It totally is. It was the same for me with the S560 vs the 750, the 750 just never rode as soft or as elegantly as the S560 no matter how the suspension was set, yet didnt really handle better. I actually think the 750 is better looking, I think its built better, and I think the interior is nicer but it doesnt glide down the road as elegantly, so thats why I chose the S Class. Having driven the X5/X7 and the GLE/GLS back to back its the same kinda deal.

 

I think most owners would disagree that the GLE 450 in comfort mode “floats around” in normal driving while in C mode. It’s also very stable at highway speeds as it lowers the suspension 1”. The floaty feel (boaty) is only apparent on roller's. In fact it’s more comfortable in C mode until driving dynamics get more spirited. Saying it floats around might give some the wrong impression that it’s less stable. Early review of the Year one model noted the softer ride with comments that “it’s stable when pushed to its limits’.
For the limited few that want a more sporty ride then it’s pretty simple to change the driving mode…that’s the purpose. People that own a GLE 450 and post on this Forum have almost never complained about the ride. That’s the audience here…do a search and you might have trouble finding a single complaint in almost 4 years. There will always be some that want a stiffer suspension but that opinion just seems to be the minority here. You might just change your mind after a few months of ownership.

 

I just don't agree. The car has a distinct float to it on the highway in comfort mode. I have made it very clear that I am not talking about stability, its a ride characteristic. Although putting it in Sport mode increases high speed confidence for sure. There is nothing to complain about, its a matter of personal preference in terms of what kind of ride you want, I like the floatyness.

 

Good post. Get your pepper spray ready for personal attack posts that are likely to ensue.

 

Important distinction is what suspension does it have? I have Airmatic and while comfortable, I wouldn't call it floaty. Composed & Soft more like. Floaty better describes my old 16' BMW 750i, it would pitch and dive depending on your driving and the road conditions.

I can't speak to the steel springs or the E-ABC since I haven't driven those. If either is floaty, maybe the Airmatic is the goldilocks of suspension choices?

 

I can take it lol

450 I drove had airmatic, 350 had coil springs. Have also driven the GLS450 which has airmatic standard. Rides and drives very similarly but a little floatier.

You guys are over-emphasizing what I mean by “floaty”. It’s not boaty, but on the highway in comfort mode it just wafts a little bit.

 

Your words “X5 is more controlled and firmer. From a handling perspective no doubt the X5 is better, and it tracks flatter down the highway where the GLE floats around”

 

I have have a 40i and a 350 so it may not be valid. But from my experience:
1. This thing is very comfortable and is perfect for family travel. I prefer the GLE over X5 for long distance trips. Plus I get more back room. It’s so comfortable that it makes you wonder if you even need an LX for family travel.
2. 1 can be a bit too much for some that are used to more sports cars. I drive both cars (with her ) the same way. However, I passed two dips at the light and the GLE felt like the whole thing was just slamming onto the ground. Never felt like this in any other car/suv I had. I remember reading something similar from another member here. Sport in this GLE is a joke. Maybe it’s the I4 but there is really nothing noticeable in this mode. I tried to look for any difference but failed. On 40i, between comfort and sport, it’s day and night.

 

We now own 3 MB SUVs . I just purchased a 2022 GLC 2 days ago, my daughter has a GLB, and I have a GLE. Perhaps we are somewhat fortunate, however, aside from several recalls on these vehicles, they’ve been reliable. I do believe that some credibility should be given to the organizations that rank vehicle reliability. Their data although not definitive can give you a general idea of which vehicles are more reliable and which are less reliable. I don’t lose sight of the fact that a large Lexus suv, that has remained virtually unchanged for a decade, will most likely have many fewer issues than a new GLE which is loaded with the latest technology. I just bought a 2022 GLC which has been only mildly refreshed since 2016, hoping all the problems of the previous years have been resolved. My GLE, has been reliable for the 21 months I’ve owned it.
Some MB owners seem to take these poor rankings personally. Look at Land Rover, a highly desirable vehicle with an historically poor reliability rating. Cutting edge technology will have more initial problems, the premium brands need cutting edge technology to maintain their premium status and therefore lower their reliability, not necessarily their quality.
I wish MB can do better, I am sure MB reads these surveys and takes them seriously. I honestly feel if you are only interested in reliability then Honda, Toyota, or now the Korean manufacturers are best suited for you. Perhaps because I came from very humble beginnings, driving my GLE gives me a feeling that the more reliable brands just don’t provide. Perhaps we should start a new survey, “ WHICH BRANDS MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD “ . I am quite sure MB would be right at the top of the list. Hey, isn’t that what buying a car is all about, ENJOY.

 

I agree. I’m in the belief that while these surveys aren’t definitive and can even be classified as borderline anecdotal, they certainly give some indication. It’s a cliche, but where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire and there is a ton of smoke around this model in my opinion that something is very likely on fire.

However, the trappings of these surveys is that they do not represent everyone; there are many people that drive these things without any issue. However, when something gets rated this poorly, it’s not hard to imagine the overall issue frequency is higher than other brands and models found in the same survey from a purely mathematical statistical perspective, and this thing has major issues in my opinion.

I personally believe it is both systemic (poor design and engineering) and very poor build quality. I say that with some bias because I am witnessing and experiencing these issues first hand. While I’m sure Mercedes is aware of these issues purely from warranty claims, you have to ask yourself, how can a company of this stature and history allow these issues and flaws to make out of design and into production with production a flaw in itself? You really start to have to question the decision makers over there, at least for this model.

