Mercedes Goes For The Throat Of The Macan And Range Rover Sport With All New GLE

Mercedes-Benz will launch its next generation GLE and GLE Coupé models at the Paris motor show this September. The closely related models will have cabins equipped with the latest technology and new plug-in hybrid variants in a bid to take the fight to BMW's X5 and X6.

The current GLE - codenamed W166 - made its debut in 2015, and this successor, the W167, will continue to face that car's incumbent rivals, the Porsche Macan and Range Rover Sport, when it arrives in showrooms early next year.

The 2019-model-year GLE is described by senior officials from Mercedes’ R&D headquarters in Germany as a “clean sheet design” with little relationship to the current model, which was launched under the M-Class banner in 2011 before being rebadged as part of a midlife facelift in 2015.

ilovecar2015 - 9/11/2018 2:07:02 PM

+2 Boost

"The current GLE - codenamed W166 - made its debut in 2015" you mean the name change from ML350 to GLE350 in 2015? This dinosaur was debuted in 2010 as 2011 MY. About time MB!

quizz - 9/11/2018 3:04:28 PM

+2 Boost

This. The current GLE platform is way WAY too heavy and obsolete, and should have been replaced years ago. The VW Atlas platform is way better in so many ways.

quizz - 9/11/2018 3:02:13 PM

+3 Boost

You mean the Porsche Cayenne, not the Macan.

TomM - 9/11/2018 5:22:41 PM

+1 Boost

At some point - the Alphabet soup of model designations has become so convoluted that it almost demands that it be considered to return to NAMES for product. And it is not as if we do not have Alphabet soup for the cars that have names - normally their platforms - which once were named - have hard to decifer Alpha-Numeric designations too.

For Example - the AGENTS here have an AlphaNumeric Designation that starts with 00 - even though I seriously doubt any of us will be around to confront AGENT999B ! So why Agent 009R instead of Agent 9R?

cidflekken - 9/11/2018 8:12:06 PM

+2 Boost

Just saw the real pics of the new GLE. Looks nice and modern, though a clear evo of the current car. The interior is very nice, but the weirdo oversized vents behind the info screen are odd and not attractive. The 3rd row option seems odd as well considering the GLS. Granted, it's much smaller thant he GLS' 3rd row (at least it appears to be) and it looks like it's a better go-between from the GLC to the GLS. Also not sure i'm sold on the more rounded appearance of the grilles of Benz's SUVs as of late. I personally like a more angled, aggressive look, but not in the same way that Audi's present themselves.

MDarringer - 9/11/2018 9:03:14 PM

+1 Boost

I like it a lot. Very handsome looking: https://www.autoblog.com/2018/09/11/2020-mercedes-benz-gle-crossover-revealed/

Blackhammer - 9/13/2018 1:26:06 AM

+1 Boost

I really like the refresh, prefer the interior if this to the new x5.Not a fan of the standard model, the AMG line looks a lot more bitch. Also this is a Cayenne rival, the GLC is the Macan rival