GL-Class (X166) 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL - Reviews Thread
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The Mercedes-Benz X166 is the second generation GL-Class range of full-size luxury crossover SUV. The facelifted version was renamed to GLS. Production: June 2012 – April 2019. Model years: 2013–2019
Tarek
Cornering Kingpin
Well i think everyone on this planet agree that a base MB G has more status and image than any RR.
tristatez28lt1
Tire Trailblazer
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class 2013-2015 review | Autocar
Does Mercedes' second-gen seven-seat GL SUV make sense in the UK, or are rival sports SUVs from the likes of Land Rover more rewarding?
Well, finally got our dealer training on the new GL. Sadly did not get to drive.
The engineering is great. Mercedes pours themselves into the things that aren't evident to the eye. The question with American buyers is, "do they care?" For example, I had a current GL owner of mine show up, and the first question wasn't, "Are the door handles engineered to help rescue workers get me out in the event of a collision?" The question was, "Does it have touch screen, and streaming bluetooth audio?" No, and yes.
There is no question that MB covers details that other auto makers take for granted. Particularly when it comes to safety.
But you have to question if sometimes we don't major in the minors. I'll give you an example. Attention assist is standard, and there is obviously a cost to this feature. However Xenon lights are optional, yet they are lauded for their safety benefits. Xenon lights are an everyday benefit, as is Keyless Go, yet attention assist gets included as standard. I tihnk if you offered attention assist as stand alone optional equipment, less than 3% of buyers would chose it. However, nearly all dealers order Keyless Go, a feature which is now standard on may cars 1/3 the price of a Benz.
First impression was that it is more of a full size ML. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. The new ML is great. However, there is now less distinction in the shapes and lines between the ML and GL. You just kind of wonder why the base price is $10k more respectivlely. (350 bluetec) Interior wise it is nearly identical. There are a few extra wood accents, the seat sticthing is a little more elaborate, and the mb text dash is standard. But since the shapes and components are the same, it didn't have that new wow factor.
The application of the ponton rear arch has lost its appeal to me, and doesn't work well on this big vehicle, IMO. The exterior is MUCH softer than the previous, and that is a down for me. The rear lights are very Lexus, and much more so in person. They said the car was 1" longer and wider, but looked smaller in the showroom, probably due to the softened edges. Those preferring the rugged looks of a Range Rover will still be getting the RR. Apart from the 550 sport styling, this car comes off much softer than its predecessor.
The option list is still a mile long, and of course this complicates inventory and almost insures that a dealer cannot stock enough variety to match the prospects wants and needs to sell out of stock. I'd say dealers (combined) will incur over $100k in dealer trades alone for the year, just on this vehicle.
I suspect the ride will be first class, particularly with the new engine line-up. Our test car was a diesel and the trainer was averaging 27 mpg (US) on the trip computer, which is unbelievable for a 5800 pd. SUV.
Overall it is another great vehicle, and will sell well. My criticisms are based on the fact that the wind blows the hardest at the top of the flag pole. It seems to me that MB played it safe with this one.
The engineering is great. Mercedes pours themselves into the things that aren't evident to the eye. The question with American buyers is, "do they care?" For example, I had a current GL owner of mine show up, and the first question wasn't, "Are the door handles engineered to help rescue workers get me out in the event of a collision?" The question was, "Does it have touch screen, and streaming bluetooth audio?" No, and yes.
There is no question that MB covers details that other auto makers take for granted. Particularly when it comes to safety.
But you have to question if sometimes we don't major in the minors. I'll give you an example. Attention assist is standard, and there is obviously a cost to this feature. However Xenon lights are optional, yet they are lauded for their safety benefits. Xenon lights are an everyday benefit, as is Keyless Go, yet attention assist gets included as standard. I tihnk if you offered attention assist as stand alone optional equipment, less than 3% of buyers would chose it. However, nearly all dealers order Keyless Go, a feature which is now standard on may cars 1/3 the price of a Benz.
First impression was that it is more of a full size ML. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. The new ML is great. However, there is now less distinction in the shapes and lines between the ML and GL. You just kind of wonder why the base price is $10k more respectivlely. (350 bluetec) Interior wise it is nearly identical. There are a few extra wood accents, the seat sticthing is a little more elaborate, and the mb text dash is standard. But since the shapes and components are the same, it didn't have that new wow factor.
