GLS Class (X167) Produced 2020 to present

2000 miles in...

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Old 11-13-2023, 06:08 PM
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2012 E Cabrio, 2015 GL x 2 & 2024 GLS
2000 miles in...

Hello all,

our 2024 GLS450 arrived about four weeks ago and we're coming up to 2000 miles. Just wanted to do a quick summary of options and whether I would buy them again or not... All opinions my own.

We went with Alpine Gray with the Night package and black 23" wheels, with a Macchiato interior. Not everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me. Put PPF on it after a week to keep the paint in a decent shape a little longer - I am surprised MB doesn't offer something like that from factory.

DB0 Warmth & Comfort Package - I wouldn't have ordered this, but my wife wanted massaging seats and this was a requirement, if I recall correctly. Heated armrests are fancy, but a bit useless. If it's cold enough for me to want heated armrests, I'm wearing a jacket and, maybe, a sweatshirt, so I won't feel them anyway. Unnecessary gimmick in my view.

DX2 Pinnacle Trim
311 Temp Cupholders - never used these. Not in my 2015 GL, not in this car. If I have a hot drink, it's usually insulated.
399 Multicontour Seats w/ Massage - The massage seats don't do anything for me, but my wife and some of my running buddies will never go a mile without turning them on. Definitely getting their money's worth of usage. I wonder how long until they break...
463 Head-up display - Love it. I know it's not as customizable in the past (as I hear from others on the forum), but I never had a modern HUD and it's an option I'll order on every car from now on.
77b Interior Assistant - Wouldn't have ordered this, but I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago when I was on the road on my own at night and I reached for some healthy (...) snacks on the passenger seat and the reading light came on to illuminate the seat. Only works if no one is sitting there. Other than that, sometimes (twice so far), it asks me to save a gesture to launch some function and I always ask myself what on Earth I did to summon that... Not interested beyond the light function. Anything I'm missing here?
872 Heated Rear Seats - The kids (9 & 7) are coming to the end of their time in car seats. I wouldn't have ordered heated rear seats (growing up, we rarely had heat in the car in the first place and we managed), but it came in the package and, well, it's quite nice. The kids love it and all other passengers do, too.
C53 Surround lighting with MB projections - ridiculous. Would never order this on its own. It's particularly weird that the stars come on when I reverse into a space, so the top-down 360 parking view shows two stars either side of the car. Ridiculous.
P21 Air Balance - It came with a flask. I turned it on. No idea whether it's working. I doubt I'll refill it.
PDD Premium Plus Package - Don't remember what this does.

21U Dashcam - Love it. Well-packaged. The only downside is that it doesn't use an internal HDD and I have to put a USB stick somewhere where I'd quite like to plug something else in (before you try, you can't plug the USB in one of the third row ports). This does give the AR navigation (is that its own code? Not sure), which is also great.

297 Rear Sunshades - You know, I am not sure these will stand the test of time with kids in the back, but they are actually quite neat. One of the kids has his up a lot.

367 Live Traffic - I was impressed with this until I tried to get home from a marathon this weekend where the whole city is basically locked down and the system did not know about the road closures. Waze worked a treat, of course, but in one place the UI even told me that the road was closed, but it still told me to go that way anyway. This reminds me of a time many years ago when a MB Nav (Possibly a Becker unit, to tell you how long ago this was) told its driver to go straight over what looked like a bridge, but was actually a cable-driven ferry outside of Berlin, Germany, and, well, the driver drove straight into the river... I digress. I have driven in DC traffic post-marathon with this and it worked well, but last weekend it let me down.

436 Comfort Front Headrests - Not sure what's comfort about these. Doesn't have the fancy cushions (although I might order some on Amazon). Just headrests. Am I missing something?

443 Heated Steering Wheel - I was somewhat misled by our salesperson here. Our GL has an old-style wooden wheel and while it looks like an old-man car, the steering wheel doesn't get as hot in the summer. So I was excited when I saw the new wooden wheels and I asked when I could have one of those with heating. I was told that I could not, even though that seems to be doable now. So the heated wheel is fine, but I would have preferred the wooden one.

