Will owners please comment on this
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Porsche Cayenne Turbo
Will owners please comment on this
I'm considering moving from a 2019 Porsche Cayenne Turbo to a 2020 GLS 580 for improved ride comfort. This was reported in a recent Motor Trend article:
"But after we left the Honda proving ground and drove on public streets, the suspension showed some of its weaknesses. When driving over broken pavement, some judges felt more vibrations in the cabin than in the Subaru Outback and were left wondering where the benefit and value resided in such a fancy suspension—a $6,500 option, at that.
More on Mercedes: If the GLS is too big, get our thoughts on the GLE SUV here.
"I'm shocked that both the Outback and Aviator rode nicer than the GLS," features editor Christian Seabaugh said. "I shouldn't be able to feel anything beneath me in the 'S-Class of SUVs,' yet the Mercedes still gets upset over high-frequency impacts."
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/merc...d-cons-review/
I thought the E Active suspension smoothed the driving experience. Can current owners with E Active share their experience driving over broken pavement? is this a situation where "most" of the time the E Active creates a smoother ride, but in some instances it is worse based on broken pavement, potholes, or other road imperfections. I haven't had a chance to test drive one yet.
Thanks to all who can your experience.
"But after we left the Honda proving ground and drove on public streets, the suspension showed some of its weaknesses. When driving over broken pavement, some judges felt more vibrations in the cabin than in the Subaru Outback and were left wondering where the benefit and value resided in such a fancy suspension—a $6,500 option, at that.
More on Mercedes: If the GLS is too big, get our thoughts on the GLE SUV here.
"I'm shocked that both the Outback and Aviator rode nicer than the GLS," features editor Christian Seabaugh said. "I shouldn't be able to feel anything beneath me in the 'S-Class of SUVs,' yet the Mercedes still gets upset over high-frequency impacts."
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/merc...d-cons-review/
I thought the E Active suspension smoothed the driving experience. Can current owners with E Active share their experience driving over broken pavement? is this a situation where "most" of the time the E Active creates a smoother ride, but in some instances it is worse based on broken pavement, potholes, or other road imperfections. I haven't had a chance to test drive one yet.
Thanks to all who can your experience.
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From: USA, South East
Merc one day I hope
I don't own one but have test driven one (briefly) and thought the suspension felt really nice. I wasn't using an EABC equipped vehicle though (although I think the review said it was turned off at the times they were disappointed).
Honestly I read that whole review and found it superficial (why so obsessed with suspension?!) and too short and unsubstantiated to be useful. Doesn't mean it's wrong, just seemed unhelpful to me overall.
Ultimately if you're spending this much money and worried about suspension smoothness, I would just test drive.
PS I've watched LOTS of YouTube videos, lots of which were very extensive, and don't remember any other negative comment about the suspension like this review had.
Honestly I read that whole review and found it superficial (why so obsessed with suspension?!) and too short and unsubstantiated to be useful. Doesn't mean it's wrong, just seemed unhelpful to me overall.
Ultimately if you're spending this much money and worried about suspension smoothness, I would just test drive.
PS I've watched LOTS of YouTube videos, lots of which were very extensive, and don't remember any other negative comment about the suspension like this review had.
Last edited by univ0298; Nov 14, 2019 at 09:27 PM.
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Joined: Dec 2014
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From: USA, South East
Merc one day I hope
Good way to summarize it. Ultimately I think EABC is more about marketing than anything else .. but I haven’t tried it so can’t be sure. If they want me to spend $6.5K on it I need a test drive, and it seems that eabc vehicles are so rare that a test drive is unlikely
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I opted for EABC, and I don’t really regret it, but I think I’d be happy without it too, if you know what I mean?
On the positive side, curve mode is pretty sweet. It takes all of the sway out of driving on twisty roads, especially at speed. The effect is pretty uncanny.
A bit more mixed is the terrain reading camera doodad. It often works well, for example on dirt roads and in handling speed bumps it can have an astonishing effect. But it does misread things at times which can lead to a bit of jarring now and then, and doesn’t seem to grok potholes or other negative terrain features as well as bumps and undulations.
A bit of vibration can make it into the cabin, but the ride is still generally quiet and composed at all speeds.
On the positive side, curve mode is pretty sweet. It takes all of the sway out of driving on twisty roads, especially at speed. The effect is pretty uncanny.
A bit more mixed is the terrain reading camera doodad. It often works well, for example on dirt roads and in handling speed bumps it can have an astonishing effect. But it does misread things at times which can lead to a bit of jarring now and then, and doesn’t seem to grok potholes or other negative terrain features as well as bumps and undulations.
A bit of vibration can make it into the cabin, but the ride is still generally quiet and composed at all speeds.
I thought the E Active suspension smoothed the driving experience. Can current owners with E Active share their experience driving over broken pavement? is this a situation where "most" of the time the E Active creates a smoother ride, but in some instances it is worse based on broken pavement, potholes, or other road imperfections. I haven't had a chance to test drive one yet.
Thanks to all who can your experience.
Thanks to all who can your experience.
