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Honestly I have been driving BMW for the past 13 years and I am over them. I think their quality has gone down, they don't look nearly as good as they used to and dealing with their maintenance programs is a pain in the ***. They fight you on everything. It's is far from what it used to be. I love my X5 but it is time for a new SUV and beyond the issues mentioned above the new X5 looks and drives like a minivan in my opeinion. My X5 can drive circles around the new one. I looked at the rover sport and the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7. I loved the rover and the Q7 but the rover is an overpriced POS even though I do love them and the Audi was great really had nothing bad to say about it other than they will not budge on the price for a prestige model. Same thing goes for rover they wont sell the car for less that 1 or 2k off sticker. What really pissed me off at rover is they "said" they have a small mark up thinking I didn't do my research and the car I test drove had 7k of wiggle room over invoice. Don't lie just tell me you are not interested in selling a car for any less. Call me cheap but I refuse to pay sticker or 1.5k off sticker. I don't believe any car is worth paying sticker for. I do have a very good connection at benz so I get amazing Deals and the sticker on my build was 74k and I got it for a few thousand below invoice. I bought my wife a new 2015 c300 when it first came out and it drives great, looks awesome, and hasn't given one days problem. i love what Mercedes is doing and for now I am fully onboard. This was quite the rant!! Sorry guys!!
Glad to hear my thoughts in someone eles's mouth Used to BMW-s, didn't you find the GLE too smooth and not so sure in sharp turns? When I test drove I liked it a lot, coming from a bmw x3 that is small and feels more like a hatchback than a SUV. Everybody told me I'm not gonna like the GLE and will prefer a X5 but the X5 felt really bulky without M pack and really too hard driving with the M pack. Still I have my back thoughts since as you know on the test drive it is one way, but once you own the car and have it for a month or two you actually know what it is about.
First my biggest piece of advice......never listen to people's opinions. Take them under advisement and learn from them but at the end of the day the way you enjoy the feeling of the way a car drives and handles only matters to you. It bugs the hell out of me when people can't let other people have their opinions. Because guess what?! They aren't buying it you are and you are the one driving it! Lol! Now to your question:
The benz is a lot smoother than the X5. At the same time I have the msport and mperformance and it does grip corners like no ones business but when you put the gle in sport and you have the bigger wheels that come with the amg package and you have the airmatic suspension it honestly isn't that far behind the X5 plus the comfort of the airmatic can't be touched. At the end of the day if I really wanted to get on a banked on ramp at 80+ miles an hr I would drive a sports sedan or coupe. I don't need my SUV to do that. What I need my SUV to do is get into the dirty stuff and drive well in snow. At the same time if you asked me this question 3 years ago I would have said the complete opposite. When I test drove the gle I put it in its paces and everything I put in its path it handled. Also I am so sick of my staggered setup on my X5. 315 size rear tires is not conducive to snow!! Plus you eat through tires. I still do wish that automakers stayed away from run flats or at least gave the buyer an option. I hate them. I would pick regular tires with a spare any day. That is what I have with my X5 as I built it with the space saving spare tire. At the end of the day I still love BMW but I think Benz is a better car these days. All auto makers go through their cycles. In the 90's Benz was unstoppable and bimmers were slow and broke down all the time then in the 2000's they completely swapped Benz started cheaping out and had all sorts of problems and BMW got their asses in gear and made some bad *** cars. Over the past two years in my opinion it has switched again and now Benz is on top. It's funny because I have three die hard bimmer fans and all of them are moving to Benz when their leases are up. So do you also have a Benz or just the x3? What year is your x3?
I have just an X3, 2014, 2.0 d. Quick enough, not fast though, too noisy inside, engine and wind noise in the same time. Nice handling and dynamics for a 4 cylinder , but for sure it doesn't have the noble power of the MB V6.
Nice built!My only recommendation is maybe you could think about the running board and the Night/black sport package. I love the Dark 20 inch AMG rims. I am actually in the market looking for a set of those to replace my standard 19 inch.
Interesting development happened. My salesperson informed me that currently they cannot order the exterior sports package without the night package even though you can do it online. I personally hate the look of the night package but I know others love it like yourself! So I changed the build a little. Here is the new build!
2017 GLE350 4Matic
- Selenite grey
- Black MB Tex
- Black headliner
- 20'in 5 Spoke Wheels
- Panoramic Roof
- Illuminated Star
- Magic Vision Control
- Natural Grain Brown Ash Wood
- Wood/Leather steering wheel
- Premium 2 Package
- Heated Rear Seats
- Three Zone Climate Control
- Parking Assistance Package
- AIRMATIC Suspension
- MultiContour Seats w/massage feature
The reason behind that may be because benz is going away with GLE 400. Instead they are replacing with GLE43 AMG like the rest of the line up. According to online site, night sports package is standard on the 43. Therefore, it might go away with the regular GLE350.
Nice built!My only recommendation is maybe you could think about the running board and the Night/black sport package. I love the Dark 20 inch AMG rims. I am actually in the market looking for a set of those to replace my standard 19 inch.
That is my exact setup and I love it. The 20s are beautiful with the night/black sport package.
We went with our GLE350D over the X5 because the GLE feels much smoother to drive and we got a much better deal on it. I completely regret not going with the night package. The dilema was that in order to get night package I had to have the black/silver wheels, which I didnt want so I planned to get the chrome pieces wrapped but in the end just didn't want to throw more money at it. I also wish I got the 21" rims but it would probably have compromised the ride quality and I think that was only available with summer tires..water under the bridge.
