NEW GERMAN SUV MAKES LIFE A LOT EASIER

Get behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz GLE SUV and you get your own virtual butler

Every wish is, well, almost granted. The prompt is “Hey Mercedes” and the response is “How can I help you?” From there a host of items can be requested, such as “Take me to Palm Cove”, and she, yes, it’s a female, provides satellite-navigation directions.

Other things include changing the ambient lighting (there are 64 colours to choose from), opening and shutting the roller blind if it is fitted with a sunroof (but not the sunroof or windows due to safety reasons), and turning up or down the temperature on the airconditioning.

You could spend all day playing with this tech marvel but the GLE is meant to be driven.

The review vehicle was the 300d with a fourcylinder turbo-diesel engine.

It starts from $115,685 drive away but the demonstrator was stacked with extras, including a $7000 sports pack and other options which totalled $17,133 for an on-road price of $142,090.

The 300d looked pretty smick in black duco and the bigger multi-spoked alloy wheels.

The GLE is one of Benz’s stars and year-todate sales are up a staggering 530 per cent or 761 per cent for February.

It is the top seller in its category ahead of the Range Rover Sport, Audi Q7 and BMW X5.

It’s also available as a seven-seater.

Standard fare includes 20in wheels, allwheel drive, faux leather with open-pore wood trim and heated front seats.

Regardless of which grade, tech includes twin 12.3-inch digital displays, LED headlights, driving assistance pack, smart keys and 360degree camera.

The GLE looks like it means business, thanks to flared guards, enormous wheels, the imposing grille and the huge three-pointed star emblem.

Inside, the infotainment screens dominate the dash with prominent grab handles either side and a convenient touchpad.

It’s quite stunning and is easy to use on the move, even if the “Hey Mercedes” voice function can be a bit hit-and-miss.

There’s plenty of space in the second row with 70mm of additional legroom thanks to a sliding rear bench. Fully forward, it provides 630L of cargo storage in five-seat mode.

Of course, buyers can spend up to customise the GLE to suit their wants and desires.

The tough-looking $7000 AMG Sport package brings 21-inch wheels, bigger wheel arches, diamond grille and interior goodies such as wireless phone charging and panoramic sunroof.

The $3400 air suspension package with adaptive dampers improves ride and handling.

The four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine is relatively quiet and smooth but has a fair bit of bulk to shift so is not a performance machine. There’s 180kW/500Nm available.

I selected sport over comfort because the GLE felt a bit wallowy in the comfort mode.

Everything firmed up although the bigger wheels and sports package meant some bumps were well and truly heard.

They also create a lot of noise on coarse bitumen roads.

The GLE feels big but is easy to place on the road. A run up to Mossman and back on the Captain Cook Hwy was a breeze in the fivedoor Benz.

It just cruised along quite comfortably with excellent vision all around.

The right gear lever stalk might seem odd but it is intuitive and easy to use and there’s a nine-speed auto transmission which slurs through the gears.

The GLE300d’s 0-100km/h sprint time of 7.2 seconds is certainly sprightly enough.

Claimed fuel economy of 6.9L/100km is impressive, too, if achievable in real-world driving. I used 8.5.

The GLE is far more practical with two extra seats for bigger families.