The application of the ponton rear arch has lost its appeal to me, and doesn't work well on this big vehicle, IMO. The exterior is MUCH softer than the previous, and that is a down for me. The rear lights are very Lexus, and much more so in person. They said the car was 1" longer and wider, but looked smaller in the showroom, probably due to the softened edges. Those preferring the rugged looks of a Range Rover will still be getting the RR. Apart from the 550 sport styling, this car comes off much softer than its predecessor.
The option list is still a mile long, and of course this complicates inventory and almost insures that a dealer cannot stock enough variety to match the prospects wants and needs to sell out of stock. I'd say dealers (combined) will incur over $100k in dealer trades alone for the year, just on this vehicle.
I suspect the ride will be first class, particularly with the new engine line-up. Our test car was a diesel and the trainer was averaging 27 mpg (US) on the trip computer, which is unbelievable for a 5800 pd. SUV.
Overall it is another great vehicle, and will sell well. My criticisms are based on the fact that the wind blows the hardest at the top of the flag pole. It seems to me that MB played it safe with this one.
klier
Premium
Human
You. The Road. Nothing else.
LOL, give me a break Human
Klier mate, I do have huge respect for the Big Body RR. In it's class, with it's rich history and the tech+progress on the latest model (even the BMW-made previous gen) also the value factor it's hard to fault. The sheer size, stance and presence of the RR really captivates what a vehicle fit for a king has to look like. In my opinion that is.
And it's capabilities...
MBFanToDeath
Autobahn Adventurer
This is what an Mercedes-Benz needs to be, not a No 1 in stupid sales.
HighestOfHigh
Cornering Kingpin
The redesigned 2013 GL500 is a vehicle that is well suited to make a strong impression on folks of all kinds, whether they generally care about cars or not. For a start, there is still an undeniable cache associated with that Benz logo on the grille – something that is more easily sensed in the parts of Midwest America that don't see the three-pointed star quite so frequently. (The suburbs of Detroit don't flip for the big M-B quite so much as the sticks around St. Joseph, Michigan, for instance.) The inherent impressiveness of a Mercedes is matched by the size, scale and design of this new GL, which manages to look pretty rugged and refined at the same time. Those who know their off-roading stuff might laugh a little at the GL550's 21-inch five-spoke AMG wheels, but they really do give the SUV an impressive stance, and add quite a lot of overall gravitas to the vehicle. We actually think that the sharply creased bodylines Mercedes seems so fond of nowadays work a bit better when scaled up to GL size than they do on the smaller GLK. At any rate, the neighbors seemed to dig it.
(As for the off-roading, though we know the GL capable, we found about as much reason to test the capability as we'd expect most owners will on most days. There is a low-range, six terrain-based transmission settings and two locking differentials. Enough said?)
There were zero rear-seat entertainment screens in our $100,115 Mercedes-Benz GL550.
And the neighbors never even got to go inside, where, at least in the front two seats, nearly every luxury doodad known to humankind is available with the touch of a finger. Seriously, while there's not a lot of groundbreaking technology immediately evident from the driver's seat, the German company did see fit to stock our GL550 with most all of its existing party tricks: heated/cooled/massaging seats, adaptive cruise control, night vision, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keep monitoring, active and self-cleaning headlamps, a 360-degree view and backup camera with parking assist, a Harmon/Kardon surround sound audio system, something called "soft-closing" doors that we didn't even realize were there and so much more that it's as boring to list as we're sure it is to read.
Now, the four sots who had to suffer through our wine-touring extravaganza in the cheap seats (rows two and three) didn't have life quite so easy. Sure, there are some pleasantly leathered-up and heated chairs back there, and the third-row was accessible at the touch of a button, but there were zero TVs. Let us repeat that for effect: There were zero rear-seat entertainment screens in our $100,115 Mercedes-Benz GL550. Your author may not be a dad yet, but he knows enough about keeping the little people happy to understand that merely having two huge sunroofs in the rear quarters is not going to keep the rugrats at bay for long. It's not as if we at Autoblog stay up nights, pining for more in-car television. But at nearly $15,000 over the base price of the GL550, and with aging competitors like the Cadillac Escalade throwing screens around like Best Buy on Black Friday, their lack feels a little weak in this otherwise loaded-up vehicle.
