The Q7 is more of an X5 and GLE competitor.

Personally I'm not a fan of the GLS. It is an old dinosaur and I feel it when I get inside one. The interior is lackluster in both design and quality relative to the competition and Mercedes' latest efforts. Frankly, nobody besides Range Rover does an interior in the full-size lux-SUV class of vehicles right; and even then, the RR interior lacks some attention to detail (ex. cheap plastic window switch unit).

GLS also has ugly wheels until it's the 550.

 

The Q7 is a tweener. The 3rd row is a big selling point for people. The X5's third row is a joke and the GLE just doesn't have one.

Perhaps if you consider the Range Rover to be its main competitor. In reality its very clear that Mercedes benchmarked the Escalade when they built the current-gen GL/GLS. Rewind back to 2013, and you'll see that the GL is very similar in length, interior cargo room, cargo capacity, power, and tow rating to the Escalade. It's supposed to be a three-row, all purpose family mobile. That's not the Range Rover's MO.

Now, MB has seen that they really should be focusing on the personal luxury SUV concept. The more utilitarian interior will give way to a far more luxurious look in the next gen and we're going to get a Maybach variant.

 

yup, the Q7 is offering few things that the X5 and GLE can't come close. maybe the GX460 is a closer one but even at that i think Q7 has some edge. i am not complaining about Q7's direction at all, i think Audi has a clear picture what they are doing

i also agree with you, i think mb is still solidifying what the GLS's future would be. i think they are at a good position though, they have a lot of other models in the lineup to give them the freedom.

but i still think the GLS450 is quite an expensive car for what you get. the base car comes with little, and you have to option it up to really make it nice and by then it's already mid-80s.

 

That's why I always think the GL550 is a better buy since a lot of options come standard, as well as the AMG package. Last time I check, if you optioned a GL450 as the same as GL550, they are only 7-8k apart, why not buy the 550? And that was the V8 450, with the V6 it's less attractive.

 

yes that's correct. similarly equipped, a 550 is less than 10k more than the 450. just the engine / power alone makes it a better deal imho

a good friend of mine mentioned this and i think it's so true. for lexus, you get a lot of car at the price you pay for the base version. for mb, you get a lot more car at the price you pay for the high end version. very different mentality

 

So after driving the GX470 for the past 4+ years, my wife wanted a new car. The GX only has 73k miles but the tech is falling behind. The audio system is old with no iPhone or BT streaming, and most importantly she wanted something with ventilated seats because it just gets so hot during the summer.

Little did I know how “rare” ventilated front seats is as an option on Euro cars. It’s standard on so many Lexus but an option on most BMW, MB, and Audi. It becomes standard on higher end trims and unfortunately on most cars in the lots, the lower trims don’t have ventilated seats. STUPID!!!!!

Infiniti – nothing interests us

Lexus – GX has been on the same platform for over a decade so LX is pretty much the only choice

Audi – Q7 Prestige was our top choice, but the lack of running boards discouraged us since our girls are still small. I also don’t like its lease rates, car is 70K but the lease payment makes it feel like a 80K car

BMW – to get ventilated seats in X5 we have to go with 5.0. Car is stupidly fast and handles very well, but ride is very harsh and my wife got car sick just from test drive. So it was out of the window

MB – test drove the GLE350 and it’s so underpowered. The GLE400 helps but no ventilated seats in general. Moved up to GLS450 and even on an 88k one it still has no ventilated seats. Only the GLS550 has it standard.

In the end it came down to LX570 and GLS550, for sure both exceed my wife’s needs (and budget!!). Since we lease I don’t really care if it’s 2016 or 2017, I care more about payments. 2016 GL500 is before facelift so it gets better discount and my wife doesn’t care about most of the changes. And I know she doesn’t really want another Lexus while she misses our old S550 so the choice was clear.

And I can also say for MB, getting higher model trim is more worth it in general. As I mentioned a similarly optioned GL450 would have been about 8k cheaper than than the GL550, but it comes with considerably less power (and under powered imho). There are also things you can't even get with the GL450 like the 21" AMG rims, front seat massages, and few other bells and whistles. So you are getting more value if you can hit that budget.

Remaining GL500 inventory was low and after a lot of work and negotiations we finally landed on this (sorry late and rainy so no other pics yet)

Happy wife, happy life!!!

Oh anyone wants a 2008 GX470 at a great price?

 

Good choice. Congratulations!

 

Congrats! I'd love to know more details about the deal/lease etc. Feel free to PM me if you're willing to share privately...

 

Complains about previous car being hot inside during the summer. Goes and buys black car.

Joking aside, congrats on the new Benz, the GL is really nice. I really like the new Audi Q7 as well, but as noted it really isn't quite big enough and doesn't have the space of that Benz.

 

Congratulations, Henry.

I won't post what I usually recommend for the paint on a new car to keep it nice, because I'm sure you've already seen me post it a thousand times LOL.

As an aside note.......that's one thing I like (and have always liked) about this Car Chat forum. Even the moderators aren't necessarily wedded down to, or limited to, just Lexus products. Members are open to (and drive)....almost anything.

 

haha yes, black interior too!

the GL is huge. although only 2 inches longer than the Q7, it has significantly more head room and also a much more usable third row.

well you are talking to a person who hardly washes his car anymore. in fact a good thing about getting a MB is that we get unlimited free car wash.

i always said being a moderator here shouldn't mean one has to only have lexus. being passionate about a brand doesn't mean everything has to be biased one way. in fact that won't be good for the forum and won't be good for the brand either. all voices have to be heard as long as they are constructive.

 

Wow wow wow, nice Henry! Lucky I don't have to spoil my wife for a car like this!

Might PM me the deal you got on the GL?

Btw your typo on the car ' GL500 ' got me confused till I saw the picture.

 

congrats!

just to be clear, the vehicle was the GL until 2016 model year, and became the GLS for 2017? and the GLS is a facelift version, is that all right?
were you tempted at all by any of the changes for 2017 or was the money difference just out of sight and your wife didn't care about the differences anyway?

i love the GL/GLS. don't quite need that much room, but i could still see myself in one.

 

Congrats on the GL, Henry, and yes... getting ventilated seats is a virtually impossibility in most German cars. Makes me miss my GS F Sport! Great car you got there!

 

my jeep has ventilated seats.