Sorry, not buying it. Part of any luxury purchase is the prestige of owning the car. I totally get thinking the big star on the grille is too big, it is really big, but there is an element of vanity in driving a big Mercedes whether people admit it or not.

The big grille emblem is not a new thing for Mercedes, they have been selling sport models with that large grill emblem since 1954

 

As has been said before in this thread, you do you.

We can see Mercedes satisfies some need for you. Clearly you have different needs than others. I'm glad you're happy with your star.

Enjoy!

 

I'm self aware enough to admit that of course there is a prestige element to driving a car like this for me. Its not the only reason or the main reason, but it certainly is an element of it.

 

@SW20S let me give you some other reasons for buying a Mercedes AMG SUV.

I'll use me as an example.
I bought it because I need an SUV to tow a 27-ft RV.
I bought it because I occasionally transport a lot of stuff from place to place.
I want a car that has immediate response.
I take it to the track. People are amazed at that black lump circulates around the track as quickly as it does - they liken me to a secret service in training.

It's comfortable and rides well. I bought the ARC because it improves the ride and handling.
The seats are comfortable.

Unfortunately it has that grill. And that star.

You bought prestige, I bought a car that does the job for me, for $30,000 less than the competition. Better than the competition actually.

 

Whatever you say.

Like it or not that grille style is part of the Mercedes style dating back 70 years. Its not some new "ostentatious look"

 

If you bought your car because it makes you feel like you’re in the secret service, I can totally understand not wanting a big, illuminated star on the grill. It would be a dead giveaway for any undercover work or black ops.

 

Ha. That's certainly not why I bought the car!

Those were comments from the people at the track.

I don't think a big black Suburban is stealthy, badged or not badged.🙂
I doubt that it's anywhere near as capable.

 

I’ll chime in with why I’m bought a 2021 GLS 450, even though that’s not really what this thread was about. In my opinion, that’s part of the joy of these kinds of forums and communities — threads go on tangents that can sometimes be interesting.

First and foremost. I needed a vehicle that could fit two rear-facing cars seats while sacrificing zero percent of the front row legroom — I.e. a lot of room in row two. The choices of vehicles like that is very limited — basically body-on-frame trucks like an F-150, the actual Suburban or the Range Rover long Wheelbase, or executive limousines like the S-Class or Audi A8L. I tried like hell to get my wife’s approval for a 2018 M760 (12 cylinders!) but that was not forthcoming.

Secondly, I fell in love with the 3 liter inline-6 after driving the new one for a week. I normally default to V8’s, especially with trucks of this size. I’ve had a Tahoe with the 5.3 and a 2014 Ford Raptor with the 6.2l, the turbo-charged 4-liter in the 2020 G500, and now a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack with a 6.4l NA V8 (interestingly on an MB platform). But this straight-six engine is just a pleasure to drive, even with the turbos it’s very responsive — yes, you have to dig deep for the power, but it’s there and with good character, unlike most V6’s I know. The throttle-by-wire is one of the best I’ve ever driven.

I’ve been covering carmakers for over 20 years now, as a journalist, and I’ve always had the utmost respect for the design and production of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Well, except for the DaimlerChrysler years. In any case, I know the brand to be very solid in terms of build quality and fit-and-finish, and that’s important to me. The G500 we had in Berlin, while admittedly a Magna Steyr production, was bulletproof.

Finally, I really like MBUX. Partly, I’m sure, because I’m used to it. But I typically test drive a different car each week, so I’ve tried every system there is out there. Many have strong points, and all are flawed, but I just find MBUX so easy to navigate and it becomes — for the most part — second nature. Kind of like those generations of iDrive that were good, before BMW over complicated everything.

I’ve talked a bit about all of this in my Bloomberg podcast, if you’re interested, it’s called “Hot Pusuit!” with Hannah Elliott. In the lastest episode I mention, among other things, that the stock Burmester is also a decent selling point — it’s nothing to write home about, but really well done for a standard sound system. It’s actually miles better than the stock Burmester in my old G500, and I’d say on par with the thousand-dollar optional Burmester in my 2014 991 Carrera S.

