Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

My dream car – I love everything about mine. I tow my van up through sand with it and it’s never let me down. Beautiful to drive. Comfortable and easy to park even if she is big. Bit expensive to service but what the hell. I love it. It’s worth it. Had an ML before and loved it too  Show details

Awesome car, power and luxury – I have one. The power is phenomenal, punch in the back every time I step on it, don't even have to floor it, and that is at any speed, amazingly. The V8 revs freely for a diesel but keep punching it and it gets thirsty very quickly. Some people have been complaining about the lack of take off grunt in the six cylinder 350 cdi. Not so here. This is… Read more

a V8 and lets you know it. Take off is smooth and powerful and with brakes to match, its takes off strongly and stops solidly. It has all the luxuries included and the 4wd setup is standard, not an option, which is why I bought it.

I have had a Landcruiser, a BMW and an Elgrand, all diesels and all of them 4x4. This thing is way above when it comes to power and luxury. Push button low range. Adjustable suspension. Diff locks. And that engine sound. Built in tv and DVD, three screens, power fold away seats, third row is normal size, not small. The boot space does become small with seven seats up. Reverse camera and beepers, front as well. Twin sun roof. Awesome stereo.

The ride height is perfect. It is heavy and it does bottom out sometimes on speed humps and driveways in the normal suspension setting but the ride is very comfortable. Oh, and it is sound proofed so you can't even hear the engine with the windows up, or any external noise, at all. It is bulky around the suburbs but hit any freeway or motorway and it comes into it's own, effortless cruising and overtaking. You don't have to think and hesitate when it comes to overtaking.

It is everything in one package and the whole family loves it, a first for any car that I have ever bought, and Now I don't wonder who would be such a knob as to buy one.

Disappointed – The handling was well but when i purchased this i had nothing but trouble with different mechanical issues of the car.. I lost so much money on this when trying to sell it i had to cut my losses by about $25k... never will i buy or recommend a Merc again  Show details

What a disappointment – While the car itself is OK, despite major turbo lag, the service issue are just endless. In just under 18 months we've been in for two recalls and the HVAC system is a disaster and will spew mould and mildew spores all over you within the first year of operation. Mercedes Benz will not fix it under warranty, instead you'll need to pay $700-$1000… Read more

every year to deal with their design fault. There is even a class action law suit in the US about this very issue. For a $125K motor vehicle from a supposedly prestige band, the customer service of Mercedes Benz in Australia is appalling and the dealership at Mercedes Benz Toowong are even worse. STAY AWAY! Do NOT buy this vehicle!

Unsafe feeling while driving – I took delivery of a brand new GL 350 late January 2016. Since then I have had nothing but problems with the car and it had spent more than 15 plus trips to the dealer. During this time the car has been kept for days at a time. With the work they have done to the car the entire front end has been almost replaced. The vehicle floats all over… Read more

the road and is a chore to drive.

I will never purchase another Mercedes Benz again due to the feeling this vehicle had left.

Still to this day I have Left feed back on surveys with a promise of a call back but nothing

Very unhappy purchaser.

Surprisingly agile and very comfortable – This is a big heavy car, but driving it is a pleasure. Certainly the most comfortable 4WD I have ever driven. Thirsty if you put your foot down, but can happily cruise under 9l/100km on the highway. Auto wipers are a bit enthusiastic, but other than that, all the gadgets work perfectly and make it an easy car to drive.  Show details

The best by a long way – I have owned six diesel four wheel drive vehicles over my lifetime. I have probably test driven well over one hundred such vehicles. For this purchase, I cross shopped all the majors in the prestige range and five in the not so prestige level. My criteria was particularly focussed on comfort and driving experience that would translate to meeting… Read more

the needs of both my light framed wife and my 190cm tall self. Our trade in was a Volvo XC60 R design that had good lift for around 170kw in a smaller vehicle. The Volvo was however just a little small in the luggage area for long road trippers like us. With the brief of driving comfort and ease of operation there was too the need for a large flat cargo space. I did not consider seven and eight seat models for comparison and testing.

