Interesting thought about the Jag F Pace, I drove one right after intro and crossed it off my list after looking at the last place finish for JLR in quality. They were still low in 2017 but by now should have things figured out. I went on the forum and found most owner complaints were about the Infotainment system and some suspension parts that started to make a lot of noise. When I test drove the Infotainment system was buggy and slow to respond. The salesman had trouble with it. You also had to drill down several levels to get to selections. Even worse than Lexus. It’s one of the best looking if not the best, IMO. People still turn heads to look at them.
My wife’s 2018 Audi SQ 5 is faster if that’s a factor. 0-60 is 5.1 seconds. If you haven’t driven one you might add it to your list. Quality is first class and there is a lot of tech that was ahead of pack last year. Maybe MBUX will be better. Some say they are conservatively styled but with AM wheels she gets a lot of compliments. It’s one of the best driving/Handling Cars I have driven. I would be driving one now if it was a little bigger.

IIf you haven’t driven one you might add it to your list. Quality is first class and there is a lot of tech that was ahead of pack last year. Maybe MBUX will be better. Some say they are conservatively styled but with AM wheels she gets a lot of compliments. It’s one of the best driving/Handling Cars I have driven. I would be driving one now if it was a little bigger.

Do all the outside sources have it wrong?
Here’s part of a recent article by Car and Driver-April 2018
Estimated Arrival and Price: The GLE-class will make its debut late this year and go on sale in early 2019. Given the myriad improvements over the current car and the breadth of the one-class-below GLC lineup, an uptick in base price to the mid-$50,000 range wouldn’t be a surprise.
Motor Authority-June 2018
We expect the redesigned model on sale in late 2018 or early next year. It should arrive as a 2019 model.
Expected official announcement is October at the Paris Auto Show.
The Auto Mags usually have an inside contact or two so I’m going to remain optimistic! Typically the Germans stockpile new release vehicles rather than dribble them out. Mercedes just released a teaser sketch of the dash. Would they do that a year in advance of sales? Anythings possible but with new iron hitting soon from competitors they have an incentive to move quickly if possible. There is always the supply chain involved thoug.
Tariffs impact both Gens so that should be a neutral factor!

Greg,
What I meant by inside line is that they should know some of the Mercedes people. Most of the Auto Magazines are invited to prelaunch demonstrations. They also attend Auto Shows. With all the models and new releases they have multiple contacts and these take place all over the world. Over a period of time they get to know each other. Both sides have an incentive to mingle and get to know each other. In some cases Mercedes and other Brands may want to dribble info to build hype. When or if that applies for the GLE is just me speculating and maybe wanting it to be true. On the other hand I also know that the process is very complex involving a lot of inside and outside factors.

Running a short model year has been done in the past. My Audi SQ5 came out in April so only 6 months on the 17 although they didn’t add anything new but paint.

I went to look at the F Pace again and couldn’t find any in real Luxury trim. All had the new 4 cyclinder engine and low to mid $50’s price. The dealer didn’t have anything nicer in the pipeline. Apparently they don’t sell many with the bigger engine and prefer that these be special orders. Checked dealer inventory in some other markets and found much the same thing.

This is one ranking that’s a compilation done by US News and World Report.The Audi Q5 was ranked 1st along with the Acura RDX. They didn’t include the performance models like the SQ5 for some reason. F Pace ranked 6th with this brief statement.

Pros

• Sports-car-like handling
• Comfortably seats five adults
• Extra-large cargo hold
• Fuel-efficient optional turbodiesel engine

Cons

• Minor irritations with the infotainment system
• Optional turbodiesel engine is sluggish off the line
• Poor predicted reliability rating

The F Pace I drove at launch had the 380 hp engine and there is no way it was as fast as the SQ5. I can’t put my hands on any instrumented times so that’s just my subjective opinion.

I went to look at the F Pace again and couldn’t find any in real Luxury trim. All had the new 4 cyclinder engine and low to mid $50’s price. The dealer didn’t have anything nicer in the pipeline. Apparently they don’t sell many with the bigger engine and prefer that these be special orders. Checked dealer inventory in some other markets and found much the same thing.

This is one ranking that’s a compilation done by US News and World Report.The Audi Q5 was ranked 1st along with the Acura RDX. They didn’t include the performance models like the SQ5 for some reason. F Pace ranked 6th with this brief statement.

Pros

• Sports-car-like handling
• Comfortably seats five adults
• Extra-large cargo hold
• Fuel-efficient optional turbodiesel engine

Cons

• Minor irritations with the infotainment system
• Optional turbodiesel engine is sluggish off the line
• Poor predicted reliability rating

The F Pace I drove at launch had the 380 hp engine and there is no way it was as fast as the SQ5. I can’t put my hands on any instrumented times so that’s just my subjective opinion.