553 Trailer Manoeuvring Assist (pretty sure that's not how that's spelled) - I hadn't had one of these before. Works very well. Good investment.

582 5-Zone Climate Control - this is a bit useless. As far as I can tell, you can only set the temperature for zone 5 from MBUX (I have not played with the 2nd row controls enough to work out whether it can be done from there). Doesn't help people in row 3. 4 USBs, but no AC control. The other thing that annoys me (and I may have not worked this out properly) - when the third row seats are folded, the AC still runs. If I press sync on the main controls, it sets the 3rd row AC to the same level as the driver's seat, even though the seats are folded. What's the point? Wouldn't order 5-zone again. Didn't think I ordered it in the first place, it was a surprise.

669 Collapsible Spare Wheel - No idea how this is supposed to work. It looks VERY flimsy. Hope I never need to use it.

883 Soft Close Doors - I sometimes leave the house very early and not having to slam the doors is nice. Also, sometimes the kids don't close the doors properly - no need to worry. Have it on the GL, love it on here, would buy again any time.

88B Person Reminder - The rear seat reminders are neat. Our kids are old enough that they complain when they're left in the car, so it's less critical, but it works well and I'd buy this again with future buyers with smaller children in mind.

L5C Nappa Leather wheel - The quality of MB non-wooden wheels hasn't been great for us. I have had a few GLCs and on one of them the nappa wheel basically needed replacing after 18 months (when we sold the car). I don't use hand cremes or anything, it just wore poorly. Not sure this will last, we'll see.

RPK 23" wheels - Love the look of these. Finding winter alternative wheels is a challenge. No luck so far, I am 6 shops in. No one wants to put anything smaller than 22s on the car, whereas I'd rather have 21s or 20s. Not sure where I'll end up. Suggestions appreciated.

U09 MB-Tex Upper Dash and Door Trim - this is lovely. Just don't expect the lower door to be anything than cheap hard plastic.


That seems to be all on my window sticker. Additional comments:

Sunroof - The opening itself is small. Smaller than on the 22 GLC we had (at least that's my impression). That's fine, I am not in the "stick your head out of the roof" business, but it looks a bit silly to have a massive piece of glass and it opens so little. Conversely, in contrast with our 2015 GL, I am actually a fan of the larger single roof blind. With the two smaller blinds on the old car, I always had to close both if the kids had sun in their eyes (I am tall and I like the blind open).

Pseudo-self drive (is that the PDD Premium Plus from above?) - honestly it's not as comfortable as it was on our 22 GLC. It feels more nervous and requires hands on the wheel more frequently and in shorter intervals (at least that's my impression). Only driven it for about 105 miles at a time so far and it's fine, but it centers less well than the system I had before. Might do a 300 mile trip to NYC in December. Would definitely buy this again, I'm a big fan of the system, but it's not as sorted as I know it can be. Hopefully software updates this.

Traffic Sign Assist - this works as well as it should do. I thought it was a bit more advanced in actually reading signs, and there are times when I think it does that and there are other signs where I'm pootling along at 35 and suddenly the car goes to 65 for no obvious reason. It messes up sometimes, but rarely in my day-to-day. I also thought that it would display traffic lights on screen. Either it does not or I haven't found the option yet. I'd buy this again.

Running boards - they are okay. My feet are too big for them, but the kids use them and they look nice in my view.

Memory Seats & MBUX - this is a nightmare in my view. I have programmed my seat/wheel/mirror settings in one number and I've programmed my wife's into a different number. We also have different MBUX accounts. My wife is 10 inches shorter than me. After she drives, I cannot possibly squeeze into the seat. If I press my number, nothing happens. I have to put in my Pin into MBUX, then I can press my number and move the seat. Sometimes, when I do SOMETHING different, it will adjust the seat to my setting without me having to press the number on the door, but I have NO IDEA why and how and what. It's confusing. I seem to remember a BMW over a decade ago where all those settings were programmed according to a key. Why can't the car just know that if someone approaches with my key, I'd like the seat to go to my position and if it's my wife's key it needs to go to Short People position? That can't be too hard. Probably my main gripe with the car.

