Hi, the lease on my 2020 GLS450 ended and I swapped it for a 2024 GLS450 last weekend. Both cars came with pretty basic options with 20" wheels on the old and 21" on the new one. Here are a few things I noticed:
- New Mbux has nicer graphics and operates very smoothly although I didn't have any lags in the old car either (which had the High range head unit.)
- The surround camera view seems to be much more detailed but perhaps because of that, it also seems a bit too crowded. I just feel the old car had more guidelines and/or was easier to check the surroundings on camera e.g. when you are in a narrow driveway, etc.
- The touch controls on the steering wheel are fine. I too prefer the old version but no issue with the new ones. It's just trickier to fine tune the volume but luckily they kept the volume control wheel in the center console.
- The old car had this (useless IMO) feature of showing/prompting to show camera view of the front when you arrived at a crossroad. It seems they removed it in the new one.
- The built-in navigation is much nicer with better graphics. I had augmented reality in the old car as well and it seems to be working similarly in the new one. I tried it once just to see how it worked (and switched back to android auto.)
- Android auto is almost full screen now (only leaves out an inch on the left side with home screen on top.)
- Thanks god they kept the mechanical A/C controls in the old place. The front temps are shown in the bottom of the Mbux screen but when using Android Auto (and I guess Carplay?), the temps no longer show on the screen by default and you will have to touch the A/C controls to see the temps again on the screen.
- I got mine with dashcam and in the settings it shows as permanently active, so I guess it should also be available as an option to purchase and activate through the MercedesMe store in case you didn't get it in your car. Btw My MercedesMe store currently only shows one item to purchase (AMG race track for $250 as the new car has the AMG packages). The dashcam works fine. I just plugged a ssd (can also use a flashdrive) using the usb-c port in the storage compartment. I activated the continuous loop recording option and now it starts recording automatically whenever I start the car. Recordings are stored as 2-min clips.
- I used the trailer hitch to install a bike rack in the old car but the presence of the bike rack used to trigger the backup warning and engaged the automatic braking so I ended up disabling the automatic braking. In the new car, it seems to be detecting that the bike rack is not a real obstacle and it ignores it, so I can back up with no warning tone or automatic braking.
- Still no option to set a driving mode as default, but you can change the settings so it prompts you to use your favorite setting whenever you start the car.
- And lastly, the new car seems to be driving significantly smoother and it's quieter inside (no acoustic package) but it also seems to be a bit more sluggish. I always drive in Eco mode so no idea how different the new vs. old cars would have been in other driving modes. Also, in the old car when in Eco mode I don't ever remember seeing the car in the 1st gear (it started to move in 2nd gear) but the new one in Eco starts from the 1st gear. Not sure if this all is related to the new car having just a few miles on it vs. the old one with 30K miles and/or perhaps there are some hidden break-in settings set by the manufacturer that will go away as I drive more...

Appreciate the comparison and well done!

Moving more things to the touchscreen is certainly a pain and not seeing the cabin temp when using CP/AA would drive me crazy!
Strange how Mercedes still can't do fullscreen CP/AA as BMW has no issue doing it! Couldn't they have snuck in some cabin temps in that inch of space?

Thanks for the review! Quick question as I just ordered a 2024. For Android Auto or Apple CarPlay - can wired option still work?

Its probably still there. You need to activate it. It is very useful when you are too close to a light or the sun is in your eyes.

That's how its always been. The 2020 never had LCD displays for temp.

Yes. Both wired and wireless for AA and CP for MY24.

Nice comparison from a first—person ownership perspective! I think you mean the temp readout on the infotainment screen itself, bottom corners for each side. Sounds like they programmed that away. Maybe the “pre-facelift” models will end up like that too someday when a new update rolls out.

i suspect it’ll get faster after a few hundred miles. Wouldn’t surprise me if there is some level of programming in the computer to keep it relatively easy going on the engine for a break in period regardless if you want it or not. Considering the warranty period is active, it would be smart of MB to do such a thing to make sure no major warranty claims head their way..

curious, how well does it come to a gentle rolling stop? Still a bit lumpy with holding gears 3,2.1?

