The Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class has been proven to be a long-running and hot-selling nameplate in the US, and it's been in production since 1997, which is nearly 25 years. It was originally known as the M-Class, but the GLE-Class nomenclature gave the M the boot in 2015, to better reflect Mercedes' naming scheme. Now in it's fourth generation, the 2020 GLE is an uber-luxurious leather sofa on wheels.
Mercedes has been on a killing streak with styling lately, and the GLE is no exception. It keeps most of the styling from the previous generation, but gives it an extraordinary evolution. LED headlights are standard across the board, the grille is larger, and the lower plastic pieces are new. Sadly they are NOT functional, which personally I criticize Mercedes for doing that because it makes the GLE not look like a Mercedes (I mean it cheapens it). Add the AMG Line package and you'll get a different grille and reworked bumper. That would be my personal pick, as Mercedes makes good use of that ugly plastic that makes the base GLE look cheap.
When you walk over to the side, you may not see much different about the new GLE compared to the previous generation. Yes the hood is a little more raked and the roof slopes a bit more out back, but the GLE's numbers is what is different. Length grows from 189.1 to 194.3 inches, and the wheelbase also goes up from the previous generation to 117.9 compared to 114.8 inches. Also because of that stretch in length, Mercedes decided to shoehorn a TINY third row back there. Why Mercedes?
Looking at the back of the GLE, the GLE takes much of Mercedes' passenger cars styling with thin taillights that are all LED (including turn signal and reverse light), and the rear hatch window looks to have grown a little, and looks to provide exceptional visibility. But Mercedes did it again! FAKE EXHAUST TIPS. Really Mercedes? Make them freaking real for Christs sake!
Oh by the way, the GLE's tires are absolutely crazy wide. You can start out with 255mm wide tires all around on 19-inch rims, but you can jump ALL THE WAY TO 285 front and 325mm rear tires on massive 22-inch rims. I think Mercedes could've really toned down on the width of the tires. 325mm tires are just serious overkill. 285mm tires all around would be just fine.
Mercedes wows with interiors on all their cars ranging from the base A-Class up to the S-Class, and the GLE is no different. It gets Mercedes "surfboard" (no lie, that's what they call it) that houses a 12-inch fully digital instrument cluster screen, and houses the brand new MBUX infotainment system alongside it. MBUX has FOUR ways you can control it. You can finally touch the screen (yay), use the touchpad that is actually very intuitive to use, use the touch buttons on the steering wheel, or you can use your Personal Assistant and say "Hey Mercedes, I'm cold." About that, whenever it hears Mercedes, it will trigger the voice command menu. Its nice, but Mer... Benz (!) honestly should've made it only recognize "Hey Mercedes" rather than just "Mercedes". It would save a lot of frustrations from drivers and their passengers.
The front seats are sumptuous. Gorgeous and smooth premium leather, many ways of adjusting the seats, even a thigh extension that actually goes MEGA FAR (PERFECT!!!), heated and cooled seats, all the nine yards. All the features in the seats could've been plucked from an S-Class!
In the second row, the GLE impresses me the most. Ergonomics are great, even power seats are available as an option, which is REALLY hard to find in this segment. Most are just a lever you pull on the side. Mercedes doesn't think so. Room is plentiful, both head and leg. Headroom was the most surprising, as I had about 4 to 5 inches of head space left. I could kneel and probably not touch the roof!
Ugh, now we get to the prison cell. Because of the 5.2-inch length increase, Mercedes had the bright (ahem, dumb) idea of shoehorning a very tiny third row into the back. The third row is NOT meant for the GLE. If you need the third row, go for the GLS, you'll thank me later. Now for kids... you should be okay, but I still think that they wouldn't be super comfortable getting in there. It's nice to have seven seats in case you need them, but the GLE really wastes a lot of space in the cargo area because of the third row. At least Mercedes makes the third row an option. Cargo space is okay, but there's more roomier cargo areas in the competition.
Volvo XC90
Lincoln Aviator
Infiniti QX60
MB GLE 350
BMW X5
Audi Q7
Mercedes is the literal king of safety and technology. Active Brake Assist, Active Parking Asist, ATTENTION ASSIST, Blind Spot Assist, Crosswind Assist, PRE-SAFE, and PRE-SAFE Sound are all standard equipment.
But there's more packages you can add. They start off as Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC, Active Steering Assist, Evasive Steering Assist, Intelligent Light System with Ultra Range Highbeams, Adaptive Highbeam Assist, Active Blind Spot Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function, Active Emergency Stop Assist, Active Speed Limit Assist, Active Lane Change Assist, Speed Limit Assist, Active Stop-and-Go Assist, Surround View System, PRE-SAFE PLUS, and PRE-SAFE Impulse Side. Whew! That's a lot. For just standard equipment, Mercedes does need to put a bit more into their advanced safety tech, but just a little since luxury automakers usually have a more advanced version of the advanced safety systems.
The Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class earns an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ award for 2019. The GLE earned all Good ratings in every test along with headlights, although there is a headlight combo that rates Acceptable. For more on the GLE's ratings, click here.
I was unfortunately not able to drive the all-new GLE-Class, but I will in the future, so be sure to check back to see my impressions.
The A-Class is powered by a 2.0L turbo I4. There is A35 and A45 AMG variants coming.
This 2.0L makes only 188 horsepower! It would've been better for Mercedes to just create a three-cylinder engine to put in the A-Class instead of detuning the 2.0L down so low that it feels as if it doesn't have power. You'll be surprised though because it ran the same 0-60 time as the last CLA that Car and Driver had tested, at a pretty healthy 6.1 seconds.
2.0L turbo I4
Stay tuned, I am going to try to review a GLE-Class soon!
Coming soon.