Any GL / GLS Owners Here?

[QuattroRS6]

Having recently bought an X166 GLS It would be good to share experiences and get some SUV chat going with fellow owners.

feel free to say hello and share pics of your wagons.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Having recently bought an X166 GLS It would be good to share experiences and get some SUV chat going with fellow owners.

feel free to say hello and share pics of your wagons.

Congratulations on your new car!

They’re quite a rare beast in the UK and is just as rare amongst members of MBClub. The GL are the same car (albeit facelifted), and they’re the same as the W166 ML/GLE beneath the skin, which were much more popular in the UK relatively speaking.

 

[QuattroRS6]

Thank you!

Rarity explains why there’s little in the way of forum chats and topics on the car, and it appears it was more suited and popular in other geographies, especially the US.

The market for XL 7 seater SUV’s is somewhat limited given cost and running expense.

 

[Will]

I’ve a 2013 ‘X166’ GL63 that I bought approved used a year or so back. Has been a great car for us, and does everything you could possibly want for a car of this size

Although they’re pretty rare relatively speaking, I see quite a few around my way - not many ‘63s, but I’ve seen a couple.

They’re easy to find in a car park though

Not sure what your plans are for yours but there’s a 20% off deal on MB service care plans that has a couple of days left if it could be of interest?

 

[MissyD]

Having recently bought an X166 GLS It would be good to share experiences and get some SUV chat going with fellow owners.

feel free to say hello and share pics of your wagons.

Hello and welcome. I don't have a GL or GLS, but I'll chat to anyone

 

[QuattroRS6]

I’ve a 2013 ‘X166’ GL63 that I bought approved used a year or so back. Has been a great car for us, and does everything you could possibly want for a car of this size

Although they’re pretty rare relatively speaking, I see quite a few around my way - not many ‘63s, but I’ve seen a couple.

They’re easy to find in a car park though

Not sure what your plans are for yours but there’s a 20% off deal on MB service care plans that has a couple of days left if it could be of interest?

Mine is a 2016 GLS350d - AMG embellished

The '63 is the aspiration, but far too juicy for me at the moment (that said I'm eyeing an SL63 as a weekend car

Thanks for the heads up re: service plan! I'll give them a call this afternoon.

I have a couple of bits on order to "personalise" slightly but I do love the presence, space, and effortless drive

Great to meet you. Do share stories, updates etc, seeing as there are so few of us.

I'll get some pics up soon.

 

[QuattroRS6]

Hello and welcome. I don't have a GL or GLS, but I'll chat to anyone

Hey Sarah! Thanks for the welcome!
Chit and Chat is a favorite pass time

 

[Will]

Mine is a 2016 GLS350d - AMG embellished

The '63 is the aspiration, but far too juicy for me at the moment (that said I'm eyeing an SL63 as a weekend car

Thanks for the heads up re: service plan! I'll give them a call this afternoon.

I have a couple of bits on order to "personalise" slightly but I do love the presence, space, and effortless drive

Great to meet you. Do share stories, updates etc, seeing as there are so few of us.

I'll get some pics up soon.

I think I’m averaging around 14mpg which isn’t too bad, but we don’t do many miles PA in this car so fuel consumption wasn’t a concern for me personally.

I posted a few pics of mine on here:

Divine Detail on my GL63 - Excellent Service | Detailing

Just thought I’d provide some feedback and a further recommendation for Ed at Divine Detail (based in Surrey) who has done a wonderful job on my GL63 recently. This is his website: http://www.divinedetail.co.uk I bought my GL last summer, and the condition of the car was very good - low...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

Would like to see some of yours when you get time, as has been said there’s very few 166 GL/GLS owners on here

 

[QuattroRS6]

I saw your detailing thread a few days ago. Very nice job. The car is gorgeous!

I'll get some pics up very soon.

I have it booked in for a 2 stage and ceramic coating in a couple of weeks so I'll post some before and afters as well

 

[Deleted member 11979]

We have the previous model X164 GL 350CDI.

It's an extremely capable car that gets used rather more agriculturally than Will's by the looks of things.

I tow a heavy trailer with it regularly for work, we are doing building work at home so it's been used to carry 500- 600kg (in the boot) of cement etc on a regular basis, it goes to school, the beach, it has towed a 123 and Fintail (not at the same time) home when being bought this summer, and it does it all without a murmur and in extreme comfort.

