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"If the front camera sees a pothole coming, it sends this information to the hydropneumatics, which then iron out the street pain as if the ground were a fluffy carpet. The result is a comfort that we have never experienced in an SUV. Nevertheless, the driver always keeps the feeling for the road and believes he has a much lighter car under his rear." - Autobild.de
"Where the new Mercedes-Benz really rises above the competition, though, is in the area of body control. With the optional E-Active suspension providing individual control of each spring and damper, the GLE 450 remains remarkably flat and composed during brisk driving, even going so far as to negate the effects of pitch and dive during acceleration and braking through constant tweaking of the damping.
Still, that’s not the end of it by any means. For those willing to option it, there’s also a so-called curve inclination function as part of an extended list of driving modes. Activated through the infotainment monitor, it uses a stereo camera mounted within the windscreen to scan the road and the air springs to lean the GLE 450 into corners. The amount of lean can be controlled within three different settings, with the most extreme providing sportscar levels of cornering speed and a level of purchase more akin to a well sorted sporting estate than a high riding luxury SUV. You can confidently place it and maintain a brisk pace over winding back roads without any untoward tyre squealing drama or premature interruption from the stability control system, which only actives when it really needs to rather than well in advance of any given situation like that of old GLEs.
Admittedly, it takes some while to become fully accustomed to the leaning effect, most notably upon turn-in which is a good deal sharper and more incisive than in the other driving modes, but with perseverance and the right road to exploit it you discover the GLE 450 4Matic delivers incredibly fluid handling traits that ensure its trick suspension will no doubt find its way on to other Mercedes-Benz models in the not-too-distant future.
The primary ride is also a strength. Pockmarked sections of bitumen and undulations are dealt with in a wonderfully controlled manner at cruising speed out on the open road, while potholes and the like are nicely ironed out at lower speeds around town. Together with the wind-cheating effects brought on by a drag coefficient of just 0.29 and the outstanding refinement of the engine, this makes the GLE 450 4Matic an outstanding proposition for long-distance driving - and with an 85-litre fuel tank, it promises a theoretical range of more than 600 miles." - Autocar.co.uk
"GLE450 models can be equipped with a new semiactive suspension system called E-Active Body Control. It uses 48-volt pumps (one at each wheel) to provide hydraulic fluid pressure to actively move the suspension up and down individually, by up to 4.7 inches upward or 3.1 inches down from standard ride height. Mercedes has offered semiactive suspension like this before, but those systems used belt-driven pumps that were less effective and couldn't work on hybrid engines.
Like other active antiroll systems, E-ABC is intended to keep the GLE as flat as possible at all times for improved handling, while also absorbing bumps more easily. For party tricks, it can "bounce" the suspension up and down to help free a GLE stuck in sand or even "dance." And a menu in the off-road settings allows for you to individually adjust the ride height at each corner. It's meant for navigating rough terrain -- or, you know, posing the GLE at weird angles because you're a tad immature.
Anyway, suspension comfort is the primary aim, with engineers at my press event saying that E-ABC can detect and react to pavement imperfections as small as 2 millimeters when driving at 75 mph. While it is extremely comfortable, smoothing out much of the rough stuff on roads through Texas Hill Country, I don't find E-ABC to be otherworldly comfortable -- railroad tracks, expansion joints and the like are still readily noticeable through my rump. That said, my tester wore optional, upsized AMG wheels with low-profile tires, hardly representative of the car's normal ride comfort. As ever, we'd like to try this suspension setup on our local roads to see how well it absorbs potholes and speed bumps with which we're more familiar." - CNet.com
"... active suspension works eerily well." - Car & Driver
Last edited by GregW / Oregon; Nov 21, 2018 at 02:24 PM.
Dose any one have issue with white leather seat, like seat get blue from jeans, easy to notice scratches or dirt?
thinking get 204A with H18. But from many videos, the white color leather with H35 ash wood trims looks great.
Dose any one have issue with white leather seat, like seat get blue from jeans, easy to notice scratches or dirt?
thinking get 204A with H18. But from many videos, the white color leather with H35 ash wood trims looks great.
Can’t speak to white but I’ve had two with tan leather that got blue from jeans and showed some dirt. In both cases they were fairly easy to clean but over time started looking a little off color. A good leather cleaner and treatment help. Some jeans seem to be better than others but it’s hard to determine by looking. Since the side bolsters aren’t white it might not be that much of an issue. The outside bolster that you slide over seemed to be where mine stained.
Can’t speak to white but I’ve had two with tan leather that got blue from jeans and showed some dirt. In both cases they were fairly easy to clean but over time started looking a little off color. A good leather cleaner and treatment help. Some jeans seem to be better than others but it’s hard to determine by looking. Since the side bolsters aren’t white it might not be that much of an issue. The outside bolster that you slide over seemed to be where mine stained.
I agree with Ron. I've owned two GL/GLS's with tan interiors and both became discolored due to jeans. I really like the look of the new Macchiato interior but it will show the dirt and your blue jeans will rub off. If you can live with those issues, go for it.
have yet to work my way through these reviews, do any show the third row in use? saw this note about the third row in the Overdrive review: " The third row of seats is really too low on the floor for adults, but enough kneeroom can be liberated for kids if the second row is moved forward to its middle position"
Second row was compared to the s class’s for spaciousness, in another
Can’t speak to white but I’ve had two with tan leather that got blue from jeans and showed some dirt. In both cases they were fairly easy to clean but over time started looking a little off color. A good leather cleaner and treatment help. Some jeans seem to be better than others but it’s hard to determine by looking. Since the side bolsters aren’t white it might not be that much of an issue. The outside bolster that you slide over seemed to be where mine stained.
Originally Posted by JoeMa
I agree with Ron. I've owned two GL/GLS's with tan interiors and both became discolored due to jeans. I really like the look of the new Macchiato interior but it will show the dirt and your blue jeans will rub off. If you can live with those issues, go for it.
Thanks guys, i guess i will stay with brown leather.
i really cant handle a dirty car, its drive me crazy, lol
have yet to work my way through these reviews, do any show the third row in use? saw this note about the third row in the Overdrive review: " The third row of seats is really too low on the floor for adults, but enough kneeroom can be liberated for kids if the second row is moved forward to its middle position"
93-page press release (European; short version, & starting @ p. 18 full version), 147 photos, 2 videos, etc. I have PDF'd the document and diagrams - see Attached.
93-page press release (European; short version, & starting @ p. 18 full version), 147 photos, 2 videos, etc. I have PDF'd the document and diagrams - see Attached.
I never had any vehicle with Head-up Display, is it worth it or just another gadget? Does it get you distracted looking at it when driving?
This is what Automobile Magazine has to say about the head-up display: "The GLE’s optional full-color head-up display, which Mercedes happily touts as the industry’s largest, is so big that it gets distracting."
I hear you but it is strange the kept they name (added open grain) but changed the color! There’s not much brown in the DOG pic or the Konfig. Another one of the joys of trying to order early....
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
Added at end of post.
