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The top trim 3.3 Turbo S is not on lots yet, but the trim immediately beneath it with the same engine is on lots. This is the one I saw and sat in yesterday:
The vehicle you sat in doesn't have the dashboard covered in fabric and stitched. If you haven't clicked on my Mazda link, check it out!
I'm not trying to convince you it's comparable to a Mercedes. I'm saying it's got all the modern stuff and even their Ambiance package includes the bling bling stuff like carpet/welcome lights, illuminated door sills, etc.
Only thing not available as an option are the running boards which won't be available until next year.
The vehicle you sat in doesn't have the dashboard covered in fabric and stitched. If you haven't clicked on my Mazda link, check it out!
I'm not trying to convince you it's comparable to a Mercedes. I'm saying it's got all the modern stuff and even their Ambiance package includes the bling bling stuff like carpet/welcome lights, illuminated door sills, etc.
Only thing not available as an option are the running boards which won't be available until next year.
It has it "covered" in stitched imitation leather. The only difference in the upper trim is that stitched imitation leather is replaced with fabric. All the other plastics are the same. Lots of cars have the bling bling stuff, thats not what makes the car different.
The circled area in this photo is what is replaced with the fabric vs the stitched imitation leather on this car
This is the top trim car, you get wood trim but you can see outside of the bar I circled being that fabric the rest of the plastics are the same
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by SW20S
The materials are excellent for what it is, the reviewers are comparing the vehicle to other vehicles in its price class. When compared to a GLS or X7, the materials are not as nice for sure. The one on the showroom floor was one trim below loaded.
The areas I have circled in red on the CX90 are hard plastic similar to what you would find in a Mazda CX-5 or other mainstream vehicle like a telluride, etc. In a GLS most of these areas are nice padded vinyl or stitched leather/imitation leather (lower doors in GLS are plastic). In the X7 all those areas are padded vinyl or stitched leather. Just one example. Also this trim has cheesy imitation carbon fiber where the germans have real wood trim or real CF or metal all as options.
The trim above this does not change any of these areas, nor does it improve the cabin isolation or overall feel of refinement. The CX-90 is a great near luxury vehicle, but its not comparable to a GLS or X7.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by SW20S
It has it "covered" in stitched imitation leather. The only difference in the upper trim is that stitched imitation leather is replaced with fabric. All the other plastics are the same. Lots of cars have the bling bling stuff, thats not what makes the car different.
The circled area in this photo is what is replaced with the fabric vs the stitched imitation leather on this car
This is the top trim car, you get wood trim but you can see outside of the bar I circled being that fabric the rest of the plastics are the same
Ah I think I see it now, thanks for sharing your observations.
The materials are excellent for what it is, the reviewers are comparing the vehicle to other vehicles in its price class. When compared to a GLS or X7, the materials are not as nice for sure. The one on the showroom floor was one trim below loaded.
The areas I have circled in red on the CX90 are hard plastic similar to what you would find in a Mazda CX-5 or other mainstream vehicle like a telluride, etc. In a GLS most of these areas are nice padded vinyl or stitched leather/imitation leather (lower doors in GLS are plastic). In the X7 all those areas are padded vinyl or stitched leather. Just one example. Also this trim has cheesy imitation carbon fiber where the germans have real wood trim or real CF or metal all as options.
The trim above this does not change any of these areas, nor does it improve the cabin isolation or overall feel of refinement. The CX-90 is a great near luxury vehicle, but its not comparable to a GLS or X7.
Just did a theoretical GLS450 build and there is a "Topstitched MB-Tex lower dash and upper door trim" for $350. If you didn't choose this option, wouldn't it just be plastic as well on the Mercedes?
You made it sound like the nicer trim is standard.
The Light Beige with Senwood and Cross-Stitched Dash is really good looking. I also really like the Cognac interior which comes with a suede trim piece.
My oldest son has the Mazda 3 Turbo and NB Miata, and his wife has the CX-9 and I must say, it does feel very premium for its price. Is it a German luxury car? No, but then again its not priced like one either. She'll definitely be replacing her CX-9 with a CX-90. Mazda makes some great cars, I love my Miata, and my son has owned countless cars from them over the years and has had nothing but easy reliable miles. I do wish they would revive the Mazda 6 and put it on this platform, but a man can only dream in this SUV crazed world.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by js_cls
The Light Beige with Senwood and Cross-Stitched Dash is really good looking. I also really like the Cognac interior which comes with a suede trim piece.
