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When a brand has two products that are fairly close to each other in terms of price size and performance
It's only natural to wonder which is the best overall option
that scenario describes the Mercedes GL e and
GLC perfectly since both our two row crossovers that have been recently redesigned or refreshed and the
pricing overlaps a lot
So which Mercedes crossover is the better choice for you and your family? Let's go ahead and find out
So like always the first thing on the agenda is the pricing and equipment of these two
Obviously the GLE is a higher end product
So if you are choosing between the two you get to pick a highly option GLC or a lightly option GLE
That's exactly how these testers are arranged
So with our GLC 300 we have nearly every possible option checked off
Totalling up to nearly 20 grand and equipment and ballooning the total price tag to just a touch under sixty four thousand dollars
For the GLE we have the 450 version lightly optioned with less than four thousand dollars of extras
That means the total price is almost exactly the same as our GLC at sixty four thousand nine hundred dollars
So starting things off with the exterior designs as siblings to each other
There are more common design characteristics. Then there are radical differences
The GLE of course was fully redesigned this year with the latest Mercedes design language
featuring a more muscular fascia and fully modern lighting
The GLC was just refreshed this year to introduce a lot of the same design elements from its Big Brother
So besides for the fact that it has the sporty AMG line appearance elements, you'll see that it looks a lot alike up front
However the similarity start to fade with the rest of the designs since the GLE is about 10 inches larger than the C
And it has a more substantial looking design that makes that size difference even more pronounced
But as far as actual scorable features they are once again on equal footing
Now moving beyond the appearances to the features
both models have
Nice-looking 20-inch contrast alloys as well as mirrors better power folding auto dimming and have blind spot indicators built-in
Now as far as the other safety systems
This is an interesting point to consider
Because at this price point the GLC has the drivers assistance package with absolutely every safety system available
But with the GLE it would need to be added for an additional 20 to 50
Finally the last thing to mention on the outside is that the GLE out tows the C by a significant margin
3500 versus seventy seven hundred pounds, so
That's it for the exterior, so now let's go ahead and check out the more important cabins
Now moving on into the interiors obviously both have smart entry with the newest Mercedes ki father
But as soon as you open the doors, you'll see that unlike the outside. The interiors are significantly different
The GLC has the c-class interior layout
Complete with saddle Brown real leather seating and open for walnut wood trim
Our GLE however has to make do with black mb-tex synthetic leather for this equivalently priced example
As far as the seats themselves both have 16 ways of power adjustment 3 personal memory and heating though
They are missing ventilation
Once inside both have incredibly rich looking cabins. So starting off with the gles material
It has a soft touch dashboard on the upper parts and in the middle, it has real great lend ashwood
All the lower areas are nicely padded and there is leather trimming on the handle where your knee might touch
The GLC has a similar caliber of material but unlike the GLE this price point gets the leatherette
dashboard and upper door trim
The C also has more generous use of wood since the entire center console is covered in it instead of the gloss piano black
So at this price point the GLC will take the materials point
Now starting them both up we have to talk about the gauges and the general screen situation
Both for the first time have fully reconfigurable twelve point three inch gauges running the newest mb UX software
However, that doesn't tell the whole story
The GLE actually offers significantly more designs colors and layout options than in the C
It also connects directly to the main twelve point three inch display compared to the GLC is separated ten point three inch screen
Heading back to the steering wheels. They are essentially the same with leather aluminum power adjustment and both lacking heating
Now for the next important item, we have interior storage where surprisingly both have pretty much the same amount
The center consoles and front storage bins are roughly the same size and both also have wireless phone charger
They additionally share shifter designs
But only the GLC has a 360-degree camera system at this middle sixties price point
Continuing the string of similarities they both come with five hundred ninety watt 13 speaker Berman terse ounces
And lastly at this price point the GLC gives you a panel moonroof instead of a regular sized one
All right now moving on to the rear areas
This is where the GLE starts to really shot as a larger vehicle quite simply is going to have more space
However in the back the loaded GLC will come with more amenities to make up for that like heated rear seats and rear climate controls
Though it is missing charging USB ports
Opening up the hands-free tailgate reveals. The expected fact that the GLE is larger
While Mercedes hasn't made these specific numbers available. It is very obviously larger with both the seats up and down and
Additionally the GLE has an available third row and a spare tire
But that's enough of the inside. So now let's take these out on the road
Of all the things thus far the power trains are the biggest point of difference here
the GLC 300 goes the traditional route with a turbo 4-cylinder making
255 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque
But this GLE 450 has a 6 cylinder with what Mercedes calls EQ boost mild hybrid system
It makes substantially more power and torque
362 horsepower and
369 pounds of torque
Yeah, you're definitely gonna have no trouble at all just getting up to speed that was 60 a real fast there
Yeah by the seat of my pants it's every bit as fast as the q5 which itself is
We have one of the fastest things a Germans generally speaking here are
Quite a bit faster than the Japanese competition which tends to be like seven
Seconds or so where this is under six seconds
Yeah
Yeah, you'll definitely be able to get up to highway speed very easily
five and a half seconds is very fast for
You know some it's a big crossover
As far as the rides while it is true that both are comfortable the g le takes things to another level
Being one of the most comfortable riding crossovers we've ever driven now just sitting here in traffic here for a little bit
I do want to talk about the comfort of this vehicle as well
Obviously this car is not geared towards performance. This is just a regular
Vehicle and it is extremely comfortable in this cabin
Like this is probably one of the smoothest riding cars I've ever been in period like I agree with that
I mean the powertrain is exceptionally smooth and then the writing
dynamics like the suspension is tuned so smoothly when you hit a bump you do not even tell at all and it's also extremely
Quiet inside the cabin that being said it is tuned more towards luxury Advantage ELC
Which is why it's little brother has the better feeling steering setup. I feel that it feels
You're pretty sedan, like actually it
a lot of crossovers seem to compromise driving dynamics
Versus their sedan siblings, you know and this actually feels a very very similar to the c-class and I don't feel like you're sacrificing
Much in terms of the way that it dries versus a sedan
The other important aspect of a luxury vehicle is overall quiet and refinement, which is once again in the gles favour
it is truly one of the quietest vehicles in the entire industry and the
Imperceptible auto start-stop system is one of the best we've ever experienced now, of course
Being the mild hybrid. We do have advanced auto start-stop
so one of the things that it can do is it actually power it off even before I came to a stop kind of as
A coasting type of deal like we've seen in outies
And then it starts out
Unbelievably smoothly and quickly. It's an instantaneous and you really just cannot feel it at all
I mean that right there no lag whatsoever
Alright restart there was really nice
Very smooth, very quiet and refined
Yeah, definitely Mercedes has one of the best auto start/stop systems
I know we said it in the actually the all-new GLE review
I thought I honestly hold that as the best auto starts system in any vehicle and this really isn't much worse than that
Right. This is of course a traditional engine. That was the mild hybrid. So it was
Able to actually turn off
Even just coming to a stop
But as far as traditional auto start/stop systems go this is as smooth as it gets
Finally, it's worth remembering that the mild hybrid system is not designed to really benefit fuel economy
So the GLC will definitely be the better choice in that regard. So
There you have it Mercedes 2 best selling vehicles end up finishing neck-and-neck
The important takeaway of this comparison is not that one is better than the other
but instead that the winner is really based on wherever you put your priorities a
fully loaded GLC is going to give you more of goodies to enjoy but for sheer size and driving abilities a
Basic GLE 450 would be the better way to go
Anyways, thanks for joining us for another car confections comparison
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