Personally though, I absolutely hate the magic vision control. I'm not sure if I'm using them incorrectly or there is something wrong with mine but they're just not strong enough to clean bird **** off the window after it's dried. I would have been fine with the traditional sprayers. Will be a question for the service department on my next visit anyway.
Interesting let me know what the SA says when you bring that up. I have always hated the overspray from normal washer jets so I am okay with risking it for that but still good to know!
As for the 21's if you do any off road driving or drive in snow you are basically giving up the "SUV" part of your car. I will admit they look amazing but I actually take my car to the mountains and into the snow.
Decided to update the build a little....again based on some things I have read. Below is the updated build.
2017 GLE350 4Matic
- Selenite grey
- Black MB Tex
- Black headliner
- 20'in 5 Spoke Wheels
- Panoramic Roof
- Illuminated Star
- Magic Vision Control
- Natural Grain Brown Ash Wood
- Mb-Tex and stitching wrapped Upper Dashboard and upper door panels
- Wood/Leather steering wheel
- Premium 2 Package
- Heated Rear Seats
- Three Zone Climate Control
- Parking Assistance Package
- AIRMATIC Suspension
- MultiContour Seats w/massage feature
MBTex is awesome. Super durable. No one even knows that it isn't leather. It's a super high-grade leather imposter with cotton woven in.
Ash wood will get you tons of compliments from passengers, even other MB owners.
Not many people think the multi contour is worth the price because it way over promises. I'd skip it.
Pano roof. This isn't a great option on the GLE because it is two small glass panels. The X5 has an impressive large pano. Also the sunshade on the GLE will let in light and heat which will cook you in the SoCal sun because it is a thin sheet. The X5 has a hard opaque sunshade. MB blew it with the pano.
Illum star = Kinda tacky.
MBtex dash is an absolute must. Especially for the price. You will love it.
Thanks for the input! Yeah have an X5 now and agree that mb blew it with the mesh but we have it on our c300 and it isn't bad plus that is why I got the 3 zone climate control to help with the re cooling of the car. As for the star you either love it or hate it and I have wanted it ever since they came out with it. s for the massage seats I hear good and bad things so I said screw it it's a lease if we like it great if not we know for the future!! You are 100% correct though the mb Tex is awesome I don't understand why people hate on it so much. It looks and feels like leather and you don't have to do **** to it. I can understand if you want leather in a nice sedan but this is an SUV why worry about the upkeep and delicacy of having real leather?! I will post pics once it arrives next month
If its not too late. check out the black ash wood. great reselling value. We always are looking for certified's and the black ash is rare and sells fast.
So Cal, come to think of it my build order was delayed due to the grey titanium rims. Maybe they are scarce or doing away w them as to why the traditional Sport package came w the Night package dark rims. I prefer the gray rims over the black though and I like some chrome in the front opposed to the blacked out front. Im super happy w my build! Congrats! Cant wait to see your build.
Pano roof. This isn't a great option on the GLE because it is two small glass panels. The X5 has an impressive large pano. Also the sunshade on the GLE will let in light and heat which will cook you in the SoCal sun because it is a thin sheet. The X5 has a hard opaque sunshade. MB blew it with the pano.
I actually like the Pano Roof look from the exterior especially on colored cars. It provides a nice contrast. I have it on my Black GLE and you're right it is small but its still better than just fabric. I live in Miami and so far haven't had any extreme heat issues due to it. Perhaps in summer it may be an issue. I will see.
So Cal, come to think of it my build order was delayed due to the grey titanium rims. Maybe they are scarce or doing away w them as to why the traditional Sport package came w the Night package dark rims. I prefer the gray rims over the black though and I like some chrome in the front opposed to the blacked out front. Im super happy w my build! Congrats! Cant wait to see your build.
That actually makes perfect sense. They are running low on inventory on the stock rims also and cars are coming standard with the douple spoke rims which I hate. That is why I went with these: 750 dollar upgrade but worth it in my mind!
If its not too late. check out the black ash wood. great reselling value. We always are looking for certified's and the black ash is rare and sells fast.
Do you mean the black lacquer wood or the anthracite wood? Just curious as ther is no black ash wood anymore. I just love the look of a matte brown wood next to an all black interior it make it pop. Now with a lighter interior color. For example the designo Porcelain leather you match that up to a black wood that looks beautiful......in my opinion obviously
You are right. It is anthracite. It is one of those additional options I wanted to make sure you did not miss. As you have stated, to each their own on color preferences. Good luck and many trouble free miles on your purchase!
I had a salesman talk to me about a GLE that had the Illuminated Star but not the LED headlights. Why would that even be possible. It looks horrible with a bright white LED star in the middle of yellowish halogen headlights.
12-22-2016, 11:29 PM
Used to BMW-s, didn't you find the GLE too smooth and not so sure in sharp turns? When I test drove I liked it a lot, coming from a bmw x3 that is small and feels more like a hatchback than a SUV. Everybody told me I'm not gonna like the GLE and will prefer a X5 but the X5 felt really bulky without M pack and really too hard driving with the M pack. Still I have my back thoughts since as you know on the test drive it is one way, but once you own the car and have it for a month or two you actually know what it is about.