My oldest son has the Mazda 3 Turbo and NB Miata, and his wife has the CX-9 and I must say, it does feel very premium for its price. Is it a German luxury car? No, but then again its not priced like one either. She'll definitely be replacing her CX-9 with a CX-90. Mazda makes some great cars, I love my Miata, and my son has owned countless cars from them over the years and has had nothing but easy reliable miles. I do wish they would revive the Mazda 6 and put it on this platform, but a man can only dream in this SUV crazed world.
If they also brought back Mazda Speed as well... Zoom Zoom:>
Just did a theoretical GLS450 build and there is a "Topstitched MB-Tex lower dash and upper door trim" for $350. If you didn't choose this option, wouldn't it just be plastic as well on the Mercedes?
You made it sound like the nicer trim is standard.
No, without the stitched material its still padded vinyl, not hard plastic in those areas. The only Mercedes that have hard plastic in those places are the really cheap ones like the A Class, GLA/GLB etc.
Originally Posted by js_cls
The Light Beige with Senwood and Cross-Stitched Dash is really good looking. I also really like the Cognac interior which comes with a suede trim piece.
My oldest son has the Mazda 3 Turbo and NB Miata, and his wife has the CX-9 and I must say, it does feel very premium for its price. Is it a German luxury car? No, but then again its not priced like one either. She'll definitely be replacing her CX-9 with a CX-90. Mazda makes some great cars, I love my Miata, and my son has owned countless cars from them over the years and has had nothing but easy reliable miles. I do wish they would revive the Mazda 6 and put it on this platform, but a man can only dream in this SUV crazed world.
Mazdas absolutely feel very upscale for the money.
So I got test drives in for the '24 X7 and the '23 GLS450. Here are my impressions:
'24 X7 xDrive40i
Pretty peppy engine but has a bit of lag in the beginning (possibly caused by the mild hybrid battery). Tons of bells and whistles including a HUD, and semi-autonomous driving up to 85 MPH.
Trunk space w/third row up is very lacking but the HK audio system played my MCH FLAC files admirably!
'23 GLS450
Experienced none of the lag from the X7 and engine was very smooth. No HUD and not too many packages in the one I test drove. I wasn't able to test my tunes since my USB stick is USB-A and all the ports in the GLS were USB-C!
Trunk space is deeper than even my '16 model and more spacious overall than the X7.
The '24 GLS has the wireless CP that I want (and the X7 already has) but I can't wait until the fall. Mazda is probably the odd man out as the car I want to test drive is still weeks away. I hope to make a final decision this coming week!
I think the electric start isn't as smooth a transition to the combustion engine. It's not a deal breaker but you have to drive it to know what I mean.
I've read similar comments for the redesigned '23 GLC that just got the MH.
How about the headlights? Southern California. Specifically, Orange County.
The headlights are fine. If you wish for more "bling bling", you can opt for the DRL made of Swarovski crystals ($2100 option).
I'm on the East coast so my dealer won't be able to help you unfortunately! Not every dealer is doing ADM but you just have to do the leg work to find them.
Once you do, you'll find they're extremely busy and won't have a lot of cars on the lot whereas greedy dealers are stockpiling cars and unwittingly waiting for the other shoe to drop (US debt default).
If you think lending is bad now...
I’ve been on vacation a couple of weeks and not followed the forum, but a few comments.
To the comment above about MDX being luxury, I have had five top trim MDXs over 20+ years. I have always considered them to be “premium” brand, not luxury, and the best all around value in a 3 row SUV. That is until the new generation and a mid 70k MSRP for the Type S Advance. In my mind Acura is now trying to move up into the luxury category. In the past, with Acura incentives, the MDX Advance was typically 25-30K less, than lower trim MB, BMW, and Audi.
As a result, and because I have been enjoying my 2015 S550, in November I purchased a CPO 2020 GLS 450 (original MSRP 105k) with 20k miles. Included an extended CPO warranty so I’m good until March 2027. I did look at the new MDX generation, but I paid for the GLS near midpoint between what the 2023 Advance and 2023 Type S Advance would have cost, for much more vehicle.
We have put 5k miles on the GLS, including two trips to FL. I am enjoying the GLS so much I will likely sell the S550 this summer (I have typically had an older Lexus LS 430/460 as an additional vehicle until I purchased the S550 from a friend/client in 2019).
As to CarPlay, in the MDX I used it principally for Waze as the my last three MDXs had a hard drive I could load my CDs into. I use the GLS Navigation with Live Traffic, although on trips I will activate Waze on my phone and leave it on the wireless charger to get police locations. I did buy a wireless dongle for the MDX, but I have not tried in in the GLS. For music I ripped by CDs to a flash drive using FLAC format and it sounds fantastic on the Burmester High End 3D Sound System. You do need a USB adapter as the ports in the GLS are USB-C.