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Joined: Nov 2019
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Porsche Cayenne Turbo
I opted for EABC, and I don’t really regret it, but I think I’d be happy without it too, if you know what I mean?
On the positive side, curve mode is pretty sweet. It takes all of the sway out of driving on twisty roads, especially at speed. The effect is pretty uncanny.
A bit more mixed is the terrain reading camera doodad. It often works well, for example on dirt roads and in handling speed bumps it can have an astonishing effect. But it does misread things at times which can lead to a bit of jarring now and then, and doesn’t seem to grok potholes or other negative terrain features as well as bumps and undulations.
A bit of vibration can make it into the cabin, but the ride is still generally quiet and composed at all speeds.
On the positive side, curve mode is pretty sweet. It takes all of the sway out of driving on twisty roads, especially at speed. The effect is pretty uncanny.
A bit more mixed is the terrain reading camera doodad. It often works well, for example on dirt roads and in handling speed bumps it can have an astonishing effect. But it does misread things at times which can lead to a bit of jarring now and then, and doesn’t seem to grok potholes or other negative terrain features as well as bumps and undulations.
A bit of vibration can make it into the cabin, but the ride is still generally quiet and composed at all speeds.
On my Porsche there is a dial on the steering wheel that switches between regular, individual, sport and sport plus drive modes. This is very easy to use because it is located near where your hands already are (the steering wheel) and in short order muscle memory kicks in and you can make a change within a second of thinking you want to. What are the methods available to change the various modes (Curve, EABC on/off) on the GLS? Is there a very quick way to jump between modes? Using "Hey Mercedes" voice command would be a pain to me.
Last edited by kdogitis; Nov 15, 2019 at 08:39 AM.
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No, you wouldn’t need to change the drive mode at all. There’s some setting that I think you can select to get the car to remember the last mode you were in between restarts, so you could (if my memory is correct) just have it in curve mode all the time.
All that curve mode does on top of the default comfort setting is lean the car into turns; the other terrain reading and following stuff is enabled in both modes.
Drive mode selection is through a switch on the centre console that you can reach easily enough. (It’s via a knob on the steering wheel on AMG sedans, as on your Porsche.)
All that curve mode does on top of the default comfort setting is lean the car into turns; the other terrain reading and following stuff is enabled in both modes.
Drive mode selection is through a switch on the centre console that you can reach easily enough. (It’s via a knob on the steering wheel on AMG sedans, as on your Porsche.)
Thanks for the information. I'm starting to think EABC may be designed and implemented in a way that would cause me to rarely use it. The road surfaces I drive on every day change constantly - smooth, bumpy, twisty, flat, straight, very rough. It seems to get the most out of EABC I would need to turn on curve for curvy roads, turn off the system for rough roads, turn on the system (but not curve mode) for speed bumps and large undulations on the road. Just on my 15 mile drive to work I would be changing the settings 20+ times to get the benefit but not the drawbacks of EABC depending on the road surface. Does this make sense, or am I missing something?
On my Porsche there is a dial on the steering wheel that switches between regular, individual, sport and sport plus drive modes. This is very easy to use because it is located near where your hands already are (the steering wheel) and in short order muscle memory kicks in and you can make a change within a second of thinking you want to. What are the methods available to change the various modes (Curve, EABC on/off) on the GLS? Is there a very quick way to jump between modes? Using "Hey Mercedes" voice command would be a pain to me.
On my Porsche there is a dial on the steering wheel that switches between regular, individual, sport and sport plus drive modes. This is very easy to use because it is located near where your hands already are (the steering wheel) and in short order muscle memory kicks in and you can make a change within a second of thinking you want to. What are the methods available to change the various modes (Curve, EABC on/off) on the GLS? Is there a very quick way to jump between modes? Using "Hey Mercedes" voice command would be a pain to me.
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Thanks for the information. I'm starting to think EABC may be designed and implemented in a way that would cause me to rarely use it. The road surfaces I drive on every day change constantly - smooth, bumpy, twisty, flat, straight, very rough. It seems to get the most out of EABC I would need to turn on curve for curvy roads, turn off the system for rough roads, turn on the system (but not curve mode) for speed bumps and large undulations on the road. Just on my 15 mile drive to work I would be changing the settings 20+ times to get the benefit but not the drawbacks of EABC depending on the road surface. Does this make sense, or am I missing something?
On my Porsche there is a dial on the steering wheel that switches between regular, individual, sport and sport plus drive modes. This is very easy to use because it is located near where your hands already are (the steering wheel) and in short order muscle memory kicks in and you can make a change within a second of thinking you want to. What are the methods available to change the various modes (Curve, EABC on/off) on the GLS? Is there a very quick way to jump between modes? Using "Hey Mercedes" voice command would be a pain to me.
On my Porsche there is a dial on the steering wheel that switches between regular, individual, sport and sport plus drive modes. This is very easy to use because it is located near where your hands already are (the steering wheel) and in short order muscle memory kicks in and you can make a change within a second of thinking you want to. What are the methods available to change the various modes (Curve, EABC on/off) on the GLS? Is there a very quick way to jump between modes? Using "Hey Mercedes" voice command would be a pain to me.
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