We have decided to move from our 2020 GLE450, which has E-Active Body Control, to a 2021 GLE AMG53 SUV. We have a build date of Feb ’21.

I think the E-ABC is a significant improvement to the standard GLE air suspension, both in handling and comfort.

We are trying to decide whether to order the DE6 AMG Dynamic Plus Package, which is the only way to get the 465 AMG Active Ride Control (including eActive Roll Stabilization). Unfortunately, this is the only GLE suspension choice that I have not been able to drive.

Does anybody have any experience with both the AMG Active Ride Control and the E-ABC? Does the AMG ARC improve both the ride and handling?

 

It doesn't look like anybody has experienced both AMG Ride Control and E-ABC. I'm trying to decide if the package is worth $5k to me.

So how about this question:
How does AMG Active Ride Control compare with the standard AMG suspension? Does it make a noticeable difference in handling AND ride?

 

Do you always upgrade every year or is there some specific appeal of the AMG53 which is triggering your upgrade?

I'm asking because personally I think the one you have with EABC is the better car. I would only upgrade if I was getting a 580. And neither of those would make me upgrade just yet. I have my eye on the refresh as well as the EQE and EQS SUVs.

BTW My experience with AMG models is the suspension is too firm. It sucks. I wouldn't buy one again. I prefer the 580. Or a Porsche if wanting something more sporty. Porsche is able to combine sporty handling with ride quality in a way that the AMG engineers don't know how to do.

The 2022 Cayenne S e-Hybrid is going to be an amazing 550hp option when it comes out next year.

 

Thanks for your feedback.
It's a long story, but the end result is that it was a specific car issue with our 2020 450. It was a very early production 450 (first 1500), and now we are locked into a replacement M-B car that we are ordering.

I used to agree about AMG vs. Porsche, but the new V167 AMG's have improved their ride quality and handling, and Cayenne's have lost some edge in "supple handling." Plus we don't like Porsche interiors or seating any more. So our pre-purchase finalists were 3. Cayenne S, 2. Audi SQ7, and 1. GLE450 with E-ABC. We chose the GLE and it was great but defective, and the Dealer/Factory is replacing it. So choices 2 and 3 are no longer in play.

For Mercedes SUV suspensions, we have ranked (of the ones we have driven) 1. E-ABC, 2. AMG standard air, 3. GLE SUV Air, and 4. steel springs. I was surprised that the AMG has moved ahead of the standard air, because I would never have the W164 version.

Now E-ABC is not available in GLE. And I like the straight six, especially the AMG53, over the V8 580.

Hence my question comparing the E-ABC, which I really like but can't have, with the AMG Ride Control, to see if it has similar advantages over standard AMG.

There is time before we finalize our Build, so I'm trying to get a feel for Ride Control without driving it.
We may end up with a 580, which has features I like over the AMG53, but I do participate in Track Days as well as regular Benz Club off-road weekends. We do some serious cross-country traveling, sometimes towing a 6,000# RV.

 

If you drive faster in corners it is probably worth the $...the better brakes a plus. There are some professional reviews of the suspension that's also available in the SQ8. I have it and someday will get to try it out if my car ever comes.
My loaded 53 almost guarantees that Mercedes will add the 580 engine to the AMG line in a year or two so that I will have some buyers remorse. To me that would be the perfect car...a V8 but but not with a crazy tune.

 

I have AMG ride control, it’s very stiff even in comfort. Unless you like sporty driving everyday I would skip this option. E ABC is a better choice.

 

Thanks, @tery . Is your AMG Ride Control on an v167? Based on the 48v system? Or on the CLK320 shown in your signature?
The old AMG suspensions were definitely firmer than I would buy for an all-around auto.
If your comment is based on the new Active Ride Control, have you had a chance to compare the standard V167 AMG air, with the new AMG Active?
That's what I am trying to find out.

 

I have the GLE53 with the AMG ride control package. I never test it out before purchasing it, but all my other cars have coilover from KW suspension or H&R springs.

My very first day driving the 53 back from dealer was wow this thing is pretty stiff. Not nearly stiff as a KW V2 or V3 but it’s up there. The trade off the its ability to corner. Many times I am very surprise how flat the 53 can go around a turn.

 

Must have been World's only CLK320 with AMG suspensions and with AMG Ride Control on top of it. Kidding of course.

Seriously. The answer is obvious - the poster has v167 53 or 63.

 

I don't have specific experience with either suspension. AMG Ride Control is a marketing term and is available in different forms. With steel springs or air springs depending on the model and the latest is AMG Active Ride Control. But I wanted to say this. E-ABC and AMG Ride Control have very different objectives and comparing them is kinda pointless, they operate in different worlds. E-ABC is primarily about comfort, isolating the occupants from the road and off-road driving. It has a completely separate mechanism in addition to the air springs that allow the chassis to be leveled and lifted for ground clearance etc., and it essentially can lean into turns for comfort and not really handling, dampening the cornering forces. AMG Ride Control on the other hand is all about handling, chassis control for dynamic and spirited driving and road feel, with enough rest comfort for daily driving to not beat you up too much. It optimizes the damping for this purpose and with the active sway bars can control body roll and keep the car flatter in hard corners given the high center of gravity, but it doesn't lean into the turns to reduce cornering forces for the occupants. You are correct, AMG has put a lot of effort into their suspensions recently to make them more comfortable for normal driving while further improving the dynamic capabilities, and the results are actually impressive, but at the end of the day, they are still firm, sporty suspensions that are about allowing the car to drive fast around corners and dynamic chassis control, but they do now have a wider spread between the comfort and sport+ settings and adapt better to how the car is driven at the moment.