Despite it being bought with a FMBSH it was found that the fuel filter was the original (date stamped late 2011), which caused it to exhibit the same symptoms as running out of fuel. The air filters were also more clogged than I have ever seen before, which threw up the engine management light too. These issues have been resolved and she now averages around 26mpg, including the towing, which I am pleased with. Without the trailer it'll do 30 around here (rural driving) and maybe 35 on the motorway if you're gentle.

I replaced the ditch finders it came with with Michelin Latitude Sports, which has transformed the handling and given an extra couple of MPG too.

I imagine the X166 is better in every respect (apart from the look I am afraid), so I imagine you'll have a lot of good experiences with it. Do keep on top of it maintenance wise though to get the best out of it.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

 

[Deleted member 11979]

 

[QuattroRS6]

I imagine the X166 is better in every respect (apart from the look I am afraid), so I imagine you'll have a lot of good experiences with it. Do keep on top of it maintenance wise though to get the best out of it.

C'mon, in the looks stakes, the X166 has to win, surely...! Subjective I know but this planet would be dull if we all agreed

Love that you're using it properly. I will not I'm proud to say. It'll pick the kids up occasionally, and spend a lot of time on motorways, A-roads, and some exciting road trips I hope.

Yep, maintenance is key and I'm OCD when it comes to cars so no compromises there.

PS, when I was 15 we went to the Motor Show at Earls Court and we lusted over the Merc stand where a 280TE and 560SEC were lusted over

 

[Deleted member 11979]

C'mon, in the looks stakes, the X166 has to win, surely...! Subjective I know but this planet would be dull if we all agreed

Love that you're using it properly. I will not I'm proud to say. It'll pick the kids up occasionally, and spend a lot of time on motorways, A-roads, and some exciting road trips I hope.

Yep, maintenance is key and I'm OCD when it comes to cars so no compromises there.

PS, when I was 15 we went to the Motor Show at Earls Court and we lusted over the Merc stand where a 280TE and 560SEC were lusted over

We will have to beg to differ on the looks , I like my 4x4 to be designed using a ruler and the original GL certainly was, there’s a 166 at the kid’s school and I have to admit it’s not a bad looker, but I’ve never seen one that doesn’t have AMG wheels etc, again I suspect we will have to differ there too .

As a kid and motorway car the GL excels too, you literally glide along, it’s a very valid reason to buy one in my opinion. We have a 535d as well, and the GL is a more relaxing motorway drive due to its driving position I guess.

Are you able to manually lock your diffs in an x166? Does it have the low range box? The traction these things have is superb, it easily outperforms our previous Discovery 4 on wet grass which surprised me, I used to get stuck in fields with the Discovery and, so far , haven’t in the GL, it’s a very proper vehicle.

The TE was found in a shed up the road, it’s going to be used as a child friendly classic once it’s restored, my love of Mercs comes from the same era as yours, the 80s and 90s stuff when I was a kid, again, proper cars

 

[QuattroRS6]

I like my rulers to have a little bend in them

I started looking at pre-facelift cars but little things bugged me - rear bumper fussiness, size of screen, somewhat vintage looking grille so I gradually convinced myself that the 166 is for me.

I too had the Disco4 down as first choice, but it felt old, agricultural, and much less refined. No regrets.

 

[Will]

To be fair mine had led an exceptionally pampered life before I took ownership, which was quite a nice surprise as I noted several examples that had been worked hard but not looked after which was a pity (even relatively new/expensive ones)

I’ve had cheapies for building work in the past but generally old E-class wagons of lower value. I have used this for trips to the tip and moving furniture, have a roof box and rails for loading larger stuff etc but I do try to look after it as it cost me quite a chunk of cash and I intend to keep it for the long term.

We use ours as a family car and have had plenty of trips out to beaches and forests and stuff, I just try and keep on top of the cleaning etc but the ceramic coating has made a huge difference to how clean it stays and make it much easier to wash - I think I have only washed it twice since May and it still looks pretty clean.

The interior is black leather and quite forgiving which I am pleased with.

It is what it is though and gets used in all weathers with young kids and car parks etc, but I try my best to look after it.

