Mercedes GLE450 Luxury SUV makes a splash
Mercedes has spared nothing to make its all-new luxury SUV high-tech, refined and hugely capable. Has the effort paid off?
The Mercedes-benz GLE has racked up more than two million sales worldwide since it first went on sale, badged as the M-class, in 1997. So clearly it has been a success. But the market this fourth-generation version now enters is vastly different from the one back then. Premium-brand SUV ranks have swelled to such an extent that it takes something truly out of the ordinary to stand out and pique customers’ interest.
In a bid to match the competition head on, then, the new GLE has been developed from the ground up in an engineering programme that also includes the upcoming new GLE Coupé and GLS, both due to go on sale next year.
This is just as well because the outgoing GLE was showing its age next to newer rivals such as the Audi Q7, BMW X5 and Range Rover Sport. But the surprise is just how much technology Mercedes has thrown at it in an attempt to elevate its appeal. There are features on the new GLE that are not yet available on the flagship S-class, or any other Mercedes, for that matter. So this seven-seat SUV finds itself in the position of playing a pioneering technical role.
The most noticeable change when you see it up close is its size. It has grown, putting on a considerable 105mm in length, at 4924mm. Crucially, 80mm of this is within the wheelbase, which now extends to 2995mm, to the benefit of interior packaging.
Climb up into the cabin through the larger front door aperture and you’re immediately aware that this is a far more luxurious offering than any of its predecessors. Everything you see and touch has been reworked, including the front seats, which are a good deal firmer and more body hugging than before. The materials used throughout are also of a higher perceived quality.
The multi-layered dashboard has signature rectangular air vents as opposed to the round ones used by other recent new
Mercedes models. Its upper section houses a large hoodless digital panel with two 12.3in high-definition displays for the infotainment and instruments. The infotainment is controlled by Mercedes’ new MBUX operating system, with touchscreen, conversational speech and gesture control functions complementing small touchpad controllers on the steering wheel and a larger touchpad unit within the centre console.
New technology comes in the form of an optional head-up display unit with 720x240-pixel resolution across a screen area of 45cm by 15 cm. Active Stop and Go assist, a driving function that permits semi-autonomous driving in traffic jams, is among a wide range of driver assist features.
A distinct feeling of roominess up front combines with a commanding seating position and more upright A-pillars to create a pleasing driving environment. In the rear, that longer wheelbase liberates an added 69mm of leg room and, in combination with a longer rear overhang, helps to make the third row more spacious. Boot space has been reduced by 60 litres, although it remains competitive at 630 litres with the second-row seats set all the way back. Slide them forward, though, and the capacity is 135 litres more than in the old GLE, at 825-litres, growing to 2225 litres when they are folded away.
The fourth-generation GLE is based on a brand-new platform that is claimed to offer an impressive 33% increase in rigidity over that of the old model. Its MHA (modular high architecture) structure uses a material mix that also helps it to weigh the same 486kg as the shorter, narrower version of the older MRA (modular rear architecture) platform used by the third-generation GLE.
The new structure sits on a heavily reworked double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension. Lowerend models continue with standard steel springs and adaptive dampers, but they can be had with optional three-chamber height-adjustable Airmatic air suspension that comes as standard on higher end models.
Buyers who opt for the GLE450 4Matic also get the choice of Mercedes’ advanced E-active suspension. A further development of the Airmatic system, it works in combination with a 48V architecture and road-scanning stereo camera to provide individual adjustment of the air spring and damper acting on each wheel, allowing it to not only counteract body lean but also better control pitch and dive.
The initial UK engine line-up for the new GLE is just two units, although others, including two sixcylinder diesels and a pair of Amgfettled petrol engines, will follow later in 2019. For now, though, the options are a 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel with 242bhp and 369lb ft in the GLE300D 4Matic or a turbocharged 2.9-litre six-cylinder petrol boasting 362bhp and 369lb ft in the GLE450 4Matic.
