2008 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class User Reviews

Pros

6"6" driver has plenty of room.

Purchased As New

Purchased my GL450 in the fall of 2008. It has been on 3 different 2500 mile trips and has performed flawlessly. My gas mileage is even better that expected. 19.2 mpg. This is one fantastic road machine.

Pros

the agressive styling and the massive 382 Horsepower V8 engine

Cons

when hauling 7 people in the car for vacation isn't much room for luggage in the trunk

Purchased As New

i have to say that once i looked at the GL550 the first thing on my mind was how can anyone drive a car that large, but mercedes, for me atleast, made me feel like i was driving a sedan as soon as i got inside. it didn;t look as large from the inside either. the seats are reallt comfortable with every type of adjustment you can think of. the styling like mentioned before is all pure mercedes and the glass roof built in to the top os a perfect touch. the navigation that mercedes supplies is actually very accurate. and then there is the power. the monster V8 hauled me from 0-60 in about 6 seconds which is only 1.1 second slower than the audi R8. carrying that many people and going that fast makes this car amazing. and this car is also very nice if you are a long driver for vacations like i am. i totally reccomemd this car to everyone....read morehide

Pros

Fuel economy 21.7 average city/hwy combined

Cons

Looks like a "Mommy" cruiser.

The fuel economy trumps everything at the moment.. The seats are typical German "stiff" and hard to get comfortable (6'1" guy). I could not find a GL without all the electronics (transmission, tailgate, sensors, back-up camera, etc.), lots of overkill for lazy people. (How is it that in Germany you can get one of these with a little more than the basics?) I like this "wagon" but other than the fuel economy it doesn't hold a candle to my LR3. Jiffy lube does the oil change for cheaper ($107.00 vs. MB's $500.00) and NTB does the tire rotations for less as well. Watch your service, MB wanted to charge me for my first "free" tire rotation because I was 200 miles over. (An adult tantrum and a threat to have NTB do the service convinced the service manager not to charge me.) I have a few ghosts.. the sunroof reopens after closing, the Nav. wiped out all my saved settings, and once the power window wouldn't stay closed. Overall it's good, not great....read morehide

Pros

POWERFUL STRONG ENGINE!VERY SMOOTH RIDE COMFORTABLE...LUXURY SUV.

Cons

NONE

THIS CAR VERY NICE!
SMOOTH RIDE AND QUITE. POWERFUL ENGINE
LUXURY INTERIOR IF YOU WANT TO BEST SUV
GO TO BENZ DEALER AND YOU CAN TEST DRIVE!

Pros

diesel and 7 full size seats

Cons

not an 8 seater

only 7 seater (adult size) diesel on the market. Able to tow 7500lbs and get 22-25 MPG (without towing). Owned numerous full size SUV's. Currently have a LandCruiser and a Lexus GX470. Researched for 6 months straight and ended up with this one. Absolutely no regrets, enjoy every minute driving it, even in traffic. Handling is second to none, corners almost as flat as my 996Turbo with pss9. Highly recommended. Gave up on Mercedes 5 years ago, they finally have a car worth considering....read morehide

I BOUGHT MY CAR ON MAY/2008 AT PENSKE COVINA AND SO FAR IT HAS BEEN BACK FOR REPAIR 5 TIMES. SOMETIMES IF I DONT HAVE THE JUMPER BUSTER NEXT TO ME I HAVE TO ASK ROAD ASSISTANCE TO JUMP UP MY CAR, THEY ALREADY CHANGE ONCE THE BATTERY AND STILL SAME PROBLEM AND THEY SAID NOTHING WRONG, SO NEW CAR WITH A JUMPER BUSTER NEXT TO ME. ALSO TWICE THE BRAKE EDAL WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN FOR NO REASON WHILE DRIVING THE CAR IT WAS SCARY BUT ONCE AGAIN THE SAY NOTHING WRONG. I GUESS THEY WANT TO SEE ME AT THE HOSPITAL AND THEN THEY WILL BELIEVE IT. THEY SAID ONLY "SORRY" BUT I CAN'T TRUST THIS CAR ANYMORE AND ALL THEY SAY I CAN'T RETURN IT, DO WHAT EVER YOU WANT. SO I AM LOOKING FOR AN ATTORNEY SINCE I AM VERY FRUSTATED THAT I DON'T KNOW WHEN IT IS NOT GOING TO START UP MY CAR AND WHERE AND MORE THAN ANYTHING I AM SO ASHAMED TO JUMP A NEW 2008 GL IN FRONT OF PEOPLE. IF I WANT TO BUY A JUNK CAR I DIDN'T HAVE TO GO FOR THIS MODEL AND WHO KNOWS WHEN THE BRAKES WILL MALFUNCTION AGAIN AND WILL HAPPEN TO ME SINCE THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. I REALLY REGRETED BUYNG THIS CAR OR "PIECE OF JUNK" SHOULD SAY....read morehide