I did consider the earlier model and even gave thought to a diesel if the right car had come along but I got the impression that the later models were generally pretty reliable and with my man maths I have offset some of the inevitable depreciation against cost of repairs being that it was approved used with a 2-year warranty etc. Not saying the 164s are all bad but I posted up on here and got the distinct impression that they liked to throw up quite a lot of four figure bills etc and one GL450 owner I got talking about cars with kept going on about how he’d kept up with the MB extended warranty whilst listing thousands of ££££s worth of bits and pieces he had done - didn’t fill me with confidence. I’m sure some are fine but I just wanted something nice and hassle free etc with plenty of room and it’s been perfect

Looks are subjective of course, I don’t think any of these beasts are going to win beauty contests. Regards AMG wheels and off road capability - in all honesty how many of these are ever going to see more than a damp car park? Surely the wheelbase is too long for anything too serious regardless

 

[Deleted member 11979]

[QUOTE="QuattroRS6, post: 2965974, member: 157095"

I too had the Disco4 down as first choice, but it felt old, agricultural, and much less refined. No regrets.
[/QUOTE]

Interestingly I initially struggled with the GL after owning our Disco 4 for 3 years. There are many aspects of the Disco that are better than the GL, the engine, the ZF 8 speed box, and its exterior size (smaller) along with the high roofline that means you can get huge items inside of it.

However, some of these positives are what led me to change, the SDV6 is made of cheese, pokey and lovely sounding (for a diesel) but very prone to total failure which some say is exacerbated by the ZF. The exterior size means that everything is jammed in, the driver doesn’t have enough room, the engine doesn’t either, and mundane maintenance tasks are consequently expensive.

I’d say that the Disco 3 and 4 is not far from being an exceptional vehicle, let down by a couple of design flaws that ultimately mean you may have a ticking time bomb. The GL Is good, but didn’t break any ground, hence the relative number of them on the road I guess.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

To be fair mine had led an exceptionally pampered life before I took ownership, which was quite a nice surprise as I noted several examples that had been worked hard but not looked after which was a pity (even relatively new/expensive ones)

I’ve had cheapies for building work in the past but generally old E-class wagons of lower value. I have used this for trips to the tip and moving furniture, have a roof box and rails for loading larger stuff etc but I do try to look after it as it cost me quite a chunk of cash and I intend to keep it for the long term.

We use ours as a family car and have had plenty of trips out to beaches and forests and stuff, I just try and keep on top of the cleaning etc but the ceramic coating has made a huge difference to how clean it stays and make it much easier to wash - I think I have only washed it twice since May and it still looks pretty clean.

The interior is black leather and quite forgiving which I am pleased with.

It is what it is though and gets used in all weathers with young kids and car parks etc, but I try my best to look after it.

I did consider the earlier model and even gave thought to a diesel if the right car had come along but I got the impression that the later models were generally pretty reliable and with my man maths I have offset some of the inevitable depreciation against cost of repairs being that it was approved used with a 2-year warranty etc. Not saying the 164s are all bad but I posted up on here and got the distinct impression that they liked to throw up quite a lot of four figure bills etc and one GL450 owner I got talking about cars with kept going on about how he’d kept up with the MB extended warranty whilst listing thousands of ££££s worth of bits and pieces he had done - didn’t fill me with confidence. I’m sure some are fine but I just wanted something nice and hassle free etc with plenty of room and it’s been perfect

Looks are subjective of course, I don’t think any of these beasts are going to win beauty contests. Regards AMG wheels and off road capability - in all honesty how many of these are ever going to see more than a damp car park? Surely the wheelbase is too long for anything too serious regardless

Off roading is something I haven’t really tried save for the field journeys, but I did try going up a steep bank at our house to see what it would do, and it managed it with no issues, with the suspension raised its break over angle is pretty good. You’re right though, it’s too heavy, big and expensive for real off-roading, maybe a Fiat Panda 4x4 is a better choice.

Don’t get me wrong, I look after ours as well, but have just noticed it’s done 11,000 miles since January, which surprised me to be fair! A good 4000 of those will have been towing I expect, poor car!

Like you, I hope to keep mine for a long time, compared to the Discovery the 350 does feel quite slow, so the petrol or larger diesel would be an engine better suited, the large diesel is too niche for my liking, and as you say, can give jip I understand, so petrol is a better idea, and if you’re going to be a bear..........

 

[QuattroRS6]

Early days for me but the 3 hour drive back from the coast when I picked her up, was satisfying enough in terms of speed, responsiveness in low and high gears, and the driving position. That said, I've had a string of RS6's (with an X5 and Q7 in between), so you can never have enough power! Perhaps I'll scratch that 63AMG itch in the future (with warranty ofcourse)

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Early days for me but the 3 hour drive back from the coast when I picked her up, was satisfying enough in terms of speed, responsiveness in low and high gears, and the driving position. That said, I've had a string of RS6's (with an X5 and Q7 in between), so you can never have enough power! Perhaps I'll scratch that 63AMG itch in the future (with warranty ofcourse)

They’re great cars full stop, but in 63 form they work particularly well despite logic suggesting that it’s the last car which should attract AMG treatment. They’re fantastic.