Thank you! Another quick question - is it worth upgrading the leather or the standard one fine. If you have the standard one - do you think the thigh support is adequate since it doesn't have the extend thigh option? I am 5'11".

Sorry my bad. Yes. there was no separate A/C temp display in the old car. It was always on the main screen but since Android auto was not full screen, I could see the temps on the lower end. With the full-screen Android auto in the 2024 model, the temps are not shown unless I quickly press the temp control button up or down. I'll correct my initial post as well. As for the camera view at intersections, I haven't seen the option in the settings yet but will check again. Thanks!

Thanks! Yes you are right. The temp was always there on the mbux screen but since I use android auto and it's full display in the new model, it doesn't show the temps there by default unless you're changing the temp.
I also suspect that it has something to do with the break-in period and some intentional hidden settings. My 2020 car just felt more agile even in Eco mode and it never felt that big to drive. With the 24 one, I do feel the heaviness of the car when accelerating. However, stopping is just fine and as good as the old one when gently rolling. I was surprised to see the car starting to move in 1st gear so paid close attention when stopping and noticed that it stops in 2nd gear and never goes to 1st when slowing down.

You're welcome. Sorry I never had leather so no idea how that would be but the imitation leather looks and feels good to me and I like the brown color I got. I am 6' (and a long-distance runner so probably have more muscle and less subcutaneous fat pad in legs) and have no complaint with the thigh support.

@rayzam , did you have the Driver Assistance Package before and how does it compare to your current model now that it's standard?

Thank you so much!! I ordered the imitation leather too and last question - do your seats have thigh extenders? Can't tell if that only comes with the leather seats (the dealer said it comes with the imitation leather but I find it hard to believe).

Thanks for your thoughts!

The sluggishness is likely due to the extra unsprung weight of the 21s vs the 20s on your old GLS...

I didn't have it in the old car so no point of reference but I did want to get it in the new car (mostly for adaptive cruise control). I've tried it and not impressed. No matter what distance setting I use, it keeps accelerating even though there are cars stopping further down the road and then it does a hard brake to avoid hitting them. Then when it's go time, it hesitates so much that I almost always end up overriding it. I can only see myself using it in long highway drives with smooth traffic. Otherwise you end up burning much more gas and brake pads for a quite jittery ride.

Thats really what its for. Also great in bumper to bumper slow moving traffic, but medium traffic best to drive it on your own.

It just takes some getting used to. The older radar cruise control (up to our old 2020 GLC) would not stop if you were going faster than a certain speed (40?) and the cars in front were stationary. Disappointing when a car in front of you pulls into a turning Lane and your car speeds up even though there are stationary cars at the lights. You get used to it. I seem to recall that the new ones including our 2023 GLC have a higher speed cutoff, I can certainly say that I almost exclusively drive with the pseudo self-drive enabled when it's daylight and I'm not in a huge rush.

Sure! Yes, there is a separate control for the thigh section of the front seats and you can extend them for a few more inches. I believe it's a standard feature.

Another thing I noticed today: When the front camera is activated (e.g. when parking and nearing the curb), if you turn the steering wheel the camera view also turns in the same direction as the wheels. Don't remember if I had this in my old car.
Also regarding the new transparent hood feature, it is indeed a virtual view that the car creates using what the cameras had captured earlier (vs. a live view using an actual camera), so when you activate it, it shows nothing but as you move forward, it uses the recent forward view to recreate what supposedly lies underneath the car.

At least in my '23 model I've found the setting of "2 car lengths" to be the most comfortable and the car able to make natural stops. A setting of "1 car length" has stops that are too abrupt. I use the same setting regardless of if I'm on the highway or on local streets for this reason.

Is it possible to shut off the adaptive cruise control or to program it to behave like the old school cruise controls where they just kept a constant speed without slowing down or speeding up?

I'd like to know as well as I haven't found a way to "dumb it down".

I've been meaning to ask, what's the rated EPA Fuel Economy for the '24 models?

On the sticker it says 19 city/24 highway/21 combined, so I think they claim 1 mpg improvement.

Interesting. I wonder if it's related to your comment that the car feels "sluggish" (less throttle response)?

Yes, that's quite possible. I guess we'll know better after passing the first 1K miles to make sure break-in period is over.