B Marques

Was a diesel version ever sold? I can’t seem to find any.

skw

That whole VW diesel mess came about just as the GLS was released so there was a stop/hold put on all of the GLS350 vehicles still at the factory and on the dealer's lots. There possibly may have been a handful already delivered to customers but I haven't seen any. My local dealer had 2 en route to them and even showed on their website but those were taken back by MBUSA.

fabbrisd1

The US Feds got really amped up over the VW thing - and in tracking back - the German car companies intra-company in developing sensible tech for diesel are construed by some US and Euro government agencies as "price fixing"..

Daimler has come forward with FULL disclosure - and the EU has already granted MB "immunity" if anything comes up in Euro adjudged "price fixing"

The US Fed's won't grant immunity in return for full disclosure - so MB diesels form the US will go bye-bye until more is known about the US Fed direction on diesel

cemeek

I just returned a 2016 GL350 - I don't think we'll see any more of them, unfortunately, due to the mess with the EPA/Feds. The rare late model CPO is out there if you want one. Dang shame, diesel in the GL was a great application. Wasn't "fast" but plenty of grunt and great mileage compared to gassers.

skw

Which dealer?

cemeek

Hendrick Motors of Charlotte, NC

skw

350MH83

We have the opposite issue in Europe... Almost impossible to find a gasser, unless you are ready to spend 4 months in line for a custom order. All the GLS are diesel in here.

cemeek

I wouldn't want a gasser in Europe, the 550 gets 14/18 miles per gallon. With gasoline relatively cheap in the US vs Europe those numbers are tolerable. But next time gas hits $4 US, and it will, everyone will be scrambling to sell them, again

c4004matic

After paying 100k plus on a car, 20 extra bucks a tank is a non issue. In Germany it costs almost $200k which makes gas an afterthought. In this type of vehicle consumption is commesurate with capability. A 550 with 7 passengers gives better gas efficiency overall than a Prius with 2 ( per passenger ) !!!

cemeek

Man I don't know if that maths out . $20 more a tank but 2x the mileage. I could nurse 28 on the highway out of our GL350, fully laden. If I'm in Germany right now that's ~$6.00 a gallon. Maybe $200k car owners don't care, come to think of it I don't either anymore but maybe that's because Premium is still < $3.00 gallon here?

c4004matic

its all a matter of perspective On the other hand the seven passanger vs 2 is factually correct, seven passengers at 20 mpg is better than two at 50 mpg! Even if the prius carries 3 its pretty close! I know its funny math since the rated mpg is with only one occupant but it makes the point A fully loaded city bus gets 5mpg but carries 50 people thus its more efficient than fifty priuses. Lol.

Blake4@aol.com

I just turned in my 2014 GL350 that would get 30 mpg if you treated it right. My new GLS450 gets 22 mpg under the same conditions. The new 9 speed tranny is way better than the old 7 speed for smoothness, no banging down in to lower gears, and apparently better fuel mileage. And boy does it ever take off, even in comfort mode. Premium gas is just 5 cents more than Diesel today here in Texas. Yet I still miss the diesel's personality.

Strafzettel

I agree... I was so used to push the pedal only half way in my ML bluetec because it had so much torque that it didn't need to downshift plus the 7 speed transmission was a little slow. Passengers didn't even notice that I was speeding because everything happened in the 2000 - 4200 rpm range. Now in the GLS450 I have to remind myself that I really need to floor it and then it does take off nicely... but now I'm getting comments on my driving from passengers because the gasoline engine screams a little at higher rpms.