Why the Mercedes? The vehicles I considered all had roughly the same range in kilowatts and torque. The Mercedes has a nine speed transmission which appeared to be more flexible than some. One niggle was the combination of a slight turbo lag and a hunt for the lowest cog when moving off from an almost dead stop. Both the bride and I have learned to accommodate this in our driving but it is certainly a negative.

The adaptive air suspension is a real winner, moving from the magic carpet setting for poodling about town to the firmer, lower sports mode for the highway stuff.

Parking is easier than the relatively smaller Volvo because of active park assist and a full display virtual drone view for the tight spots. Active lane assist and autonomous hands free are great as is fully adaptive cruise control with braking to standstill mode. Steering is light and pleasantly variable but not without road feel. Braking is the stuff of aircraft. Ventilated fronts and solid rears are huge and stop the heavy beast with speed and precision. The 21" liquorice clad AMG wheels eliminate any tyre wall roll.

Driving is a pleasure, the Merc has a truly solid feel and with rake and push adjust on the steering wheel and variable electric seats, almost any sized pilot will get comfy. Seats are heated too which is a great feature if you have bad backitis. I still haven't discovered all the features available on the infotainment system but one large gripe must be the satnav system. It is painful to use unless you train it for voice recognition, a process that requires the patience of a saint. It would be way better if the dealer just asked new owners to narrate a passage prior to purchase and then use a workshop based program to tailor the vehicle to your requirements.

There are USB outlets but they are down in the centre console and hard to access. A bit of a brain fail that I trust will be remedied soon. The sunvisors do not have extensions which is sad. I have had to after market tint the side windows.

In spite of these niggles, the Merc stood out for meeting our requirements better than all the contenders. I think that most drivers never feel the need to drive their vehicles on the limit and as such have no need for the vehicles to match the performance and handling of formula rally cars. It is for this reason the Merc is often under rated by the motoring paparazzi.

In summary, the Mercedes GLE 350d is a big hunk of metal with fourwheel drive capability that will transport you in supreme comfort. It has heaps of grunt in all situations, it never feels like it will let go.

If you can afford just ine luxury in life, at least try one when next you are shopping for an S.U.V.

Don't do it to yourself unless you have very deep pockets – I was hell bent on owning a GL 320 CDI and so did a lot of research. There is a lot of bad press about this motor vehicle (2007 model), however I asked a close friend about his experience with Benz and he was positive so I went ahead. People say that people only write about their bad experiences on the www, well, now I am one of them! No doubt a… Read more

beautiful looking motor vehicle, but my God, this thing played up almost from the moment I bought it! It had just been through a major service and brakes replaced, belts and seals, it had brand new Pirelli's on it and I had it checked over by an authorised Benz dealer who gave it the green light. I have had to replace timing belts (twice), airbag (rear left), the rear tail lights played up, it leaked when it rained (now fixed) and after two years of ownership I have just replaced the tyres at great expense. Don't get me wrong, when this vehicle was right, it was a joy to drive and own, it was beautiful, but EXPENSIVE. Seriously, 1f you want trouble free motoring, buy a Toyota!!

Great SUV – After nearly 3yrs running this GL350 (x164) with AMG 21" rims (we change to 19" rim with off-road tyres every school holidays - kids loved the outback adventures!), it is a great vehicle. This vehicle is run hard when on outback adventures (not 4WD outback adventures - big difference!). NOTE: We have a specially fabricated 5th full wheel carrier… Read more