 

Do yourself a favor and don’t drive the GLS580 lol. The inline 6 is great but once you drive the V8…

The GLS is a very compelling vehicle…

With the rear facing seats do you have twins?

 

He kind of already did experience the GLS580 since the G500 shared the same M176.

 

I know for sure that the 580 would be better, the sound alone would sell me, but the I6 makes the 450 a happy compromise for me. 2021 580’s are going for ~$70k or far more and I got this emerald green 450 with under 35,000 miles for just over $50k. Plus it’s the mom car for us.

Maybe one day we’ll upgrade? Right now I’m test driving the Kia EV9 and that is a compelling vehicle… if you’re willing to make the EV compromise. We’re not right now. And I’ll be very interested to see the Audi Q9 when it comes out next year, they also have a potent V8 powerplant.

To be honest, and don’t @ me for saying this, but IMO the best motor on the market in this class of giant family haulers has to be the Escalade-V. For my money (and they want a helluva lot of it for that) superchargers > turbos at forced induction.

I’ll see myself out 😬

 

Sure but the application in the specific vehicle makes a difference.

That was my thought process. When I was considering the GLS for the family vehicle that primarily my wife would drive I was only considering the 450. Now that I’m confiding it for myself I want the 580 lol

Escalade V is awesome but too loud and raucous for me.

Im very close to making the EV swap for my car, but the family car it will be a long time yet. We travel in it too much.

 

What EVs are on your shortlist?

 

If I do an EV this time it would be an i7. Also considering the PHEV S580e and the 750e.

 

Yes it stays on. I specifically ordered our GLS 580 in 20, arrived as a MY21 without the adaptive bull****, but the illuminated star. So yes, it stays on while car is parked and moving at any speed if there is ;ow light...so if the lights are on the star is on. Quite a bit of jibberish to answer your simple question.

 

I will say the adaptive “bull****” is actually incredibly effective.

 

Speaking of illuminated stars, I think we ain't seen nothing yet. We're starting to see car companies light up their entire front end with various patterns and logos. I think the government regulators are going to play catch-up when there's so much light coming off the front that it distracts oncoming drivers. "Harriet, would you look at that BMW with 6,500 lumens of roundel logos coming at us?!?"

 

Make sure a Genesis GV60 is on your shortlist. Faster than my AMG, with interior and exterior design that rivals my Bentley.

 

You can thank China!

 

Way too small for me

 

Matt, not sure if you're still active in the forum but just wanted to say that I caught the podcast where you described your GLS. Sounds like a great vehicle for your situation. When you mentioned that the GLS is bigger than a Sienna, this reminded me of the time I traded in a 2011 Sienna for a 2016 GL450 and noticed the same thing (the X167 is even longer than the X166)!

I also agree with your comment that car reviews should also talk about the audio system as it's quite criminal what car makers are doing these days. The HiFi system on my X3 is utter trash, for example!

 

Thanks for listening! I really do wish all reviewers, including and especially big outfits like Car & Driver and Top Gear, would include the quality of stereos in their ratings. The car is far and away my favorite place to listen to music!

 

I know there's a movement to get away from Satellite and AM radio (Mercedes has been guilty of this) but this just limits our audio options and confirms that the audio system is "low priority".

Not only do I want audio specific ratings in car reviews, it would be really nice if the reviews could include ratings that may or may not justify the costly audio upgrades possible in something like a GLS ($4450 Burmester 3D option) or X7 ($3400 Bowers & Wilkins option). The upgrades are not cheap and funds could possibly be better put towards home audio, especially if you are part of the AVS or ASR crowd. If you have a long commute or often enjoy long road trips, good audio is a no-brainer for a captive audience!

If anyone's interested, I could probably start an audiophile thread in the GLS forum!

 

I don’t see how you can say audio options are limited by getting away from AM and XM. We have way more audio options and at much higher quality than we ever had before, and audio systems are higher quality and crazier than ever before.

Part of the reason why reviewers don’t compare options like that is they are given one test car and they can really only test the options it has. Some reviewers do rate audio systems.

 

My only wish is that the point of entry for the upgrades were not so ridiculously high. $4,450 is a ridiculous amount to pay for an audio upgrade at this price point - it's one of just a couple of option boxes I didn't check because I just could not justify the upcharge.