Gl 420 cdi

[Oli]

Anyone here owned one or got one?, I'd like to know what they're like to live with, are they reliable overall?, I'm getting seriously irritated with Land Rover reliability issues at the moment, was thinking about a Cayenne but don't want something that does 12 MPG again!!.

 

[gl boy]

I had the original GL320 , which I brought new in 06 , kept it for 6 years with hardly any problems apart from tyres once a year , but I did drive it hard like it was my amg , , otherwise couldn't fault it and I'd love another one now , but resources won't allow it , but at the time I also tested the range rover , BMW X5 , and Audi Q7 and the GL WAS far superior than the others , whether that's been biased as I've been Mercedes for many years I'm not sure ,,
Still have an ML 350 now which is still a fantastic car but it's not the GL ,,,

 

[kid-jensen]

GLboy,

As an ML owner, I've always thought the ML and GL were almost identical.... what made your GL so different?

 

[gl boy]

GLboy, As an ML owner, I've always thought the ML and GL were almost identical.... what made your GL so different?

The GL is a longer vehicle and the extra 2 seats are a proper ride , I'm a big bloke and wouldn't hesitate sitting in the third row for a few hundred miles journey ,,
The GL also imo rides better than the ML , similar inside to , ( but think the GL also comes with all the 4wd pro package as standard ) I go mad and tick most options when I buy a new car ,, running costs are not much different now compared to the GL I had to my ML ,
All depends if you are going to use the 3 rd row of seats ,,
Towing with the GL was also fantastic , never knew I had anything on the back half the time and sometimes totally forgot,,,

 

[Oli]

I've decided to go for a 320, it's swift enough still and otherwise the same, plus I would have thought parts will be cheaper for one and the fuel economy a bit better.
I'm only getting about 22 MPG out of my RRS so I expect the GL would be similar?.
Probably am going to try and be in one before Christmas but need to shift the RRS first, hopefully won't be too difficult as I've just done a lot of work to it!!.

 

[kid-jensen]

I never get worse than 27MPG in the ML, and that would be short distances in heavy traffic.

On the open road it's more likely to be over 30.. And yes, the performance is pretty good for a heavy old bus...

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I owned an ML420, the engine is fantastic but the 7G box was very lumpy.

 

[dejongj]

I've just sold my GL 350 Bluetec AMG Sport. If you can I'd got for the later 350's, they come as standard with AMG Line kit on it which is one thing that makes them look much better in my opinion. But not just that, they also came as standard with Airmatic suspension which makes the ride a lot better than the standard setup.

I've owned mine since new for the last three years, and sold it last week It has been a fantastic car. Never lacking in power (my daily drive is a Golf R so very different experience). Very reliable.

If I were to give two negatives; yes that 7G gearbox can be a little hesitant at time, as was standard throttle response. But I used a DTUK pedal box on it and that seems to have things sorted out.

My friends had the same age (63 reg) ML and couldn't believe the difference when they saw the GL class. It is definitely E class vs S class, the whole interior may superficially look the same (as did the others in the range) but the choice of materials, how quiet the vehicle is, etc is a very different experience.

Realistic consumption, about 27mpg around town, 34mpg on the motorway. And we don't hang about.

It was really difficult to decide what we wanted instead. We decided to go two sizes down as my wife found it hard (and so did I) going in multi storey car parks and keep those lovely 21" clear around the high curbs. This vehicle is big, very big. As someone said earlier, the third row is suitable for adults! But we decided smaller is good, so next weekend I'm picking up our GLC43 AMG

 

[joeysnowey]

I have been told the R320 is basically the GL320 with a different body lowered down. The GL looks a heavier beast to me in the pics,would the fuel economy be better on a R320?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Fuel economy will be a little worse in the GL. Whether you would notice, maybe not!

 

[joeysnowey]

Cool thanks. Am I right in expecting maybe mid 20s round town or mixed driving, 32-35 on a steady motorway run? or too optimistic?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I regularly exceed manufacturer fuel economy figures and my ML 420 was low 20’s round town (take a couple mpg off that in winter) and 28-30mpg on a run (average 75mph)

 

[joeysnowey]

thanks