3rd Row access - We still have a 2015 GL. Getting someone into the back and putting the middle seat back takes about 20 seconds. Now, this is a minute-long journey. I assume it has been like this since the X167 has been around, but it feels like a complicated system for complications' sake. Give me the semi-manual GL setup any day.

1000 miles - this was odd. I took note of the sticker on the windshield to take care for 1000 miles and I sort of stuck to it most of the time. However, I wasn't impressed with the engine when I did try to hurry it. After 1000 miles, it felt much better. Am I imagining it, or was there something in the ECU to throttle the car? None of the now-8 other MBs I've bought since 2010 have had this (or, indeed, the window sticker).

3D external camera - nice gimmick. Presumably meant for off-roading. I accidentally must have set it to come on at one junction near me and it keeps bringing up the camera every time. But I can't work out what non-offroaders would need this for. Same applies to invisible hood camera.

I think that's all for now. Happy to go into (even) more detail if anyone has questions. All in all, I love the car. I still prefer my E Cabrio for short trips, but this car will do many many interstate miles, as well as taking my wife to work every day.


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wyatt88 (11-13-2023)
Old 11-13-2023, 10:23 PM
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GLS 450
Thanks for that great review!

You mentioned the 5-zone A/C. I did want to point out that unless it is ordered, there will be no ceiling A/C vents in the 2nd or 3rd row. This lack of A/C vents (unless ordering the 5 zone) seems to me to be a bit of a 'cheap out' by Mercedes, considering most non-luxury three row SUVs have them. Concerning the third row A/C being active even when the third row is flat, it is great for us dog owners, who have them sitting behind the 2nd row flat cargo area.

You mentioned the window shades for the 2nd row, I didn't get them on my first GLS and my kids let me know. It helps on long trips when they are entertaining themselves with their screens.

Thanks again for your review. Love that Alpine Grey.

Old 11-13-2023, 11:15 PM
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Originally Posted by wyatt88
Thanks for that great review!

You mentioned the 5-zone A/C. I did want to point out that unless it is ordered, there will be no ceiling A/C vents in the 2nd or 3rd row. This lack of A/C vents (unless ordering the 5 zone) seems to me to be a bit of a 'cheap out' by Mercedes, considering most non-luxury three row SUVs have them. Concerning the third row A/C being active even when the third row is flat, it is great for us dog owners, who have them sitting behind the 2nd row flat cargo area.

You mentioned the window shades for the 2nd row, I didn't get them on my first GLS and my kids let me know. It helps on long trips when they are entertaining themselves with their screens.

Thanks again for your review. Love that Alpine Grey.
As for the 5-zone AC, I didn't know the second row wouldn't have ceiling vents without it, I would have thought it would come with 4-zone AC, but that shows what I know. I can see how it's useful for dogs, you're absolutely right. Maybe floor-mounted controls for the AC would be useful, along with a USB-powered treat & water dispenser. There are plenty of USB ports back there.

I will say that the AC is noisy when it first gets the car to the right temperature, you can hear the vents much more than I was used to from other cars. One of the vents being next to the driver's head probably doesn't help.
Old 11-14-2023, 08:28 AM
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'23 GLS450
Great build and review, @AKSwift !
I'll comment on the following items you brought up:

436 Comfort Front Headrests - if I remember correctly, these exist more to support your head in a crash more than personal comfort while driving. Additionally, most people don't position them correctly as they are supposed to be higher than where most folks end up. I will add that MB has the most forward-positioned headrest of any brand I've ever owned!

443 Heated Steering Wheel - I get you're upset you didn't get the wooden wheel you're used to but at least the option for heating exists for all. In my '23 GLS also w/Night Package, I have a heated steering wheel but lost the flat-bottomed steering wheel that comes w/the AMG line. My understanding is you can have a heated, flat-bottomed steering wheel now!

