Took delivery of my custom-ordered 2025 GLE 450 yesterday (graduating in six weeks with my MFA in Creative Writing present to myself).
Will get more photos later. She's fully loaded. AMA.
My Qs:
If you own a 2025, is it my imagination or are the middle console grab bar things narrower?
What in the world is going on with the sunglasses header area near rearview mirror? It doesn't open anymore, or does it?
Short review so far: I love it so much. Favorite car ever, and most fully loaded. I got the acoustic noise canceling (and every package practically) and it really is a notable difference between my 2020 GLE without that package.
Biggest tips so far for new 2025 GLE owners:
Press and hold the Sirius (or radio) channels to add to faves (but it's limited, so be highly selective).
Press the home button on left wheel to get to the heads up display (if you have this feature) and use the icon to left of heads up display to adjust its position.
Oopsies/FML: I did have an overcorrection after driving off the lot. I parked at an end space at McDonald's and scraped the right front wheel. I'm mad at myself but then I was like "well, she's got character and attitude already, that tracks." Small scratches visible on the wheel but minor (not in pics).
I heard the sunglass holder is gone. I also heard the main reason they removed it was because of the MBUX interior assistant sensors. I also then heard it was actually a cost cutting reason. Whatever it may be, the reason is inconclusive.
Interesting. My sunnies didn't fit anyway...(same ones in my profile pic). But I did keep my mailbox key in there for quick access so boo to that. Guess I'll have to come up with some ingenious solution like mounting a little key box somewhere discreet. Thanks for the answer!
Interesting. My sunnies didn't fit anyway...(same ones in my profile pic). But I did keep my mailbox key in there for quick access so boo to that. Guess I'll have to come up with some ingenious solution like mounting a little key box somewhere discreet. Thanks for the answer!
You're welcome : ) enjoy the vehicle. I suppose you could buy one of those centre console organizers that might help.
Adding here for anyone looking at the 2025. Minor but kinda annoying: There is no longer a net on the left front passenger side. I kept my umbrella there so will order something to stick there for that purpose. Prefer the driver door storage free for other items I need more often.
Adding here for anyone looking at the 2025. Minor but kinda annoying: There is no longer a net on the left front passenger side. I kept my umbrella there so will order something to stick there for that purpose. Prefer the driver door storage free for other items I need more often.
If you purchase a smaller umbrella around 12", there is a hidden compartment in the door where it can easily slide into. See Pic here:
The amount of decontenting on German brands is sad. MB, BMW and Porsche are doing it with each facelift and new platform. Blatant and egregious cheapening.
Adding here for anyone looking at the 2025. Minor but kinda annoying: There is no longer a net on the left front passenger side. I kept my umbrella there so will order something to stick there for that purpose. Prefer the driver door storage free for other items I need more often.
Ok yes that I can't deny is a cost cutting measure, I found that net useful as well. I wonder if we can retrofit the pre-facelift one in?
The amount of decontenting on German brands is sad. MB, BMW and Porsche are doing it with each facelift and new platform. Blatant and egregious cheapening.
Funny you mentioned Porsche as I remembered watching this video and Thomas complained about the cost cutting done.
That makes sense and I'm glad I got every feature I wanted in this one. Now I can keep it for a really long time and set a personal lifetime record for owning one car.
No one wants electric Porsches and Volkswagen blew their development wad on Taycan, Macan EV and stillborn K0 program. They put themselves in a worse situation which was challenged to begin with because of their high German operations legacy costs. Too many high cost workers and too many underutilized and less than cutting edge facilities. It’s 2005-2008 all over again, this time for VW instead of the Detroit 3.
To somewhat staunch the financial bleeding Vdub stripped Cayenne of content in the mid-9Y0.1 change and 9Y0.2 facelift, and delivered build quality weakness in Macan EV and Taycan.
Miraculously Macan has been less affected by decontenting but in full disclosure the base Macan platform is approx 35 years old….
That makes sense and I'm glad I got every feature I wanted in this one. Now I can keep it for a really long time and set a personal lifetime record for owning one car.
No one wants electric Porsches and Volkswagen blew their development wad on Taycan, Macan EV and stillborn K0 program. They put themselves in a worse situation which was challenged to begin with because of their high German operations legacy costs. Too many high cost workers and too many underutilized and less than cutting edge facilities. It’s 2005-2008 all over again, this time for VW instead of the Detroit 3.
To somewhat staunch the financial bleeding Vdub stripped Cayenne of content in the mid-9Y0.1 change and 9Y0.2 facelift, and delivered build quality weakness in Macan EV and Taycan.
Miraculously Macan has been less affected by decontenting but in full disclosure the base Macan platform is approx 35 years old….
Given how the infrastructure is like right now and people's mindset changed on EVs, I really don't know how the future is for EVs, I mean maybe it is still the future but probably delayed for many years from now. I am a petrolhead so fair to say I prefer ICE so that is good news to me.
A cool little trick on the 2024 model, I would assume it would apply to the 2025.
In mbux where you set the different instrument cluster themes. Say there is one you use the most. Make that one the active theme and then hold down the left "ok" button. It was set it as a shortcut. Then say you switch to a default theme, and you want to go back to your main theme, you just press the left back button and it will switch back to the one you set the shortcut to, press back again it will go to the one you had switched back from.
It even remembers and goes back to whatever the center showed (between speed and rpm gauge). For example, if you have it set to standard with the "now playing" in the center between speed and rpm, and you save it like that as the shortcut, and even if you switch the center display between the gauges to eco display or GPS display, and hit back, it changes the center back to the now playing or whatever you had set to be displayed between the speed and rpm gauge when you saved the shortcut.
No one wants electric Porsches and Volkswagen blew their development wad on Taycan, Macan EV and stillborn K0 program. They put themselves in a worse situation which was challenged to begin with because of their high German operations legacy costs. Too many high cost workers and too many underutilized and less than cutting edge facilities. It’s 2005-2008 all over again, this time for VW instead of the Detroit 3.
To somewhat staunch the financial bleeding Vdub stripped Cayenne of content in the mid-9Y0.1 change and 9Y0.2 facelift, and delivered build quality weakness in Macan EV and Taycan.
Miraculously Macan has been less affected by decontenting but in full disclosure the base Macan platform is approx 35 years old….
Two things:
First, Germany's Codetermination Act of 1976 requires that 50% of the supervisory board be union members. That doesn't really allow much cost saving.
Second, Macan's MLB platform first appeared in the 2005 Q5.
The MLB Evo platform, Q7 & Macan, was updated in 2012.
Now it's the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC), a further update.
At least it's not over a Century old, like body on frame chasses with leaf springs. (Which are still the biggest sellers here, due to NHTSA safety/emissions requirements being less stringent than passenger cars.)
The third thing is that as a result of dieselgate, VW was required to go full EV, plus provide a national charging Network in the US.
Don't get me started on dieselgate. I blame it on the EPA's refusal to comply with US Supreme Court rulings in 2012 and 2016, to provide guidance, which they refused to do. I called entrapment.
(Bosch et al vs EPA)
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