I have had one issue. Got a suspension notification in March of Malfunction, Drive at Max 50 MPH, that was gone the next day. It happened again a week later so I took it to the dealer, and a software update resolved the issue.
At any rate, a CPO GLS 450 at the right price would not be a bad decision.
I’ve been on vacation a couple of weeks and not followed the forum, but a few comments.
To the comment above about MDX being luxury, I have had five top trim MDXs over 20+ years. I have always considered them to be “premium” brand, not luxury, and the best all around value in a 3 row SUV. That is until the new generation and a mid 70k MSRP for the Type S Advance. In my mind Acura is now trying to move up into the luxury category. In the past, with Acura incentives, the MDX Advance was typically 25-30K less, than lower trim MB, BMW, and Audi.
As a result, and because I have been enjoying my 2015 S550, in November I purchased a CPO 2020 GLS 450 (original MSRP 105k) with 20k miles. Included an extended CPO warranty so I’m good until March 2027. I did look at the new MDX generation, but I paid for the GLS near midpoint between what the 2023 Advance and 2023 Type S Advance would have cost, for much more vehicle.
We have put 5k miles on the GLS, including two trips to FL. I am enjoying the GLS so much I will likely sell the S550 this summer (I have typically had an older Lexus LS 430/460 as an additional vehicle until I purchased the S550 from a friend/client in 2019).
As to CarPlay, in the MDX I used it principally for Waze as the my last three MDXs had a hard drive I could load my CDs into. I use the GLS Navigation with Live Traffic, although on trips I will activate Waze on my phone and leave it on the wireless charger to get police locations. I did buy a wireless dongle for the MDX, but I have not tried in in the GLS. For music I ripped by CDs to a flash drive using FLAC format and it sounds fantastic on the Burmester High End 3D Sound System. You do need a USB adapter as the ports in the GLS are USB-C.
I have had one issue. Got a suspension notification in March of Malfunction, Drive at Max 50 MPH, that was gone the next day. It happened again a week later so I took it to the dealer, and a software update resolved the issue.
At any rate, a CPO GLS 450 at the right price would not be a bad decision.
Yes, MDX is certainly premium.
I tried the CPO route but to get a car w/packages I want is needle in haystack hard!
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by SW20S
48V should help with lag, not cause lag...
I wonder if BMW still uses the belt system based 48V at least that is what I heard for the 3 series, next generation will use a similar system as MB but I am not sure if the X7 was one of the models with the "lesser?" version of the 48V system (at least compared to MB)
I tried the CPO route but to get a car w/packages I want is needle in haystack hard!
Understand. I had been looking about four months when this one fell in my lap. It was at another luxury brand in the area owned by a national company that owns my MB dealer, and priced below what I had seen much less optioned vehicles priced. Had it transferred to MB dealer who CPO'd it.
I tried the CPO route but to get a car w/packages I want is needle in haystack hard!
Cayenne with air suspension. It can be optioned to S-Class levels of luxury with HUD, night vision, semi-autonomous driving, full leather and stitched interior, deep pile mats, and more. Base model gets you low entry price, and higher trims get you more power and smiles per mile. eHybrid model available if that’s your thing. All variants from base to Turbo can be had with the same option content.
I see lots of talk about third row seating but I did not see where you stated this as a requirement. Do some Cayenne builds on the configurator and ask some questions at rennlist.
Cayenne with air suspension. It can be optioned to S-Class levels of luxury with HUD, night vision, semi-autonomous driving, full leather and stitched interior, deep pile mats, and more. Base model gets you low entry price, and higher trims get you more power and smiles per mile. eHybrid model available if that’s your thing. All variants from base to Turbo can be had with the same option content.
I see lots of talk about third row seating but I did not see where you stated this as a requirement. Do some Cayenne builds on the configurator and ask some questions at rennlist.
finder.Porsche.com
3 rows is a requirement. Cayenne I can certainly pine for down the road as an empty nester but not there yet!
Understand. I had been looking about four months when this one fell in my lap. It was at another luxury brand in the area owned by a national company that owns my MB dealer, and priced below what I had seen much less optioned vehicles priced. Had it transferred to MB dealer who CPO'd it.
How did you manage to transfer the car from a non-Mercedes dealer to Mercedes?
05-16-2023 | 11:35 AM
