2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE Revealed!

The next generation Mercedes GLE has finally been officially revealed by the automaker after numerous spy shots and a few teaser campaigns.

And it looks good. Kind of. Sporting the current Mercedes design language, debuted on the CLS and A-class, I suspect it will look better in aggressive AGM trim. But nevertheless, like most new cars, the styling will grow on us. And it still looks very much like a GLE (or ML) Mercedes.

Built on the new MHA architecture, the wheelbase has grown by 80 mm over the old car, allowing increased legroom and the option for a third row of seats.

If there is one area that the old GLE was lacking, it was the interior. It was looking too dated! The new GLE is based on the E-class and for that reason you can expect the interior to be fantastic! It is not an identical clone as is the case with the C-class / GLC pair. Instead there are some unique touches to the GLE interior, with the quad vents in a squared off shape and new leather clad grab handles. The interior material quality has been stepped up, leather here, wood there, cool-to-touch metal buttons and mood lighting. The GLE finally gets the long overdue two 12.3-inch infotainment screens that form one stylish, customizable, high definition display.

The car will be launched with the GLE450 4Matic which is powered by a new turbocharged 3.0-litre inline 6-cylinder engine (270kW / 500Nm, 367hp / 369lb-ft) and a 48-volt mild-hybrid system coupled to a 9 speed automatic. And its quick… 0 to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds. The other predictable engines will soon join the range, starting from the 4-cylinder petrol and diesel engines all the way up to the fire breathing GLE63s AMG.

Needless to say, it has all the expected safety gear and semi-autonomous functions. One of the technology highlights though is the new air suspension, E-Active Body Control, which according to Mercedes, is “the world's most intelligent SUV suspension”. It currently is the only system on the market that can adjust both the spring and the damper rates on individual wheels.

Official reveal is at the Paris motor show early next month…. I am just glad the interior finally looks amazing and the exhaust tips are semi-real and not those terrible fake integrated-into-the-bumper plastic tips… a styling trend that seems to be plaguing the car industry right now. Like on the latest Audi SQ5. Please stop, we don’t like it, no one does.