode-reportedly & demonstrated by the SA. Audi does Torque Vectoring either by braking the inside wheels on a corner or with the optional uncoupled rear end. For the ultimate Audi there are packages that have the same Porsche handling features including the variable sway bar like the AMG GLE’s. For some reason they don’t offer 4 wheel steering that was available on the SQ5. One thing I like about Audi is the ability to customize a lot of vehicle functions with OBD Eleven or Vag Com.
Both vehicles are very good choices. I was torn between the better handling/performance of Audi and the Interior, better Tech in the Mercedes. I tried to talk my wife into getting the SQ8 but it’s tooooo big she said.🤷‍♀️
Edit-should clarify wanted to replace our SQ5 with the SQ8. Also I seem to remember that All Wheel Steering was standard on the SQ line so got that wrong.

 

Haha. My wife actually said, “WTH are these little things supposed to do.”

 

Audi does not offer all wheel steering on the SQ5 but they do on the SQ8. On the SQ5 they have something called dynamic steering which is variable ratio steering. It is not four wheel steering. The rear wheels don't turn.

 

I thought it was an option 3 1/2 years ago when I ordered our 2018 but I could be confusing that with the Q7. The all wheel steering is standard on all SQ7 & 8’s unless the SA was confused. I haven’t checked but I’m 90% sure that’s true. When I configured an SQ8 it was not an option and I was told it came standard.

 

When we leased the GLC300, looked at Q5 and wasn't impressed with fit and finish of the car. And the dealer was indifferent to us and seemed to show no interest in selling a car. Really wanted an Audi at first but then was wowed by the GLC. Looking forward to being wowed by my GLE350. Production was scheduled for today (9/29) and the vin came through on 9/24 so it has to be close.

 

My dealer Guy said my car is locked and ready for production on November 1st and The car will be in my Driveway by Thanksgiving.

what do you guys think? Is that something I should believe the Timeline?

 

I have a November 21 build date, my dealer said he is being told that October and November builds are on track. I hope your is, keep us posted.
Eric

 

Any difference between 20 vs. 21 GLEs?

 

I hope your dealer is right. Our 2020 GLE 450 has been in the "Built not shipped" status since Sep 12th. We are anxiously but not very patiently waiting. It was ordered in early Jan.

 

Hopeful here as well. 3rd decade of October build, hoping for beginning of November delivery. Still haven't received my pricing sheet but I locked into 2020 pricing with a 6% discount.

 

Just as a point of reference, it took about 4 weeks from the time that my car was completed before it arrived at my dealer. It sat for about 2 1/2 weeks before it was finally put on a train for shipment and then another 1 1/2 weeks to arrive in California. I ordered it right after Thanksgiving last year.

 

Thank you for that information. I guess today is our 2 1/2 weeks since the car was built. I suspect car will be put on a truck for us. We purchased from a dealer in southern Indiana which is about 380 miles from Vance. I would assume the truck would have more that one stop on its way but it should not take too long to make that trek. The dealer said he checks the status everyday so I hope we get a little heads up when it ships since we will have to travel to Indiana to pick it up. Our next door neighbor, who is a manager at a car group in town, said the dealer should be able to get it ready the day of arrival (assuming arrival is not late afternoon). If that is the case, we may not get much of a heads up when it is time to pick it up. Pictures to follow.

 

My GLE350 now shows In Production. Now just waiting to see if there are parts to complete it!

 

Production completed as of this afternoon!