JohninBismarck

Last year, when we were looking for a new vehicle, comments on this website were quite helpful, so I thought it could be helpful to others to offer some comments after one year of ownership of our 2020 GLE450. We traded in a 2016 GLE300d, which we liked a lot.

We wanted the vehicle equipped the way we wanted, not with the options the dealer chose, so we ordered it. That caused a few concerns, because the vehicle was not delivered in June, as we expected, due to delays at the factory in Alabama, but we finally took delivery last October. We have now driven it 10,000 miles, including five round trips of about 1,000 miles each and the rest around town driving.

I did not drive a 350, but chose the 450 because I did not want to pay $70,000 for a four cylinder vehicle. I was also impressed when reading about the engineering behind the 48 volt system. While the 350 probably would have been fine for most driving, I do not regret paying more for the 450. It’s a very impressive power train. The inline 6 is, as expected, smooth, quiet, and powerful. When it time to pass a truck hauling dirt or cattle on a two lane road, more power is always better! We have owned a few other vehicles with the stop/start “feature” and don’t like it, but due to the electric assist, the process on the 450 is quite smooth and unobtrusive.

Our 450 is Mojave Silver with Espresso Brown MB-Tex seats and natural grain brown walnut dash trim. The options we chose include MB-Tex upper dash and door trim, heated steering wheel, 4 zone climate control, Burmester sound, heated rear seats, parking assistance package, exterior lighting package, warmth and comfort package, acoustic comfort package, Airmatic suspension package, and premium package. The total sticker price was $72,425.

We like the clean, understated exterior styling, and the interior design is simply outstanding. The dashboard is beautiful, the seats are very comfortable, and we appreciate the additional room in the back seat over our 2016 GLE. A few more inches of depth in the cargo area would be nice, but it will accommodate a folded wheel chair.

The ride is terrific, and the vehicle is smooth and quiet, just what we wanted. We wanted the air suspension to provide additional ground clearance for driving in deep snow, and a lower entry height for our disabled son. It delivers on both counts, but could and should be easier to control.

We live in a part of the country where winter is long and cold, and our 450 is the finest vehicle we have owned for such a climate. The heater starts to blow warm air after driving only a block, the heated steering wheel and rapid heating seats, front and rear, are great, and the heated door and center arm rests are a welcome touch on a cold morning.

The things I dislike about the car relate almost entirely to the complicated interface between the driver and the car. It’s too hard to do simple things, like operate the radio, or adjust the HVAC system. Unlike most vehicles we have owned, there is no separate temperature gauge (or oil pressure gauge or ammeter, for that matter), though it’s possible to display the engine temperature by scrolling through several display screens. The fan often seems to be too aggressive. Of course, there is is no simple fan speed switch, and it and doesn’t respond promptly to efforts to turn it down using the display. The “hey, Mercedes” feature is kind of silly, and frequently chimes in while we’re simply talking with each other and don’t even mention the “M” word. I don’t understand why the engineers who designed this system think it’s easier to adjust the radio volume with a thumb wheel than a knob. Putting the seat heating switches on the door panels instead of the center console makes it impossible to control the passenger seat heater from the driver side, unless you ask “Miss M” to do it for you. For me, the user interface on our 2017 Ford Mustang and our 2019 Chevrolet Silverado is much easier to use than the one on the GLE450.

In summary, and despite the overly complicated user interface, we love driving our GLE and look forward to enjoying it for years to come.

zengshengliu

Just some information related to some of your "dislikes"

There is a fan speed adjustment on the climate control

It should be #3 in the picture above.

For adjusting the passenger's seat heat and fan, I believe you can actually control it with the driver side.



In term of the voice assistant, I usually just turn off Voice activation of "Hey Mercedes". If I ever need it, I can use the steering wheel control.

As for the volume control, are you talking about the one on the steering wheel? There is also a secondary volume control in the center console that is slightly bigger so might be easier to use with that one. (but if you are talking about an actual turning wheel vs knob, then ignore this )

bad habit

I just completed a year as well and can echo a lot of what JohninBismarck posted. Very comfortable, great styling, amazing interior. Excellent drivability and no issues for me so far.
There are small things to nitpick on: few bugs in the MBUX infotainment, odd downshifts from 3rd to 2nd gear, keyfob bugs, whistling mirrors, and no updates to MBUX yet, which is mildly annoying.
I also wish they'd adjust sports mode as the transmission is still laggy, even in S - and I know it car run much better because if you do paddle shifts, the car comes alive and there is a different agility to it.

