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Hi everybody, today, I’m going to test-drive the new Mercedes-Benz GLE,
a car with a stunning history. Its predecessor – the M-Class – was,
back in 1997, the first modern SUV.
You might remember it from a famous movie with dinosaurs.
This adventurous vibe lives on in the GLE.
It has become incredibly successful all around the world.
So what’s new with the GLE?
First, it’s a sleeker design, then some suspension magic that I’ve never experienced before
and the new MBUX infotainment system plus all the latest safety helpers.
So today, we’re gonna check its on-road performance
and we’re gonna try a few things off-road you would not expect with this car.
The GLE has grown in every dimension, still it looks sportier than ever before.
Much of its visual presence comes from the AMG Line. It looks striking at every angle.
I like this diamond grille here and the AMG air intakes down there.
The pronounced shoulders immediately catch your eye.
They stretch from the distinctive C-pillar down to the taillights,
which have become much edgier now.
All this great design is completed by the AMG alloy wheels.
Looking closer, you see the sports braking system with perforated brake discs.
They are as powerful as they look.
Want more high-tech?
These MULTIBEAM LED headlamps don’t just look great, they totally change your nighttime driving experience.
All LEDs can be controlled individually. After one night, you won’t want to drive without them.
But now, let’s go for a ride.
One great thing about the Dolomites: We have all kinds of roads
and the GLE is not the first big guy up here. Hannibal even crossed the Alps with elephants.
Anyway, let me show you my favourite feature of the GLE.
E-ACTIVE BODY CONTROL is an electronic suspension that can adjust to a super wide range of road conditions.
In addition, the air suspension automatically lowers the car at high speeds
or lifts it up when you want to go off-road, which we’ll do later.
To add to this cool tech, the GLE has the curve-tilting function CURVE
which makes the car really lean into these wickedly winding roads, it’s like motorcycling.
All in all, the suspension of the GLE feels super comfortable, dynamic and precise at once.
And when the roads out here open up, you can really feel the power behind the new GLE.
The three-litre six-cylinder petrol engine can really rip,
it’s got a lot more kick than you’d expect from such a comfortable car.
We’re absolutely gunning it.
The interior of the new GLE has a strong sense of luxury, look at any of these surfaces.
Everything is extremely well crafted. This starts with the seats.
The comfort of these multicontour seats has an added bonus: a massage function.
Wow, they even have hot stone.
The wheelbase is significantly longer than before, so you’ve got a lot more legroom and headroom in the rear
and of course, it’s very flexible for any kind of stowage needs.
Another cool thing: This sliding sunroof is the biggest sunroof that any GLE has ever had.
I can already see the mountains we’re gonna go next.
Now, we want to challenge the Mercedes-Benz promise that the GLE will perform off-road better than ever before.
For this, I invited a colleague of mine.
Hi Lena, welcome to Italy and to this beautiful place.
Hi Bernd, thanks for the welcome and thanks for the invite, it’s a true pleasure to be here.
Lena, you’re a very experienced driver on track and on road,
but as far as I know, you never went off-road before.
Well, at least not on purpose. But yeah, you’re right, I usually drive sports cars more than anything else,
so this is an absolute premiere for me and I’m so excited that I’ll get to take the new GLE through its paces.
Well, then I’m certain that this car is the perfect companion for your first ride. So here are the keys.
You probably know that the GLE has the all-wheel drive 4MATIC
and what it does is it gives you an optimum balance between traction, dynamics and safety
and this is really important for a rookie like me.
My favourite thing about the GLE is it gives you that extra bit of confidence to try out what you can do with it.
In curves going up the hill – now look at this, look at this curve, there you go.
So, this was a lot of fun already and I think I’m ready to take the next challenge.
The road is getting a little bit steeper and a little bit more rocky,
so I think it’s time to choose the off-road specific settings
and for this I switch dynamics and then choose “Off-road”
and what this does is it lifts the car up a little bit so it gives it that little bit more ground clearance
which you will need when you want to tackle the road ahead, let’s go.
So I kind of feel like this was just a warm-up, because now the road is getting really steep and also quite rocky,
so I'm gonna to see what the car can do.
So, on my screen it says we’re at about 24 percent incline, approaching the 30 percent
and Bernd told me the GLE can do up to 80 percent, that’s quite incredible.
So now, we’re going downhill a little bit and I think it’s time to try a setting
which is called DSR – Downhill Speed Regulation.
So when I switch that on, what it does is it actually keeps the car steady at the pace of 6 kph.
In this case, it’s the setting I chose, because this is quite steep here and I kind of feel comfortable with 6 kph.
And it means that I don’t have to use the brakes at all.
I mean, it’s always good to be ready for it, so I keep my foot near the brakes,
but the car just goes steady at 6 kph and I can concentrate on the road, on the curves,
on the stones and just feel really relaxed and easy.
Then, ladies and gentlemen, there’s a feature
which is made for more sandy conditions than we have here in Europe.
Imagine you’re driving through the desert and you get stuck in really soft sand,
like it could happen to any professional rally driver, too.
To show you what the GLE would do in such a situation, we have moved to a special 4x4 track.
And we’re stuck, the car doesn’t move one bit, not forward nor backwards,
but don’t get too excited, I’m not going to get out my shovel.
But what I’m gonna do is I’m just going to engage the recovery mode
and the car will just rock itself out of this pickle all alone.
And we’re out. Cool, huh? It’s really that easy.
I bet some of you guys would want this feature in their low-rider cars.
And what about you Bernd, are you jealous now?
Yes Lena, I would be jealous but I have so much awesome stuff to show you.
For example, these automated driving features and safety systems the GLE is packed with.
The Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC can automatically maintain the distance to the car in front of me
and the Active Steering Assist helps the driver to keep the vehicle in the centre of its lane
on straight roads, in slight bends, on motorways and highways.
By gently turning the steering wheel you can really feel it happening.
The Active Parking Assist is basically a parking automation and it goes like this:
First, I have to activate it. When the system recognizes an open parking spot,
I just have to confirm it, put it in reverse and then everything is done automatically:
steering, braking, gas, the car does it all for me. It’s like magic when you do it for the first time
and it’s really helpful with a big car like this.
With all these incredible safety features I feel comfortable and secure,
no matter if the GLE is off-road or on city streets.
The big attraction inside now is this widescreen cockpit.
Behind this glass is the best infotainment system I’ve come across.
It’s called MBUX and lets you control navigation, phone, radio, car settings and much more.
You can access it by the Touchscreen, the Touchpad in the centre console,
the Touch Control buttons on the steering wheel right at your fingertips or by voice control.
Hey Mercedes!
How can I help you?
I’d like to swim.
Please select an entry.
Okay, that sounds good, the next place to swim is only 600 metres away from here.
And a new thing: The MBUX now recognizes gestures, for example, if I shape a V with my fingers
and hold it up over the centre console, the system recognizes this.
I can even assign functions to this gesture, for example the navigation system.
Voilà.
Well, our day with the new GLE comes to an end. I was really impressed by the driving performance
and the great variety of the technical features in this car.
What about you, Lena?
Well, Bernd, I was most impressed by all the fun I had. I mean the GLE is an amazing car
and I can tell you one thing: This is not the last time I’m going off-road
and this is definitely not the last time I’m driving the GLE. Thanks for the invite, I really had a great day.
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