Mercedes estimates a 0-60 mile per hour sprint to take 5.5 seconds, which feels pretty conservative.
While we're on the subject of disappointments here, the GL's trick fold-down second-row isn't quite so slick in practice as it would seem from the options list. Two of the members of our tour – both moms, for added credibility – initially loved the auto-folding second row; seeing how easy it made access to the way-back. However, putting the second row back up, as well as operating the headrests that self-stow in the automated process, proved pretty high-effort. Not a big deal for your big strong test driver who has use of both of his hands, but a pain in the rear for a parent one-arming a child, our similarly tied up while trying to get the show on the road.
Thankfully, with the backseat letdowns mentioned, the rest of the GL550 experience was, in a word, lovely. The twin-turbo V8 is a far cry from "nicely spirited" engines we've sampled in other large SUVs, and is actually right in range of some of the higher performance off-roaders we've tested. A whopping 516 pound-feet of torque is available at a low 1,800 rpm, which allows for this very large vehicle to make some very quick starts and passes. Mercedes estimates a 0-60 mile per hour sprint to take 5.5 seconds, which feels pretty conservative to us, honestly. The GL550 is fast enough that we're already wondering what kind of silliness will be in store when the AMG guys have their way with the SUV, sometime in the first quarter of 2013.
Everyone felt that riding around in a big Mercedes beat the hell out of doing it in a slow tour bus.
Most GL550 owners will learn to appreciate all that power when on the highway, we don't doubt, which is really where this brute feels the most at home. Considering the big wheel/tire package and that bluff front end, noise, vibration and harshness at freeway speeds are kept nicely in check. The GL may not ride with the same hushed interior as its S-Class cousin, but it does a passable impression, which is saying quite a lot. High-speed ride and handling are both first rate, too. The GL's combination of stability, nicely weighted steering, power and Benz's Distronic adaptive cruise, all come together to make this SUV a dead-simple way to crush hundreds of miles without pain. Our trip from Detroit to Lake Michigan was dispatched with such rapidity (and a pretty reasonable 17.5 miles per gallon according to the GL's economy computer) that we were almost surprised when we arrived. (Again – no kids.)
And what did our crew of rummy drunks think when they tumbled out of the GL550 after a day of wine tasting? (Don't worry, the driver stayed painfully sober.) With the previously stated complaints about access noted, the opinion, to a person, was that the GL was the bomb. Third-row occupants had plenty of room for their grownup legs and arms, no one complained of sore necks or stiff backs after the trip and everyone felt that riding around in a big Mercedes beat the hell out of doing it in a slow tour bus. Many bottles of wine were purchased and stowed neatly in the back, and a good time, frankly, was had by all.
Mercedes-Benz hasn't yet figured out the type of technology needed to turn your pouting toddler into a wine-sipping pal, but the truth is that no matter the age of the humans you're transporting, the job will be handled in style and comfort if a GL550 is your steed. Better yet, the driver won't go blind with boredom while piling up the miles.
- http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/05/2013-mercedes-benz-gl550-review/#continued
Merc1
Premium
Mercedes really got right here. This GL is unapologetic in that it is a true premium SUV. It doesn't aspire to be cheap or pander to a group who wouldn't buy one anyway.
It is expensive, gorgeous, extremely well built, packed with tech, has a stunning interior, rides/drives beautifully, and is gorgeous, all the things a high-end Mercedes is supposed to be.
The only difference between this GL and the SL is that the SL's design isn't pretty or as pretty anymore. I just hate that.
Now watch the sales of the GL take off now.
M
It is expensive, gorgeous, extremely well built, packed with tech, has a stunning interior, rides/drives beautifully, and is gorgeous, all the things a high-end Mercedes is supposed to be.
The only difference between this GL and the SL is that the SL's design isn't pretty or as pretty anymore. I just hate that.
Now watch the sales of the GL take off now.
M
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Mercedes-Benz Group AG is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.
Established in 1926, Mercedes-Benz Group produces consumer luxury
vehicles and light commercial vehicles badged as Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG,
and Mercedes-Maybach.
Its origin lies in Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft's 1901 Mercedes
and Carl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which is widely regarded
as the first internal combustion engine in a self-propelled automobile.
The slogan for the brand is "the best or nothing".
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Official website: Mercedes-Benz (Global), Mercedes-Benz (USA)