JohninBismarck

Thanks for the information about the ability of the drivers seat heater button to control the passenger seat heat as well. I’ll give it a try this morning. I know about the two volume controls, but find them harder to use and less sensitive than an old fashioned knob. I guess I’m an old fashioned guy! Regarding the fan speed, I am well acquainted with button 3, but even when it’s on the lowest setting, the fan still seems too aggressive at times. The last time we were at the dealer, we mentioned it to our salesperson, but neither she nor her young associate were able to help. Maybe there is some other way to control this, as there is on our Chevy truck, where there is a specific setting for how aggressive the fan speed is when the system is set to “auto.” We’ll have the car to the dealer next week for the 10K service, and will see if they have any suggestions. I would still prefer a simple (old fashioned) fan speed switch!

monwen

Did you try turning off the AUTO button & then adjusting the fan speed down to 1?

GeezerToo

We have also had our GLE450 for about a year, and will add some of our observations. This is our first Mercedes, and it is a comfortable car with a great interior. We are less enthused with the Burmester sound system. This is primarily my wife's car, and she is OK with the sound quality, but if I drove it, the Burmester system would need an upgrade.
The "lane keeping assist" is an absolute safety hazard out in the rural areas of the frozen tundra where we live. The roads are poorly striped and most lack the edge white line and the system easily gets confused about where it is on the road. We have gotten in the habit of disabling the system every time we start the car. And when it's snowing or the roads are snow covered, well the system is an accident waiting to happen. When we get our 1 year service next month, I will insist that the 8617 program intelligent drive update be installed so we can turn the lane keeping assist off and have it stay off. That's the way it works on our Porsche Macan.
In general I have found the Mercedes "nanny systems" to be more intrusive than they need to be (especially compared to Porsche) but I know most of you are OK with them.
The info/entertainment systems require scrolling through too many screens to get basic engine/car info like oil pressure and tire pressure, etc.
In summary, although we are generally happy with the car, I don't think Mercedes will be on our list when it comes time to replace the GLE 450.
BTW, the members of this forum have been very helpful and I want to thank them for providing very helpful information to a novice Mercedes owner.

JohninBismarck

Yes, we have tried turning it off auto and then turning the fan down, but that seems to result in more fan noise than expected, and it defeats the purpose of having an automatic climate control system. All I want is for the system to maintain a set temperature in the least intrusive manner. I guess some people want the fan to blast away warming or cooling the interior as quickly as possible, but I prefer to be able to listen to the radio at a reasonable volume while the interior is warming up or cooling down. Driving with the window down, which I like to do on nice days, also frequently meets with disapproval from the HVAC system.

GregW / Oregon

I ordered the first day possible, 11/4/18. I've had the first of each generation starting in 1997. I never considered the 350, either. The mild hybrid was attractive, and as the OP says, a 4-cylinder in a large, expensive vehicle does not seem refined enough.

This is also mainly my wife's car, but I have driven it a fair amount including several trips, the longest about 800 miles, and now have almost 14k miles on it. I got E-ABC because I wanted the best handling option possible, and it has been good. I'm impressed with the comfort and mileage, as well.

I'll climb on the "too complicated" MBUX bandwagon. I'm pretty tech savvy but it is really harder than it should be to do many things. I do find the voice control system pretty handy for some of that.

Aside from software glitches early on that caused two non-starts (12 days in the shop), it has been rock solid for over a year. All-in-all I am happy with my choice. I do worry about long term maintenance of all those complicated systems, though, and bought the ELW for the first time ever.

threeMBs

The car does not allow permanent disabling of active lane keeping assist thru a menu? You have to disable it thru the menu every time you start the car? Does this apply to other Driver Assist features as well? Do other V167 owners here have this issue? In other MB models know of, this can be disabled permanently (on/off) thru the menu or by pressing a button on the dash. I am specifically talking about active lane keeping assist (agree with you this feature should be re-labeled "accident in waiting assist").

chrislk55

I was able to permanently disable the lane keep assist, it's done through the driving assistance menu. This is the feature that hits the brakes jolting the vehicle back into the lane. I agree it's a terrible implementation compared to other vehicles I've driven. You absolutely can permanently turn it off.

threeMBs

Thank you. I makes perfect sense since it is possible in every other MB line. That is why I was so puzzled by GeezerToo's post (which I quoted) above regarding active lane keeping assist.