Pros

Great great car!! Excellent acceleration and smooth ride. Third row very comfortable. I recommend

Cons

It looks so much like the ML class

Its a great ride. Fuel consomption is not excessive for such a huge car. Great on snow and off road

Pros

Good on Gas! It rides very smooth. The sound system is Awesome! I love the space in the vehicle.

Cons

Doesn't get good gas mileage in the city, but that's with any vehicle.

I purchased my vehicle a few months ago and I previously owned and BMW x5. This vehicle is far better in comparison. The handling of the vehicle, the style performance and the maintenance is far less expensive that my previous own vehicles. I love the leather interior with the leather trimming around the dash and throughout the SUV. My son loves the dual DVD player and he and his friends can watch 2 different movies at the same time. So no fussing about who has to watch what. That's a big relief! My most favorite of this truck, is the surround sound system in the vehicle. When you are riding with the music on, it sounds like there is a concert going on and the entertainers are right there in the vehicle with you.The only complaint that I have is the navigation system. It is not user friendly. It is easy for me because, I am a techi, so I relate to the navigation system. I understand it...lol. Overall, the price, performance and the comfort of the vehicle is superb! My family and I love or 450 GL....read morehide

Pros

excellent fuel economy, comfort, etc. We've chosen to travel out of Phoenix rather than fly

Cons

nav system not anywhere as user friendly as the one in our Acura RL

We're very satisfied with this purchase having paid cash and driving it off the lot. The only complaint we have is that the Nav system is unnecessarily complex to learn although it works quite well once you've got it. We felt that the Nav approach was along the lines of doing it their way rather than the simple and obvious way. Perhaps because it's German? The Nav system on our Acura RL is much more easily used and has better features. We bought an option-loaded 329 CDi, the only way you could purchase one from the dealer. The dealer has been fine for service-although the Acura dealer rates higher in our experience we don't really have any complaints. The wind noise at interstate speeds is a little out of character for Mercedes. The diesel power and utility is impressive - mileage is urban mixed freeway driving is 22.3 mpg and over 26 for highway use. The last trip to Las Vegas from Phoenix with 25 mph headwinds at 80 mph, 5 people on board with their luggage yielded 24.2 mpg.

We strongly recommend this vehicle...read morehide

Pros

Nice ride, lots of room & low wind noise when roof rack removed

Cons

Fit/Finish just isn't there.....

This car/truck is 5 months old and has only 3400 miles on it. The Pirelli tires are pathetic, the running boards are rusting as are the non plated wheel studs. I guess the $3500 appearance package wasn't a worthwhile expenditure.

Everything about this vehicle is left unfinished. They don't even make the users manuals the right size to put in the glove box. The dual screen rear seat entertainment system has a remote control - THE ONLY WAY TO TURN MOVIES ON/OFF. That's fun in traffic when your kids are cranky. They incorporated everything else into the audio system, why not the contols too? I guess the engineers were too busy trying to think of a way to build an inferior navigation system and got distracted.

Outside of a very smooth ride and quite a bit of room in the cabin, I can't find a lot of positive things to say about this truck....read morehide