I am looking at the Vin Number for this vehicle. I assume the last 6 digits are for the production sequence numbers. Since this is a 2020 model I would think that the production sequence would start over at 000001 and this vehicle would be a lot lower than 006434.

 

 

Hi Ron, they are both demos but the salesperson said they would eventually be sold at the dealership.

 

Notice the grab handle inserts are not silver as seen in all other photos, almost color matched. I don't know if that's a GLE 350 thing or not.

 

Thanks

 

Interesting that there was a credit for standard features left off!

 

 

I find the EPA mileage rating to be inaccurate and lower than real world as when we are on highway we are cruising in higher gears at 75 or mph and not 55 miles on the EPA. Thats why most reviews have gotten better gas mileage overall. And Ron is correct, EPA now use more harsher acceleration, braking, A/C use etc to reflect real world but actual MPG can be higher.

Eight out of 10 drivers reported getting better fuel economy than the EPA ratings on their cars' window stickers in a new AAA study (via Automotive News).

 

I guess that's better than overpromising! No one will complain or sue for getting better mileage than the rating!

 

When looking at these 1st units - a couple of things:

1st - before you use MBUX you need to ask the dealer if the "MercedesMe Connect" has been setup on the GLE or not - the reason say this is the MercedesMe Connect provides the link between the GLE and the "Cloud" - and that "Cloud" link is the key element for the "Intelligence and Learning". Since a good # of dealer salespeople are not hep - they may not know what you are asking about - sorry.

2nd - there are some interesting things that MBUX can do with it's linkage to car systems : "Hey Mercedes how much gas do I have left" - will tell you the remaining range you have - "Hey Mercedes I'm cold increase cabin temp 3 degree's" - stuff like that, What MBUX will NOT do with the car systems is affect/change driving systems and/or move seats/sunroof.

3rd - there are some very interesting things the MBUS system can do with the "Cloud link" - "Hey Mercedes I want to have Mexican food" - the trick question Mercedes set in the Cloud is "Hey Mercedes why is a Fire Engine Red" - and that's a long bull**** answer and not as funny as MB thought it would be

4th - there are many more interesting things the screen interface does do - it's FAST - and depending on options (like that 450) - thing like driver input of height - and the GLE moves to suggested seat/steering wheel adjustment - a LOY of choice is "buried" in each option on that option's particular screen - most screens will "scroll down" to more choices on lower/2nd-3rd screen

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That GLE350 with Active Lane Assist Only - factory start-up was short full Driver's Assistance Package - so some units got this single option which is NOT available as single choice in DOG.
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Yes - GLE350/4 somewhat higher noise level at spirited acceleration than GLE350/V6
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FYI - Augmented Video option "adds" a additional camera up above rear view mirror - which gives the Real-Time front pic for use in the Next-Action-Nav-Screen-Section - that same added camera also used for E-Active Body Control - since higher mounted camera than original gen system in S-Class - the GLE camera has better down the road range and and bnetter 3D camera image of road surface ahead for E-Active-Body Control as compare to lower front grill camera for the S-Class system.

That's about it for tonight - happy hunting !

 

 

Thats exactly what I thought!

 

I have one more question regarding the "Dashboard and Door Beltlines in Nappa Leather" (code U38 on page 40)". What color will that Nappa leather be in? It seems the only availability of Nappa leather is Black or Magma Grey, so I assume one of those?

Basically, if you choose the 205A Macchiato/Magma Grey leather upholstery AND the "Nappa Leather Dashboard and Door Beltlines" option, will there be a color mismatch with that combination?

 

And I like them this way. The silver was out of place

 

Thanks for the review and the pics. How was the comfort as I can see you had the basic steel suspension

 

Good question, as several video reviewers have commented, the ride with steel springs is pretty good. It didn't feel to firm. There were several driving modes; Sport, Comfort, User (may have been one more). For our test drive I kept it in Comfort and my wife and I both felt the ride was pretty smooth. For an entry-level, no-frills GLE, it was very well mannered and will appeal to many buyers. We can't wait to drive our build, a GLE 450 with just about every option ($96,835 compared to the tester at $56,775). One can only hope that spending an additional $40K gets you a whole lot more car.

 

Glad to hear that as I will be getting the steel suspension. Apperantly I missunderstood my salesperson earlier xD.
There should be 5 modes: Sport, Comfort, ECO, Off-road & individual.

 

That is exactly right, sorry I couldn't remember them all.

 

Hey Greg, I hate to say you told me so but I was talking to a sales person yesterday (not the sales manager) and ask him where VPC options are installed for US-bound deliveries. He confirmed they are installed at the plant as you were told. So the sales manager had it wrong after all. Getting reliable info from dealerships can be tricky. Anyway, you had it right and I wanted to set the record straight.

 

I only gloat in jest! We all are trying to separate the truth from the crap. Often dealers or salespeople will give you an answer that they're not sure of just to sound knowledgeable. When you get conflicting information it's sometimes hard to track down what's real.

I'm still not sure what distribution is like to various parts of the country. I assume for shorter distances from the plant it's by truck directly to the dealer, but for the West Coast do they all go to Long Beach then by truck to the dealers?

 

He did mention that vehicles coming from Vance are transported to the port in Baltimore by train and then by truck carrier to the their dealership in Lancaster, PA. Dealerships close to Vance may have their vehicles trucked directly. So they can get a mix of imported (made in Germany) and Vance vehicles on the same carrier.

 

Makes sense - hub & spoke model with Baltimore and Long Beach as hubs.

 

As we've seen evidence of, official release was yesterday.

 

https://blog.daimler.com/en/2019/02/...certification/