GeezerToo

The software as delivered from the factory does not allow disabling lane keeping assist or any other feature Mercedes deems a safety or economy feature. You cannot disable any of these feature in the individual drivers profiles either. They must be configured every time you start the car.
There is a software change posted by jsa1983 that says "Program Intelligent Drive Unit. This enabled the customer to turn-off lane assist and not have it auto reset to on with the next key cycle." When I asked the service manager about this he initially said it couldn't be done. When I showed him the info from this forum, he changed his mind. He did say the dealership was reluctant to change anything related to "safety" but he would apply this change if I insisted. The car is due for the one year service next month so we shall see if they really do it.
Also, there is a software modification available on ebay that does disable the start/stop feature from a company in Europe. It is apparently well done and solid. I emailed the company to see if they had a software mod that turned off the lane keeping assist and they replied that they did not. So the dealer modification is our only hope to disable the lane assist package.

chrislk55

These settings can be permanently changed from the MBUX interface, its not something that requires dealer programming, at lease not here in Canada, My Active Lane Keep Assist has been off for weeks.

GeezerToo

I was wrong about turning the lane keeping assist off/on. Based on the above comments I took another look at the drivers assist menu and found I didn't go deep enough into the settings. There is a second layer of options and there is indeed a lane keeping assist option that will permanently disable the "feature."
It is frustrating that the so called Technology expert at the dealership did not know about this setting, since I asked how to disable the lane keeping assist several times.
My bad.

chrislk55

LOL, as sad as that sounds it's absolutely true. When I took delivery of my car, I asked them to skip the pre-delivery tutorial because sales guys rarely know more than an educated consumer. Having spent a ton of time reading on this forum and other online resources, there was little if anything the sales guy could show me. These forums are a great resource !

chassis

Also be aware that, in addition to being obtrusive and potential dangerous for some drivers in some situations, lane keeping assist consumes brake pads. Not everyone knows this, and they are surprised when the dealer tells them it's time for new brake pads, at surprisingly low mileage. Same comment for base cruise control (no Distronic), full-on Distronic and the HOLD function if not deactivated prior to motion. They all consume brake pads.

chrislk55

Very true... Honestly, I regret ordering the "Intelligent Driver Package" as its proven to be anything but intelligent. I've turned off the active lane keeping assist as described above and the other day, I tried the adaptive cruise etc on a long trip. I used it for about 20 minutes then shut it off. I found its not very good at evaluating traffic patterns, if the lane clears in front of me it quickly accelerates like a bat out of hell then applies major brakes as it approaches traffic. It totally lacks the smoothness and refinement of manual control. Sorry Mercedes, you have a long way to go before this stuff is actually usable!

TexAg91

Mine doesn't behave that way at all. It's very smooth. I know on lane keep assist you can change the aggressiveness, I have mine set to the lowest setting. Perhaps that also effects the Intelligent Driver's Package? If not, have the dealer check the system calibration.

TexAg91

There it is, the fabled car wash mode! I don't have that menu icon on mine, and I have the Driver Assistance Package Plus and all the safety options.. Does anyone else in the US have a "car wash mode" icon on the setting menu? I don't see it anywhere on mine -- and everytime I go thru the car wash, and the sensors light up like a Christmas tree -- fortunately, it doesn't apply the brakes...was worried about that the first time thru.

GregW / Oregon

Nope; I don't have the Driver Assistance Package, but do have E-ABC. It is covered extensively in the manual. That should be addable via a software upgrade.

mikapen

We have to remember we are seeing posts from all around the Globe, from car owners who have non-USA models. I don't think there is a Car Wash Mode in U.S. cars.

Regarding "Sensors light up like a Christmas tree," you can easily disable the Parking Sensors, as shown in @chrislk55 photo, through the quick access button on the console, which prevents the Christmas tree effect - in U.S. models. I also think the "intelligent drive assist" is a Canadian nomenclature - US equivalent seems to be "Driver Assistance Package PLUS" - different in features.
As to other parts of Driver Assistance Package PLUS package, I start the car, hit the console button and disable Land Keeping, Steering, and sometimes Parking sensors, fasten my seat belt and drive off.
I'm considering an AMG53 and wonder about the Driver Assistance Package PLUS - I may skip it. Why pay $1,950 for additional headaches?

mikapen

A lot of what's "covered" in the manual doesn't apply to U.S. models.

chrislk55

It's interesting to see that even within the North American market the packages / options can be so different.... I totally get that European models are always different, I thought all NA would be similar....

This is the dealer list of options on my car, I think the individual components are the same, they are just bundled differently up here in the great white north :-) I would definitely pass on the Intelligent Driver Package if I were ordering this vehicle again.

mikapen

Wow lots of little differences there. I wonder if M-B is pandering to the Greater Intelligence up north, or just throwing darts at Package Names for different Countries...

chrislk55

That's good and bad for us.... Most of our options are in packages, I wish we had the a la carte choices like in the US... For example, I briefly considered the massage seats but they are in a "comfort package" with a bunch of other crap I didn't need or want... (climate control front seats, multicontour front seats with massage, energizing comfort, air balance cabin fragrance system, and air balance cabin air-purification system) and the cost was $2600!