from US (meeting Aust Std) fitted to our tow hitch that looks like a bike carrier - which allows us to drive to the nearest tire shop vs "limping" with the space-saver tire and it does NOT handle unseal road well - beware! The new x166 come as options with off-road packages where the x164 is standard - that's why we got the x164 and not wait for the new 2nd generation x166. This vehicle is NOT a show-horse but a mule (diesel engine!) and a PROPER 7-seaters! If AU petrol $$ = the US, I would not hesitate GL500 petrol. GL450 considered but the extra premium $$ benefitted very little over GL350 diesel for our use. Being an US designated vehicle, it is purely designed as a straight line driving ie US/CAN highways vs EU curvy highways! Fully loaded and returns good mileage ie 9-10L/100km! The ONLY negative is that GL is known to be tire/tyre eater especially with the 21" merely due to the 2.6t mass wearing fine Italian or French pairs of shoes! We originally looked at Toyota 200 series V8 but the price per specs ends up nearly on par with the runout sales with the x164 GL350 (fully loaded). Yes, there are more cheaper parts with Toyota than MB but if we were mustering cattle/sheep in the outback station, the choice would be different. The most extreme unseal roads we would venture is your average corrugated roads that any drivers face in most Australia extreme NP vs outback/mining towns. The good thing is, after each outback adventure, wash off the red-bull-dust and return the 21" rims, you have a show-horse during the school term!

Pros: List too long

Cons: Expensive spare parts in AU; limited available parking spaces ie Westfield!; Small rear mirror; original dashboard input system

Wow, I made the right choice – I had the top of the range Japanese V8 ordered but they could not deliver. I thank my lucky stars it turned out that way. Yes it was $20,000.00 dearer but it’s worth it. I get on average 8.4 and better on a trip 10.6 city no oil loss same power same toque as the V8 Jap cheaper to insure cheaper to run and service. Handles like a sports car love… Read more

the lowering in sports mode. Same ground clearance. Great sound system, low noise interior, 7 seats. Highly recommended. I have traveled 60,000km in 12 months you can't get me out of it. AMG rims, 295 21" rims, fuel ecomony, Sports mode, raise and lower supension, high toque, tow assist lets you know if the trailor lights are not working. etc. great finance package Have to get a different set of rims and tyres for off road.

Excellent – Very very happy. On paper suggests it has the same power/torque as a Touareg V6 Tdi and Audi Q7. Only the Q7 feels as responsive though. Very impressive drive. Don't understand why more LandCruiser owners do not move to this car when considering a new LC200, it has FAR more features and even though its no V8 diesel - you will never be searching… Read more ·  1

for more performance than the GL320 can deliver. As said above we tested this directly after driving a Touareg V10 (which is much more impressive then LC200 turbo V8. We had the option of buying either car... and we got the GL320!! It is that impressive! Try optioning a LC200 V8 diesel on the road and see how comparable its not. Excellent peerfromance from the diesel - and that impression comes straight after a testdrive in a V10 Touareg !! Hill hold function is great for towing a heavy trailer Small exterior mirrors - can take a while to get used to after having a LandCruiser with large mirrors (mirrors proportional to vehicle size)

Excellent – What a superb and smooth vehicle. For a 2500kg monster it moves pretty damn quick (6.5sec 0-100kmh). You can actually seat 7 adults in the 7 seats with still some space to carry cargo. 5.5L V8 chews the juice but you get a great drive in luxury. Roomier than the Q7 and more functional - Q7 3rd row almost impossible to get in and out of). The GL320… Read more

is also very good (probably better value....it's 40K cheaper) and is pretty nimble in its own right. If you can afford it and don't mind spending the $$ on the fuel, the GL500 is for you. Best luxury 7 seat SVU on the market by a mile. GL500 - Power, size and quality. Cost, fuel consumption

Excellent – What can I say, the minute I laid eyes on this vehicle, I knew it was my dream car! It delivers on every whim. This four wheel drive which is genuinely capable off road, has an interior that rivals most sports cars and feels and drives like one as well! I love the stalk instead of regular transmission. I love the electric folding 3rd row seat,… Read more

which also act as a great cargo barrier for food shopping! I love the keyless go feature and easy pack tailgate! I love how the car automatically looks you in to prevent you from carjackings. The mirrors dip when reversing, auto headlights and wipers. Fabulous family car, definitely the best 4WD out there. Economical, powerful, luxurious, stylish, electric folding seats, can be optioned to extreme levels of opulence, gorgeous interior and exterior. Diesel fabulous on fuel economy. Quite rare, not a dime a dozen car!! Cost, the mirrors are small.