This petrol engine, part of a new in-line family of petrol and diesel units, is equipped with Mercedes’ EQ Boost function, comprising a 48V integrated starter/generator. Mounted within the forward section of the gearbox, it uses energy from a lithium ion battery to provide an added 22bhp and 184lb ft under acceleration in a mild-hybrid set-up that is claimed to enhance performance and overall economy.
The new petrol-electric drivetrain, also used in the CLS450 and S500, is ideal for the GLE, providing prodigious shove when accelerating from low speeds and a solid turn of speed through the gears on a loaded throttle. It is also pleasingly hushed and well isolated from the cabin, giving the GLE450 calm and relatively quiet cruising qualities.
For the most part, the GLE’S automatic gearbox is every bit as silken smooth on upshifts as it is during downshifts. The nine-speed unit, which comes with steeringwheel-mounted shift paddles as standard, is quick to respond and intuitive in its gear selection. Helping to add to an impression of improved driveline refinement is a mechanism that actions a clutch to decouple the engine from the gearbox for extended periods of off-throttle coasting.
The GLE450 also receives the latest version of Mercedes’ 4Matic
four-wheel drive system with fully variable apportioning of power to either the front or rear wheels. This not only helps improve traction on the road but also extends the new SUV’S ability off road.
As good as the driveline and performance are, though, the GLE450’S crowning achievement is arguably the way in which it masks its considerable size and weight with truly impressive handling traits while delivering a cosseting and pliant ride.
The steering is agreeably weighted and has good directional response, with a heightened sense of precision and greater feedback than the old model’s, even though it goes without the rear-wheel steering of some luxury SUV rivals. The adoption of fully variable fourwheel drive also plays a significant role in lifting its handling prowess well above that of its predecessor, providing outstanding grip and superb levels of on-road traction.
Where the new GLE really rises above the competition, though, is in its body control. With the optional E-active suspension, the GLE450 remains remarkably f lat and composed during brisk driving, even going so far as to negate the effects of pitch and dive during acceleration and braking through constant tweaking of the damping.
Still, that’s not the end of it by any means. For those willing to option it, there’s also a so-called ‘curve inclination’ function as part of an extended list of driving modes. Activated through the infotainment monitor, it uses a stereo camera mounted within the windscreen to scan the road and the air springs to lean the GLE450 into corners. The amount of lean can be controlled within three different settings, with the most extreme providing sports car-grade cornering speed and a level of purchase more akin to a well-sorted sporting estate than a high-riding luxury SUV. You can confidently place it and maintain a brisk pace over winding back roads without any untoward tyre-squealing drama or premature interruption from the stability control, which only actives when it really needs to rather than well before any given situation.
It takes a while to become fully accustomed to the leaning effect, most notably on turn-in, which is a good deal sharper and more incisive than in the other driving modes, but with perseverance and the right road to exploit it, you discover the GLE450 4Matic delivers incredibly fluid handling traits that ensure its trick suspension will no doubt find its way on to other Mercedes models in the not too distant future.
The primary ride is also a real strong suit. Pockmarked sections of bitumen and undulations are dealt with in a wonderfully controlled manner at cruising speed out on the open road and potholes and the like are nicely ironed out at lower speeds around town. Together with the wind-cheating ability brought on by a drag coefficient of just 0.29 and the outstanding refinement of the engine, this makes the GLE450 4Matic an outstanding proposition for long-distance driving – and with an 85-litre fuel tank, it promises a theoretical range of over 600 miles.
With the arrival of the new, fourth-generation model, the GLE has taken on a more upmarket role in the Mercedes line-up, offering greater space, markedly higher levels of refinement and a range of standard features not even available in the firm’s upper luxury models. In GLE450 4Matic guise, it is a compelling, complete and highly accomplished SUV that, with the option of seven seats, makes for outstanding family transport, both on and off road. A comparison test with the Q7, newly introduced X5 and Range Rover Sport is required to settle the question of just where it stands in the luxury SUV pecking order, but from what we’ve seen so far, it appears to have the necessary appeal to uphold the sales success of its various predecessors.
With this new model, the GLE has taken on a more upmarket role in the Mercedes line-up