 

My MB collection I wish all of them have AMG Ride control. E class is on stock suspension but super comfortable.

 

That's a great summary.

What you didn't talk about is the integration of the video with the active sway bars. If it's like the E-ABC, it anticipates irregularities and releases tension according to algorithms - and that's what is claimed.
So if they are alike, then the AMG version would also soften the ride, or at least reduce harshness, while improving handling. That was my experience with our former E-ABC.

As I said above, we prefer the ride of the standard AMG air on the GLE53, to the standard air ride on the GLE450. It's better controlled, and more confidence-inspiring.
So I am essentially trying to compare the ride quality of the two V167 AMG versions. And get any feedback that I can about current suspension comparisons.

 

You are correct, I forgot about that. It scans the road ahead to optimally adjust the damping to the upcoming bumps. It also appears that it does have curve-tilting at least in the discontinued S65 according to the following link.

https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaS...ad%20of%20time.

 

I have a GLE53 with AMG Active Ride Control and it definitely handles really great in the corners, much better than an SUV this big and tall should.

That said, I wouldn't say it's super soft and comfortable nor is it harsh. That said, for a large SUV with air suspension, I'm surprised it's not more comfortable than it is.

 

While I agree with your basic premise, E-ABC in Sport Plus is quite sporty and keeps the vehicle very flat in corners. Of course the Road Scan in some settings and the off-road functions make it the most adaptive system.

 

Yes, that's my experience also. I think we all agree.
Have you driven an AMG53 with Active Ride Control, to make a comparison?

 

Would like to, but I have not. Since I tend to keep my SUVs a full model cycle I won't be in the market for a few years.

 

Keep in mind that AMG Ride Control is only a relatively $mall part of that package, contributing about $1,250 of the total Package's cost. GLE63 brakes take a half of the cost at $2,500. There are three more ad-ons costing about $1,250 a la cart. So based strictly on cost, my opinion without test driving, the difference between "standard" GLE53 and the one with AMG Ride Control should not be major (probably more needed for mighty GLE63). For example the difference between W166 GLE43 with and without Active Curve, a 3K stand alone option as I recall, is staggering.

This is the question. Maybe I missed it, but the question is yet to be answered.

 

I don't think that the active sway bars are integrated with the video. I have a GLE 53 and I have not seen anywhere a mention about this kind of integration. As far as I know only the E-ABC uses the camera for road scanning.

 

Yes, that W166 difference was a big number. It was a more complex system, using hydraulic pumps, directing fluid to alternating sides of the strut, to achieve "active" functionality. I suspect the current Ride Control is simpler and probably more effective. Or maybe I'm confusing the S Class Ride Control - M-B does a poor job of differentiating their similarly-named systems, across different years, countries and models.

I do wish I could order parts of the DE6 AMG Dynamic Plus Package a la cart. I DO NOT LIKE the steering wheel, and I would prefer a heated wheel to those "Marketing Buttons" (my name for the AMG Drive Unit Buttons) on the wheel.

 

True that.
It's hard to find anything to drive. Harder yet to find somebody who has driven both on similar roads. All we can reasonably do is read pressers and other posts - and surmise. (Not often I get to use that word in a sentence....)

 

Other than some early Press stories with premature info, you may be right. But there are more specific camera references on the Daimler site, including statements that lead me to believe that the AMG GLE63 has BOTH Active Ride Control and Curve adaptation, which would combine the sophisticated E-ABC with active sway bars.

The question then, is how is this achieved? "In straight-line driving, it can enhance comfort by helping adapt to asymmetrical wheel movements such as bumps on one side of the road."
Is it solely suspension movement with various yaw/roll/pitch sensors? Or is there an anticipatory component, reading road surfaces as you approach?

I think @threeMBs observation that the cost of the Active Ride Control, compared with E-ABC cost, may lead to an answer about the mechanism.

@soso have you driven both the ARC (active sway bars) and the standard AMG Airmatic?

 

No, just the ARC. My drive test car was a 300d just to get a feeling of the car because here the dealers usually do not have for drive test the cars in the upper range.

 

KJ, do you have 21" wheels/tires or 22"? If 21" wheels/tires, what exact tires are on your car? For 22" on GLE AMGs (both 53/63), MB is using only summer Y speed rated performance biased tires. But for 21" wheels, GLE53 is normally equipped (those without AMG Active Ride) with V speed rated Touring Continental tires. The only GLE53 with AMG Active Ride I saw had 22" wheels. Would be interesting to know what tires MB uses on GLE53 for 21" wheels when car has AMG Active Ride option.

 

I have 21” Michelin pilot sport 4