582 5-Zone Climate Control - When I purchased my '16 GL450, I was surprised that vents weren't standard in the third row! Ever since then, I was determined to make sure any 3-row vehicle has 5-zone climate as folks in the back always complained. In addition to appeasing rear passengers, this package also helps cool/heat the car faster when remote start is activated!

RPK 23" wheels - as it is impossible to find winter/all-season tires for 23", my advice is to just buy a dedicated set of smaller wheels and tires for winter. Personally, I do like the look of low-profile tires but don't look forward to the day they start bubbling from road rash and/or pot-holes.

Memory Seats & MBUX - this is a huge pet peeve for me as well (especially since my other car is a BMW and is "smart" enough to recognize the driver most times). I've asked a dealer in the past and they said seat preference tied to a key fob just wasn't very popular (calling BS on that one!).

3rd Row access - I do miss the days of the "magic seat" in my GL450! If it makes you feel any better, the X7 takes an eternity to fold/unfold 2nd row as well!

Enjoy the car and look forward to many more of your observations!



Old 11-14-2023, 09:51 AM
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Originally Posted by EWL5
436 Comfort Front Headrests - if I remember correctly, these exist more to support your head in a crash more than personal comfort while driving. Additionally, most people don't position them correctly as they are supposed to be higher than where most folks end up. I will add that MB has the most forward-positioned headrest of any brand I've ever owned!
I find them comfortable. Not sure how much Comfort I'll be in after a crash.

Originally Posted by EWL5
443 Heated Steering Wheel - I get you're upset you didn't get the wooden wheel you're used to but at least the option for heating exists for all. In my '23 GLS also w/Night Package, I have a heated steering wheel but lost the flat-bottomed steering wheel that comes w/the AMG line. My understanding is you can have a heated, flat-bottomed steering wheel now!
Yes, have one of those. Now I feel bad for bringing it up!

Originally Posted by EWL5
582 5-Zone Climate Control - When I purchased my '16 GL450, I was surprised that vents weren't standard in the third row! Ever since then, I was determined to make sure any 3-row vehicle has 5-zone climate as folks in the back always complained. In addition to appeasing rear passengers, this package also helps cool/heat the car faster when remote start is activated!
I only put people in the third row who don't complain lest their Nintendo Switch privileges are revoked...

Originally Posted by EWL5
RPK 23" wheels - as it is impossible to find winter/all-season tires for 23", my advice is to just buy a dedicated set of smaller wheels and tires for winter.
I am looking for guidance on which sizes I can fit. The dealer and all tire shops I've been to will only sell me 22 or 23, because that's what's on the fuel filler flap. I am happy to buy mounted wheels online and fit them myself, but I don't know what size to buy...

Originally Posted by EWL5
Memory Seats & MBUX - this is a huge pet peeve for me as well (especially since my other car is a BMW and is "smart" enough to recognize the driver most times). I've asked a dealer in the past and they said seat preference tied to a key fob just wasn't very popular (calling BS on that one!).
I think I worked this out (in a makeshift way). If I use the seat adjustment (without the pre-programmed numbers) to move the seat far enough back so I can get in, I can then enter my Pin and the seat moves into the right position on its own. Ignore the numbers on the door, they no longer work...

Thanks EWL5.
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EWL5 (11-14-2023)
Old 11-14-2023, 10:12 AM
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Originally Posted by AKSwift
I am looking for guidance on which sizes I can fit. The dealer and all tire shops I've been to will only sell me 22 or 23, because that's what's on the fuel filler flap. I am happy to buy mounted wheels online and fit them myself, but I don't know what size to buy...
.
Attached is the Ordering Guide for MY24. It has all the different wheel dimensions you could ever need for "approved" wheel sizes.
My advice is to just go w/21" wheels as tires will be easier to find. Once you have the wheel you like, take the dimensions over to Tirerack and choose the "Original Equipment" (OEM) filter option.

Now you've got wheels and tires! Enjoy!
Attached Files
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