paulmj1

We live in the desert flatlands in Arizona, and our 14-month-old 2020 GLE350 has about 13,000 miles on the clock. Today we drove it on the so-called “million dollar highway”, US 350 between Durango, Colorado and Silverton. The altitude in Durango is 6,200 ft and Silverton tops out over 10,000 feet. I’ve got to report that our four-banger performed magnificently. No stress, no strain, ample power, no coarseness, absolutely nothing to complain about. This is my wife’s car, and today she familiarized herself with paddle shifting on steep downgrades, never had a need before, also worked very well. Absolutely love this car, it has been flawless throughout the time we’ve owned it.

Even better, 115 miles round-trip, 27.7 mpg.

mikapen

That's my experience, too, from 5,000 feet to 14,000 ft. I put 1,000 miles on a loaner, viewing the Aspens last fall. I was impressed!
My only complaint, and I was expecting too much, was that it ran out of steam at 90mph on two lane passing maneuvers. And the mileage always hovered around 30.
Impressive engine! (The 450 added 10mph before the aero slowed the acceleration.)

djer

I was nervous reading the title lol, but after reading your post:

Lucky 777

My experience with the 350 4 banger has exceeded my expectations!

makris0000

It has exceeded my expectations as well. I believe the E class and GLE share the same 4 cylinder engine. When I had my E class it was very slow, lagged and was very jerky. The GLE has improved on those issues but it's not perfect. I also do not notice the drop in power when the engine would shift between 2nd and 4th gears like it used to in my E class (like when I would make a turn and when I press on the gas, nothing would happen, it would think and then it would go and be very jerky).

C-Rod6

Never owned a 4 banger let alone in a 5000 lb SUV but you know what, it’s pretty good. I’m a cruise control guy anyway and with the amount of officers at every corner these days, it’s just not worth the 6 cylinder or the 8, I’ll just get in trouble. 😉😉

CMFUSA

Same here - I thought it was going to be the most difficult compromise to make, coming from a 6 cyl E350.

But I am pleasantly surprised as well. Ample power and great gas mileage. 24 cty / 28 hwy over several thousand miles.

It's not a racecar, but who buys a 5000 lb SUV to do wheelies?

GregW / Oregon

I’m glad so many are happy with the turbo 4. I’ve had those a couple times as loaners and so glad I went for the mild hybrid 6. So much more refined in all aspects. It’s not just “pretty good,” it’s very good. If you’re happy, that’s all that matters.

RockChips

Sport mode makes it better.

Although the manual says to keep it in Comfort for the first 1,000 break-in.

Bryce1023

It is nice hearing such positive feedback regarding the GLE 350. When test driving the 350 I needed to make sure that it wasn’t sluggish, it met and perhaps exceeded my expectations. I realize that a test drive, no matter how lengthy it is, is not the same as owning the vehicle and using it all the time. Also, I didn’t feel that the 450 would enhance my ownership experience and it would have set me back at least an additional $6k. Living in NYC, the local speed limit is 25mph. There are speed cameras all over the place. It’s $50 each time they take your picture, no points on your license, just a real money maker. The highway limit is 50mph within the city limits. You never really have to worry about speeding if you know what I mean. I find myself moving as quickly as as owners of the AMGs and the 580s. If I drive aggressively, I can sometimes beat them to the next red light.
In all honesty, if all the engines in the GLEs were the same price I would go for the biggest, fastest, one I could get. I too am exceptionally delighted with my 350 and love taking it out on the highway. Will be driving down to Florida shortly and I am excited about the long drive. The 350 is not for the car enthusiast who wants a real quick powerful engine, MB is smart enough to build several variations to meet everyone’s needs and expectations. Enjoy yours

W205C43PFL

I test driven a few C 300 M274 as loaners when I was servicing my vehicle, the power was always inadequate but then when I started test driving facelifted C 300 (M264, so the same engine used in the GLE 350) I was blown away, the vehicle is so much smoother, so much more fuel efficient than the M274, the cooling also improved as the temperature was controlled well and never ran as hot as the M274. The engine pulls surprisingly well. To hear that it is the same in the GLE 350 (a much heavier vehicle) shows that it is a pretty successful engine MB came out with.

Speaking of speed limits, not any better here in Canada, $5 CAD (so approximately 7.9 USD) per 1km over (approximately 0.6 miles) plus victim surcharge. The more you speed so 20-29 over the charge is more than $7.5 CAD per 1 KM over and finally 30-49 is $12 CAD per 1 KM. (all of these have a base $25 victim surcharge) That being said, speeding that much drivers pretty much deserve it especially how these cameras are installed in residential zones or school zones. Oh, and we have red light cameras too. but.... wait, $50 USD per picture sounds even more insane, when does it start taking a picture? By how much over?

