Hello All, my lease is expiring on my 450 and I'm considering upgrading to a 53. My 450 has been absolutely bullet proof, no major issues since I've had it.

I took a 2024 53 for a test drive today and noticed a few things that I'd like clarified by the experts here on the forum.

1). I've noticed they no longer offer the yellow sport gauge cluster, they only have the classic blue and some other funky options that I don't find particularly appealing. Is there a way to change the colors on the classic option?

2). I didn't see an eco mode, only individual, comfort, sport and sport +. Maybe I missed it or did they delete it?

3). There is an option for exclusive nappa leather vs regular nappa leather, I can't seem to get a clear answer what the difference is and is it worth the upgrade cost. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I'm hoping to get an October build that will deliver in January. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

1) Not that I know of, but no experience with the 24's.
2) The AMG's typically do not have an eco mode, although I believe it should have a "slippery" mode that oyu missed.
3) The exclusive leather will get you the diamond stitching on the seats and stitched leather in more places on the dash and door. Haven't compared in the GLE, in some cars the leather is different, some think it is just the stitching. Only you can say if it is worth the cost, but I'm of the feeling of spending this much, the last little bet to get more leather might be....

Good luck in your upgrade!

 

Hey correct no yellow gauges. If they can be coded I doubt anyone has anything available for our 2024s. And Mercedes coding is so overpriced everything is per option, compared to BMW where you can buy a OBD adapter and have unlimited options from an app.
No ECO mode. You can configure Individual mode to be ECO by making Engine Reduced etc. but nothing standard thats ECO.
Exclusive leather is where the seats are mainly the same but you get doors and dashboard in leather and the stitching.
So thats it.

 

Appreciate the detailed response. If the seats are the same I'm not sure it's worth the extra $$$. I'm also not 100% convinced the dash and armrests will hold up well in leather. I have the fake stuff now in my 450 and it's held up well. Not sure how the real leather will do over time ...

 

I think @mikapen has the diamond stitched nappa. He loves it from what I recollect.

 

Exclusive Nappa leather is higher quality, softer to the touch. There is a difference.

 

The confusion is they are both Nappa, one is exclusive Nappa. From what others have said it seems the actual seats are the same you just get dash and armrests in nappa leather also with the exclusive package.

 

Whoops Exclusive disappeared when I edited. Look at the material, the exclusive (called Fine Nappa by Porsche) is smooth and soft, more luxurious. The regular Nappa leather has a texture and is OK but not as soft. I’ve had both and liked the Exclusive Nappa better. Worth the $ is subjective.

 

OK, that makes sense, thank you ! The car will be pretty much loaded so what's another few $$$ for the premium leather. I'll go with the exclusive option plus the bonus of the armrests and dash.

 

I visited a local dealer yesterday and had the opportunity to inspect two cars that were parked side by side. One had the exclusive nappa leather upgrade, the other had the standard AMG nappa leather interior. The seats, armrests, and center console are are identical. The only difference is the dash and door panels are also leather with the exclusive package. The actual quality of the leather seats, armrests and center console area are identical. The only small issue that I noticed is where the leather meets the man made stuff at the front of the center console area, you can see the difference, I'm not sure why they didn't just continue the leather for those additional few inches !

Exclusive upgrade

Standard Nappa interior

Exclusive upgrade

Standard Nappa interior

Exclusive Upgrade

Standard Nappa interior, You can see where the nappa leather meets the standard stuff...

 

They have really de-contented the Exclusive package then.
All the touch points on my '21 are the higher quality leather - dash, armrests, console.

And there's a significant difference in the leather itself.

Can you feel / see the difference in leather?

 

Absolutely no difference. I sat in both and carefully inspected the leather in both. The seats, armrests and center console areas are identical. You can see in the photos, neither of the leather surfaces have any grain, they are both very smooth. The only difference as far as I can tell are the extra surfaces that have leather in the exclusive option.

 

Mercedes has apparently made some good changes to the leather used in the seats. I was comparing my 2020 to the 2021 leather…I should have made that distinction. For 2021 MY, during the Pandemic, the seat assembly quality also sucked. It was like they had untrained people (likely) and no QC to deal with poor stitching/gathers on even the upper trim AMG GLE’s/580’s.

 

Yes, I remember your pics. Usually, if the seams and folds aren't quite right you can massage them in place and they'll stay. But yours were atrocious!

And your mention of the lousy color match compared to illustrations was appropriate, too. It's kind of an annual event now. 🥳

 

I was contemplating the red pepper interior but decided to play it safe with black/black. I do recall seeing pics of the orange seats so that also kinda made me re-think that choice.

 

I don’t know what you picked for an exterior color but the brown/ on black looks good and provides contrast. I’m told that the Red is less orange now.
I saw a Blue GLE 63S yesterday with those seats…the blue has interesting color hues that change sun and shade. The brown also looks good with Red, Black and Selenite Gray. The passenger seat had one visible defect but that’s the only one I noticed out of 5 others so seat quality is improved. About half of new inventory are now EV’s…that are not selling well.
Sales of Mercedes GLE SUV’s might be slowing since inventory levels look to be back to normal and incoming vehicles are primarily unsold.

 

I've ordered Selenite Grey with the boring and safe black/black exclusive leather interior. I have until the end of September to change the order, I'm still contemplating the same Obsidian Black like my current car. I want a change but the black is hard to beat! I do like the brown seats but it also changes the dash and center console to brown, I prefer those areas to remain black ,,,

 

Be careful about waiting until that September date - it may lock before you expect it.
I placed my tentative order on a Saturday while I decided on 3D Burmester, and it locked 5 days later before I was able to add.

It's my biggest disappointment with the car. I should have started with my dream build instead of fussing around.