Mercedes GLE: Higher consumption levels after the facelift

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After five years, Mercedes is updating the details of the GLE SUV. Visually, almost nothing has changed, apart from minor details such as differently shaped daytime running lights and bumpers. Mercedes has reduced the range of options for the GLE  Coupe, which will only be available in AMG design in the future. Progress has been made in the areas of assistance, infotainment and engines.

Mercedes GLE: Trailer operation simplified

New to the range is a camera system that maps what the road is like under the front end - an idea that has also been on sale at Land Rover, for instance, for quite some time. It should help those who actually want to take the GLE off-road, where the SUV will certainly go much further than most customers will ever exhaust. For people who often tow a trailer, an extension to the navigation system is interesting: there, you can have the weight and dimensions of the trailer taken into account when calculating the route. The trailer maneuvering assistant now works with a camera and is designed to reduce lurching of a caravan, for example.

Learning voice assistant

Five years is a long time in the field of consumer electronics. So it's no wonder that Mercedes emphasizes that it has made a big step in software and hardware. This is not visible on the outside at first, because the screens remain unchanged in terms of size and resolution. But the system is supposed to work faster than before, and there is also an adaptive voice assistant. Some actions, such as accepting a phone call, can be operated without "Hey Mercedes". In addition, even more functions can be controlled with voice commands - for example, the position of the sunroof cover.

"Anyone home?"

The GLE also offers the possibility of networking with home automation more intensively than before. Things like temperature or lighting at home can be operated remotely. The package insert for the press also describes the possibility of monitoring whether someone is at home. Question to the car: "Hey Mercedes, is anyone at my house right now?" The GLE: "I just checked. The last detected movement was an hour ago in the kitchen." How practical, because this way, if necessary, pressure can be exerted by phone to get one's dinner on time ...

Strengthened engines

There have also been changes to the engines, with progress bringing even more power in some areas, but not at least slightly lower consumption across the board. In some cases, the WLTP figure even increases. The range looks as follows for the time being:

	WLTP	Power (kW)
Plug-in hybrids
350 de	0,6 to 0,9	245
400 e	0,8 to 1,1	280
Diesel
300 d	6,7 to 7,7	198 (+15)
450 d	7,5 to 8,6	270 (+15)
Petrol engine
450	9,5 to 10,8	280 (+15)
AMG 53	10,2 to 10,7	320 (+16)
AMG 63 S	12,3 to 12,8	450 (+16)

Compared with the previous model, this means a number of innovations: The diesel PHEV has a total output of 10 kW more than before. The GLE 350 e, the plug-in hybrid with gasoline engine, becomes the GLE 400 e, which has a system output of 280 kW and thus 35 kW more than its direct predecessor. The AC charging speed has also been increased: instead of 7.4 kW on two phases, it now offers 11 kW on three phases. This means that what can normally be used at domestic wallboxes can be fully exploited.

As usual, a DC charger with 60 kW can be ordered for an additional charge. The battery itself also remains unchanged, which is unusually large for a plug-in hybrid at 31.2 kWh (gross). With the update of the GLE, Mercedes also apparently releases minimally more usable content of the storage, because the promised maximum range in electric mode increases to up to 109 km.

Increased consumption figures

In the case of the combustion engines, Mercedes is correcting the WLTP figures upward in some cases. For example, the 300 d SUV was previously rated at 6.1 to 7.5 liters in the cycle; in the revised model it will be 6.8 to 7.7 liters. In the case of the gasoline model, the fuel consumption figures in the WLTP are more narrowly defined: Instead of 9 to 10.9, it is now 9.5 to 10.8 liters. These figures are remarkable overall, because normally consumption goes down at least a little in a revision. This is less significant for the customer than for the manufacturer, who has to fight for every gram of CO₂ in fleet consumption. Overruns can severely cut into the margin per vehicle sold.

(mfz)