KrustyKustom

I am right there with what others have said regarding the GLE350. I bought mine having not even driven one until I drove it out of the showroom but was pleasantly surprised. The engine generates really impressive torque without even using the turbo as the transmission keeps the engine rpms right where the torque curve is without revving. I did not expect a fire breathing speed demon of a engine, but it is really a nice drive, smooth and quiet. When I drive it I always de-activate the start stop as that is really my only complaint on the engine.

The 450 was really attractive for me but the 48v system had me concerned for long term ownership value ($2,400 battery). I feel like the technology may be a "*******" in the long run and like the traditional aspect of the 350.

Also agree with the M274 comparison to the M264. I have driven the 274 in C class and Metris vans and it exhibits similar low end torque but the new 264 feels more refined (quiet too).

CMFUSA

Same here - eventually I did the Mid City Engineering OBD-upgrade that remembers the last setting of the Start-Stop-automatic.

OnlyGerman

Mercedes profits by sticking a tiny motor meant for a small car in a mid size SUV..and those paying over retail for it, lol.

Bryce1023

Hi W205C43PFL it’s $50 per incident, I agree that too many people drive to fast in residential areas and school zones. However when a speed camera is placed not to far off a highway exit ramp , and doesn’t give you enough time to gradually slow down, that’s entrapment.

Bryce1023

I think Mercedes also profits by placing very large engines in any size SUV and charging even more over retail for those. I would like to believe that the GLE 350 was extensively tested to make sure that it was engineered to produce ample power for that size vehicle. Hope you are enjoying yours.

W205C43PFL

Yikes. To ensure people slow down (unless they want to scrape the vehicle's underbody) speed bumps probably is the more effective solution for those zones.

Wow they even put speed cameras on a highway exit ramp , most if not all exit ramps have traffic lights right? People have to stop anyways.

W205C43PFL

Correct, they think after spending this much money another few thousand for a V6 or I6 isn't much but for those who doesn't care for the V6 or I6 the I4 is actually not a bad option. Mercedes-Benz aren't meant to be driven fast other than AMGs but even so the inline-4 on the 350, it can still be driven pretty fast. You only want more not need more.

chassis

Which luxury company besides MB lowers the base model engine horsepower on a new platform? MB doesn’t know what they are doing; fitting the M264 4 banger into the base GLE 350 is evidence.

js_cls

Audi does. You can get a 2.0L 4-Cylinder on the Audi Q7, in fact Audi was first to do this introducing the base 4-cylinder engine to the Q7 for its second generation back around 2016/2017. MB knows what they are doing, many people do not use or need a lot of power, and modern 4-cylinders are able to perform well even in vehicles such as this, add this to the lower starting price point compared to rivals such as the BMW X5 who do not offer a lower trim under $60k like Audi and MB and it helps adds appeal to the Q7 and GLE for shoppers. In the end, MB still offers an Inline-6 engine priced roughly equivalent to their German competitors from Audi and BMW.

chassis

I haven’t looked at pricing. Is a base GLE450 4MATIC with inline 6 the same price (within 2-3%) of the base X5 xDrive40i with inline 6?

js_cls

GLE450 4Matic $64,550
X5 40i xDrive $62,900
Q7 55 Premium $62,100

If you want value a GV80 3.5T AWD is $60,600
Shockingly, an MDX Turbo V6 is $66,700.

About a $1500 difference for the X5, (Although I doubt anyone is buying stripper spec model anyways)

chassis

I'll be darned. I expected the GLE to be a healthy notch higher than the BMW.

I remain of the believe that the consumer loses in the base engine horsepower for the GLE 350 from W166 to V167. Assuming the base V167 GLE 350 price is lower than the base GLE 450 price, this puts the lowest price GLE below the lowest price X5. So MB is offering a cheapie econo version of the GLE with less horsepower than the prior W166 model.

In the late-teens the GLE 350 had a lower base model price, as it appears to have today, than the X5 35i but with equivalent horsepower. Now the starting price relationship has carried over into the new platforms, but MB has pulled a fast one on the customer and delivered less horsepower. Crummy product lifecycle management.

Entry level GLE customers are getting less with V167 than they did with W166. G05 customers on the other hand are getting more horsepower in the entry level model than the F15 customers did. Great product lifecycle management by BMW. Maybe it's one of the reasons BMW beat MB in total sales in 2021.

W205C43PFL

Hmmm now that you mentioned it, I always thought all German brands including BMW does in many both European and Asian countries for example just not in North America but I am probably wrong.

W205C43PFL

Interesting, does BMW offer more standard equipment though? Last time I checked the configurator BMW has more standard equipment than MB here in Canada but that last time was back in 2019.