alphainfinity

All,

My wife does NOT have the lighting package on her GL. I DO have it on my GLE. I will NEVER order another MB without the lighting package. The projectors on our GL are absolutely horrible. Just do a search for GL lighting upgrade. You will see how many other owners out there are complaining. At the very least, MB should have HID lights on every car, with the LED lighting upgrade optional. It blows my mind that our 80k GL has such poor lighting.

The lighting package is fantastic and worth every penny. We have lots of deer up here and these lights make both sides of the highway visible and the light is very very white. She commented that my lights make it seem like daylight where they shine.

pamiboy

You are debating between the lighting package ...??? This is really no debate. Please get it before you make the mistake. No one wishes that he had purchased a car without a particular option, but the reverse is universally true. So if have even considered it remotely in your mind.... GET IT.
There are thousands of us who purchased an MB without watching out for the lighting package and regretted it later. Please don't be like us. This is the best advise I can give.

William Kayen

There is no debate here. The lighting package is a must. It is much safer having lighting that follows your car's direction. It also gives the car a sportier look.

fabbrisd1

FYI... at this moment new build orders ... Lighting "sold out" thru end February production..

William Kayen

My GLE has a build date of 1/11, this Monday. Does that mean the lighting package will be included, delayed, or built without the lighting package? I won't take the vehicle without the lighting package.

skw

I would take it to mean any "new" orders for the lighting pkg will have to wait until March production. Existing orders should be fine.

William Kayen

Thanks. Hope you are right. I originally ordered my GLE in July. On the day I went to pick it up in October, a mechanic drove it into another car and damaged both cars severely. The dealer immediately ordered another one for me and has given me loaner cars in the meantime. They handled this very professionally so I can't complain. I think the mechanic is no longer working at the dealer.

William Kayen

Just spoke to dealer. Car was built on 1/7 and finished on 1/8. It has the light package. Not sure about Apple CarPlay but the light package is more important to me.

iankayem

Halogen lights were great in the 1960s/1970s when you compared them to tungsten filaments. And you added extra driving lights to see at speed.
But today, Halogens should be obsolete.
If you cant afford to get HID or LED lights on your new Mercedes, then maybe you should be shopping for a Kia or Great Wall!
If you can afford a Mercedes, get the car you want. And that means the best!

nvsocr7

This had zero to do with affordability. HID shouldn't even be an option, it should be standard, which is what I was told when I placed the order for the car in March. I didn't care for any of the extra stuff that came with the lighting package, I just wanted the HID lights which is what I thought came standard.

Dennis450

I test drove one with and one without on the same night and difference is obvious. Must have option.

mkspear32

Agree, outstanding lighting. I really like the auto dimming feature too! Maximum lighting without getting other cars flashing you. Dimming is instantaneous and works to perfection. Love it.

skw

Why do these conversations about headlights, leather seats, or navigation always come back to what someone can afford? That isn't even part of the equation. If you want those things as standard equipment, go get a Lexus, Infiniti, or Acura. Anyone who didn't know it wasn't, didn't do their research as all of the standard equipment is clearly listed on the MBUSA website. Even when looking at a specific vehicle at the dealer, the build sheet has on it exactly how the vehicle is equipped. On a Mercedes (or BMW as well), the cost that you're paying is for the engines, suspensions, and safety tech. So you want all that they already give in the base price, the extra fluff (HID, etc), and hold the line on a competitive price? What if instead of the starting price being at $53k, it was $61k and included HID (or LED) headlights, leather seating, and navigation as standard?

davezaristo

I agree that it doesn't have to do with affordability but rather it availability. On another thread, someone mentioned that technology integration is light years behind for Mercedes and I thnk that remark is dead on, For instance, carplay wasn't even available on the GLE until on built that was after 1/2016 and my question is why did it take so long for the integration to happen when VW, Hyundai already have BOTH carplay and android auto ready to go as the 2016 models are released? As for the lighting package, I am sure majority of us here on the forum is willing to shell out that extra 1.5k-2k for it but the issue is 9 out of 10 GLE in the dealers inventory didn't come with the lighting package and it takes 3 months to order a car. Why is that? Did Mercedes not do any market research on what their customers want on their car? I am not quite sure but I think it is absurd for a car company not to do it. Lastly, why did they decided not to refresh the interior to match the new design language of the C-class, GLC, etc.? Perhaps this is probably Mercedes way of squeezing the most profit out of the car by using up all the spare parts in the leftover bin before introducing a new model but now they got us enthusiast here complaining about how dated this GLE is. Even my wife, who is not a car person, asked me why they use the same rotary knobs for the temp adjustments on a 2016 model when it was used in my W204 c-class some 8 years ago. Finally, I'll throw in another complain here, in which my $70k GLE400 does not have a rear seat passthru as standard as I now find myself struggling to fit my skis in a family SUV with all wheel drive. That really beats the hell out of me wondering why mercedes can't poke a hole thru the middle seat as that should more or less be a standard function on any SUV.

skw

All very valid and good points, esp w/ the dealer ordered cars. Just about every car on a dealer car has the P1 pkg. Why not the lighting pkg as well? I do see their point however on not including the new interior/dash setup until the all new model comes out in a few years. Gotta save something to look forward to (speaking sarcastically).

CTPete

No.

CTPete

If only that was the case! In fact, I believe it would be over $70k with those features on a GLE350.

alextclam

Something I've been trying to figure out, if the GLE Class is the SUV version of the E Class, and the E Class comes with standard LED headlights then why doesn't the GLE Class come with standard LED headlights?

Also, I see the new C Coupe comes equipped with standard LED headlights as well. Why the inconsistency of standard equipment on their models?

alextclam

LED headlights come standard on the E Sedan and C Coupe.

I believe the reason (according to other posts in this thread) was due to a shortage in lighting package for production. The funny thing is, when the new ML350 came out in 2012, my friend got one without the lighting package and I made a sarcastic remark to him about getting a $60k+ car with halogen headlights. Apparently, the dealer told him that the lighting package was on national backorder and he had to wait at least 4-6 months for a build with one. With his lease maturing, he had no choice. 4 years later, same issues.

alextclam

When I was shopping for my GLE last month, I couldn't believe what the dealers had equipped on their ordered cars. I shopped between 3 dealers within my area and none of them had the lighting package. 9 out of 10 had trailer hooks, Harmon Kardon speakers and pre-wiring for rear entertainment systems. All of which are useless IMO. Nobody tows anything here, the Harmon Kardon speakers (which were equipped on my GLE) isn't worth $850; the standard speakers in my previous 2011 X5 sound better. It would have been more cost effective to order the lighting package instead of these 3 options combined. But then again, I'm not sure if the shortage of the lighting package played a role in how these dealers ordered their cars. The shortage was supposedly back in January but who knows.

shakah

Definitely worth the upgrade.

Carlo Perna

ilovemaui1

Just purchased a 2018 GLE350 CPO. I love the vehicle but I did not even think to check the headlights and assumed a $63k SUV would have good headlights. It makes no sense that a vehicle with every other safety feature available would come with such terrible headlights. Going from a W212 E550 with adaptive lighting to these crappy halogens are a real let down. I'm going to have to upgrade the headlights. If you can get the lighting upgrade by all means go for it.

baobay

Same thing happened to me with my previous GLS. $80k vehicle with halogen lights!!! ABSURD! First chance I had to trade it in I did and boy what a difference. Since you purchased it, you should look into possibly upgrading to the adaptive LED lights. I have seen it done online. I couldn't do it because mine was a lease.

ilovemaui1

Can you replace the halogen lights with the intelligent lights? I would love to see how it's done.