Just LOVE the red calipers!!

 

Congrats! Absolutely gorgeous. Love the red calipers as well. I am continuing to enjoy the Red 350 and the color certainly turns heads. Enjoy it. Hope you can pick it up ASAP.

 

Picked up my GLE 53 today and already noticed some changes from my early build 450.
First the suspension is perfect for my taste. It’s about like the 450 Sport to 53 in Comfort. Going over a RR crossing it felt great. I won’t get it out on the Hwy for a few days but no more needing Sport Mode for daily driving.
The upper seat bolsters are tighter but some of it might just be the way they are set. A heavy person might not like them the way they are now.
The steering is very solid...firmer than the 450 but not in a bad way.
The MBUX seems to have a much faster refresh rate, changing functions..must have a faster Nvidia processor.
Fit and Finish looks perfect so far but haven’t done a thorough inspection.
My red seats have an Orange hue but they look cool. The red stitching on black is a nice touch.
I’ll post some pictures in a day or two. First task is to install my 20” wheels with winter tires to make sure they fit. Next I have some black badging to replace the chrome on the rear hatch.

Off topic but the last two days I spent some idle time at the Dealership and at year end it was a Zoo. This week they received two truck loads of GLE based from Bama, two from Long Beach Port with Europe builds and lat least one Porsche. I figured that they received $2-3 mil with most pre-sold so things were hopping. A loaded G Wagon at almost $175k but no soft close doors? Might not be an option.
My SA is the Sr sales guy and the only one that can sell both Porsche & Mercedes-I think he had 6 maybe 7 Mercs & 4 Porsche to close in two days. Late afternoon he hadn’t had lunch either day.
I observed as a GLE 63S Coupe buyer as he was getting an overview. The exhaust sound made for a little buyers remorse...a very sweet sound from the V8.

 

The red and black is what I have coming and would love to see yours. Did you get the carbon fiber?
Happy New Year!!

 

Metal Weave....not sure I like the Piano Black center console part of the package. It looks OK but will show everything and might scratch easy.
‘Happy New Year to all...no big party here....

 

@Ron.s thanks for the comparison, as I wait for my Replacement 53 with the ARC & Red Brakes.
I have not been able to drive an ARC car, and your description is what I hope to feel.

I think you had E-ABC on your 450, right? That's what I'm coming from, too. I also used Sport on the 450.

Just how smart is that ARC, anyway?

 

Congrats - I’m jealous! If this were my DD, that’s what I’d have. Wait, a G Wagen with soft close doors? That would be a sacrilege.

 

I did not have E-ABC, if I had ordered it I would not have received my order as it turned out. To the best of my knowledge, Greg is the only early order that got one. Many people after waiting as long as 6 months had to reorder. They had Feb 2017 build dates but mysteriously the car just stayed in limbo. They were probably finished in later 2017 with the other 40,000 in storage and resold to Dealers.
How smart is the ARC is the question we all want to know. I’m not sure I could ever answer that without a back to back comparison. I want to believe that it scans the road and adjusts. I’ll try to take a road trip Sunday and see if I can form a better opinion.

 

So glad you finally got the car. Wish you had some video of how busy the dealer was getting those cars out the door before year end.

 

That would have made for some great video. It was like eye candy for me since a lot of the models and colors were never around this year. A video of the couple that bought a GLE 63 S Coupe would have gone viral if I would have thought to record one. They brought their car to a display area (at their request) before any prep, it was totally covered with road dirt...only in the very front could you see the color. The look on their face was priceless!

 

Well, it must have really been a scene in a relatively small dealership (at least small in comparison to some of the mega stores we have around here). "Oh, you wanted a wash and detail? That will be another $1000"

 

It will be interesting to know if they do fit front. While at it, if you can measure front rotors to verify they are indeed 16.5" diameter as 63's.

 

Congrats Ron, Yeah nice to get the early impressions , especially of the ARC. I was originally going to order a 450 with E-ABC, but when I found out they were no longer an option on the '21s I switched to a 53, as I thought the ARC was my closest option. Please send any thoughts you have, including the different modes etc.
ON a different note, I finally found pics online of the same exterior options that I ordered: Obsidian Black, 21" 5-spoke, running board and red calipers. My build is 1st Decade in Feb. Anyone have any idea how soon I should get an actual build date? b

 

I had E-ABC on our 450, early build (vin -001517) and it impressed me. So much that it made the standard steel or even the air suspensions substandard, even though "all of the above" were superior to the W166 chassis. E-ABC made for a smoother ride AND better handling than the other non-AMG models - hoping for the same advantage with the ARC.
So I ordered the GLE53 with Active Ride Control, and I am very curious about your continuing impressions.

I have driven every suspension variant of the V167, except the ARC. Several hundred miles each, minimum.
FWIW, my wife and I agree about the ranking:Will the AMG53 with ARC move to the top of the list? Build date 1st decade Feb. Seems closer now that it's 2021!

 

Am hoping to capture a red GLE, just trying to figure out if it will be an ordered GLE580 or one of the GLE450's in stock (they have a couple) in Dallas.

 

Is the GLE53 really speed limited to 112 mph in the US? This youtube reviewer states this at 7:19 minutes:

 

That’s not correct, mine has been slightly over that. I believe the GLE 450 was 130 so my guess would be 150 based on speed rating of the tires.

 

Does sound to dumb to be true LOL

 

Just ordered a brilliant blue over tartuffo brown for the mrs. However im planning on driving this too, are we 100% the speed limiter is NOT 112 because that is a borderline dealbreaker for me.
i saw several magazine reviews thst also stated the 112 number

 

I ordered two gle 53 coupes on 10/17/2020. Dealer stated he had allocations and would be delivered mid Jan. Well that was wrong now have a build date of first decade March and second decade of April. If it wasn't for covid I'd be very impatience but with nowhere to go I'm trying.

 

At least in Europe it's 155 (250 kmh). Quite sure it's the same here.

 

It's funny how one post with bad information, if quoted often enough, becomes accepted as truth. Even Car and Driver falls prey to this new reality of fake news.
Actually it's more sad than funny.

 

Fake News is usually something erroneous, gossip, hearsay, made up, fabricated, malicious or a out right lie. If a reviewer(s) posts an error, if it turns out to be, that's not fake news.

 

What a convenient "explanation."

If those sources make money by publishing erroneous information, IMO it's just plain Fake.
It's even more sad when there is no accountability.

I lost a lot of faith in the Wall Street Journal when they didn't fact check industries I was associated with.
Then there's Consumer Reports, Motorweek and now Car and Driver.
Don't get me started on the "Fact Check" websites.....
End of Rant.

 

I confess to mistakes sometimes in technology reviews and news I write. We do a correction if info is reveealed to be incorrect. When I write product reviews, I submit to the manufacturer for fact checking. They may choose to dispute a conclusion and I could be open to seeing things differently, but at times I do not. But writers to strive to be conscientious want facts. I agree that certainly publications are more irksome than others.