I am a long time MB owner, thinking of getting a new GLE for my wife. I am just learning about the new GLE and came upon this C&D comparison test between the GLE, X5, Q7 and Cayenne. In all my years of reading car magazines, I can never recall where one of these comparison tests found the MB to finish LAST, but that’s what happened here. Seems like they absolutely HATE the new MBUX. Am I nuts? Should we go for a Cayenne? Would love to hear thoughts. Here is the C&D article: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...rsche-cayenne/

 

MBUX is brilliant and finishes top in most magazines where they compare these cars.

 

Wait until next month when their sister Magazine puts the Mercedes first and the Porsche last.

 

It’s like anything else....the old saying “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”! I have a few Senior friends that hate all the new Tech...they are also too lazy to learn to use it. Others find it useful and embrace it.
My personal opinion is that Mercedes has done a good overall design of the system with most used functions readily accessible. Integrating vehicle functions with everything else creates complexity. A casual reviewer may have difficulty with any complex system like Consumer Reports did in their review of the GLE. Review vehicles are typically top of the line with all the options. The entry level more basic. The GLE is a great SUV-decent power & economy-handling very good with options for springs,Air, or E-ABC-Interior room and cargo area are best in class by far-comfort, luxury, loads of options fairly priced! What’s not to love?

 

"Highs: Macho on the outside, opulent on the inside."
- Looks matter on outside, I have to see it every time I go in my garage. I want the looks to make me smile when I see it
- I spend time on the inside and want to feel comfortable. Opulent works for me.
- GLE checks both boxes for me

"Cons: Never a dynamic standout, pricey, infuriating infotainment system"
- Not sure how many people buying a large SUV are looking for a "dynamic standout", I think luxury, comfort and space all rank above driving dynamics in this category
- That said, I got the GLE 53 AMG and added the AMG Active Ride Control as well for better driving dynamics
- Pricey (I'm sure most people looking in this category afford it)
- "Infuriating infotainment system" - MBUX isn't perfect, but I've had almost 2-months of seat time in a BMW with the newest iDrive and I prefer MBUX personally. He complains about the touch pad being a poor way of using the UI, I agree, but you also have steering wheel controls or touch screen, just use whatever you like and ignore the rest. At least you have OPTIONS
- He sounds like he'd prefer if they just forced you to use the touch screen with no other options available
- Personally, I like the touch pads on the steering wheel. I don't have to take my hands off the wheel and I can get everything done on there


You should just test drive everything and pick what you enjoy the best. Who cares what one person at C&D thinks. There's so much politics in automotive journalism (i.e. Company A spends the most on advertising, we can't rank them last and **** them off etc.), it's hard not to have bias in a review when the differences are slim and subtle.

 

Just to expand on what KJ pointed out:
For me, second row leg room is an important factor. The X5 would lose points as would the Q7 and Cayenne.
Also, find me another infotainment that can be controlled via steering wheel controls, console touchpad, touchscreen, and by voice, and that they work well.

Once you understand the menu logic, finding things is rapidly executed. I rarely use voice commands other than to ask Mercedes to tell me jokes for my young boys.

 

I completely ruled out the cayenne because of trunk space, although if I didn't need it would've probably been the one I'd get. To me it seems the review is biased towards driving dynamics.

 

I've had a GLE 350 for 3 weeks, and I love it. I find the MBUX intuitive and responsive, once you have a setup you like you basically get in and drive. I've adjusted the touch pad sensitivity to be harder and slower and find it comfortable and easy to use while driving, as well as the steering wheel controls. The Hey Mercedes voice recognition works surprisingly well.
As a comparison, I find my wife's 2018 CRV infotainment to be slow and frustrating to use, and the voice recognition is useless.

 

My wife used to have arguments with the voice control on a Honda Accord, was entertaining for me.

 

The MBUX can be frustrating — at first. But if you spend any significant time with the vehicle, it gets easier pretty rapidly and is far superior to any infotainment system I've ever used. I spent a solid hour parked in the driveway with the manual on the afternoon after I got mine and worked to learn the system. Since then, most functions have been easy.

Also, the criticism that there are three ways to control the MBUX is, well, nitpicky, at best. I use the thumb controls more than any other. Other users' mileage may vary. At least the options are there. If you don't use them, so what?

Honestly, I don't think there's a bad car among that group. Each has features that may appeal to different drivers. If I wanted a higher performance car, I'd have certainly leaned toward the Cayenne or X5. I won't use that extra performance in my daily driving. But the comfort, luxury and convenience of my GLE, which also happens to be easily the best looking of the bunch, makes me very happy with the choice.

 

As both a Porsche owner and a Mercedes GLE owner I would say this article misses the point. These cars offer a different experience. It is like trying to say a Burger is better than a fried chicken sandwich. One is not better than the other, it is just different.

If you want a luxury oriented ride with the best convenience tech you cannot beat the GLE. I considered the Cayenne. and in the end while it's an awesome car, we wanted a more luxury oriented experience and we liked the amazing tech in the GLE. The Cayenne is a better car if you care about things like sportiness.

 

I guess, if you don’t have the simple intelligence to operate an iPad, it’s too advanced for you. My 3 year old grand daughter is a whiz on her iPad..Car and Driver must have some pretty stupid reporters.

 

What a boring world this would be if we all had exactly the same tastes and preferences! The article is just one person's opinion. We all have them!!!!

 

Rear seat leg room is a huge factor for me as well. I have a newborn with a rear facing child seat. Most vehicles, I have to put the baby seat on the passenger side so that I can move my seat back far enough. On the GLE, I can put the child seat behind me no problem, which is more convenient because the driver side of the garage has more room and the driver doesn't have to walk around the car to load the baby in on the passenger side.

 

At the end of the day it is merely someones opinion that is only as important as the next mans.

 

Between the touchscreen and the steering wheel, I haven't touched the touchpad. My wife on the other hand is a touchpad maestro.

I guess options is bad...?

P.S. I'm 6'1" and I have two 6'+ teenagers. The second row leg room is a godsend. Haven't had my seatback kicked yet.

 

The C&D comparison is the classic example of real world needs (which Mercedes caters to) vs going after the enthusiasts which is what Porsche does. The GLE is selling like hotcakes, irregardless of what C&D thinks of it.

M

 

Yeah, it makes sense that they would bend toward the performance enthusiast, since most car journalists probably are as well. They also get to push the vehicles to limits most regular consumers will never approach. So a Cayenne shaving a bunch of seconds off a lap at the Nurburgring over the GLE means something to them it will never mean to the average buyer.

 

Here is sales data for the US market:

 

[QUOTE=WA3CUJ;7981447]Here is sales data for the US market:QUOTE]

It never ceases to amaze me, as to how many people still buy the Lexus RX, with that truly hideous bodywork.