 

Thanks for your insightful post. I am just curious, are your issues more tech related or rather poor build quality? I have a GLE 350 4 matic and in terms of build quality I’ve experienced a poorly aligned fuel door, and a whistling noise emanating from the driver’s side mirror. Both of which I decided to live with due to lack of confidence in my dealership’s service dept. I see that you have a vastly different model, a GLE 53 Coupe. Perhaps due to the additional equipment in your GLE, which includes additional technology your likelihood of more issues is greater. Realistically, a vehicle like yours should be built more meticulously. Thanks

 

Yep, that statement is accurate. That doesn't mean the GLE feels out of control or not stable.

Does your GLE have airmatic? The difference between Comfort and Sport is pretty clear, but you need the airmatic to change the ride characteristics or its hard to tell a difference, does the 40i you're talking about have air suspension? Thats likely the difference.

That behavior you're talking about over that dip is the soft suspension, having driven big softly sprung cars for years (Lexus ES and LS and now the S Class) thats recognizable lol. With suspension geometry you can't have it all ways, but Mercedes and BMW get about as close as you can.

 

My issues are not tech related (i.e., MBUX is confusing), but more build quality and something just physically and electrically wrong with it.

I wonder how this may affect long-term resale values for these cars, especially if they develop a relatively bad reputation. Leasing is, in my opinion, the way to go with this model. It sort of hedges against dropping resale values assuming it takes a nosedive in the near future. Getting a loan (like me) or paying cash probably isn’t a wise thing to do.

 

​​​​​​IT sounds like you may be comparing a steel springed GLE to an air suspension on the X5. True?

There are no suspension changes with the steel GLE. Just shift points and a bit of steering stiffness.
You need the Air option for "Sport" to affect the suspension.

 

Sounds that way to me too

 

Still, the strange thing is that while the 2022 GLE was rated as Midpack in one area (greenhouse gases), Top in many and Last in none, why is the headline "Dead Last?"
It further reduces their credibility IMO.

Screenshot of 2022 Reliability and Satisfaction, from the subscriber website. They give 4s and 5s in most categories except "usability" (they hate the running boards) and headlights.

 

You realize that the OP used the words "Dead Last" in the subject of this thread, and he said Mercedes not the GLE. The Consumer Reports article listed has the title :

Quote:

Who Makes the Most Reliable New Cars?

Have you seriously been blaming CR about lack of objectivity thinking the title of the thread is the title of the article? Read people. Here is the list of BRANDS ranked by score. This article has nothing to do with the GLE specifically:

 

Well actually it does, since they only rated two 2022 models. GLE was one, and I'm showing you their actual ratings, based on both their testing AND consumers.
I'm not sure why you are disputing what they publish.

 

They made predictions across all models for reliability scores even if they have no data, they are overall brand ratings based on their historical data and projected rankings. You want them to base the rating for the whole brand on one model that happened to be improved one year after two solid years of their lowest ranking, that doesn't make any sense.

I just don't understand why you're so butthurt about this lol. Who cares...nobody has ever accused Mercedes of making the most reliable cars in the world. Its just a car, if you're happy with yours who cares what anybody else thinks...

 

Butthurt? No need to go Locker Room on us!

My concern is that CR is very misleading (dishonest?) in their lead stories, and the real information is behind a paywall.

People actually buy cars based on headlines. "Dead Last" is also a quote from several media sources - they were fooled too because they didn't peek into the real data. It's not "dead last" in any of their ratings, even the "expected" reliability ratings.

I'm not defending Mercedes, just pointing out the inconsistencies within their own site.

You should be arguing with CR, not me. Don't shoot the messenger.
OK, it's an internet forum, so messengers are most often the ones shot.

Spend your 10 bucks and see the real data. There's about ten pages of Superior Ratings. Not "dead last" by any stretch of the imagination.

According to CR, its rated 4th out of 17 Luxury Midsized SUVs IN RELIABILITY. Rated 4 (5 being lowest) in fuel economy and running boards.

People still pay attention. Go figure.

You're correct, I don't like CR. I find CR to be a 5 (lowest of 5) on autos. Dead Last!
BTW I'm using the other end of my body for thought.

 

no I wasn’t comparing to air suspension. My x5 doesn’t have air suspension. And i was referring to the whole thing, not just suspension. How fast the car responds/accelerates to the gas pedal and turning…
Steve,
I thought about your post about floating… I do recall when I first drove this thing. 70+ feels much faster than the X5, more so like Lexus SUVs. That did surprise me. X5 feels much more planted like a sedan.

 

CR can definitely be blamed for using misleading titles as they have insufficient model selection representing the brand as a whole.
It would be helpful to list the models for each brand to understand the make-up of their review criteria.

 

True that.

They do list separately, as in the screenshot I posted above. You just have to pay for that special insight.

​​They fool a lot of people, and other media outlets as well.
Bad journalism all around. Click bait all around. It's the Age of Snapchat.

Edit: So, according to CR, if you want to buy a luxury SUV in 2022, one of their highest reliability as well as consumer satisfaction ratings is the GLE. They rave about it.

 

The story is "Who makes the most reliable cars?" There is nothing about Mercedes or the GLE. What is misleading about that? And of course the information is behind a paywall, they are a for profit business.

Then you need to have an issue with those media sources, not CR. According to CR's rankings the Mercedes brand is dead last, its on the chart. You keep bringing up the GLE but the article and the ranking has nothing to do with the GLE.

I have no problem with CR, you keep looking for little titbits and cherry picking data to disprove something that CR is not even saying.

The BRAND ranks at the bottom, not any specific model. Lowly ranked brands will have highly ranked models and highly ranked brands will have lowly ranked models.

For the year 2022, the overall data is based on long term trends. One year after 2 terrible years does not mean it deserves a good rating as a vehicle projected forward. If they have a second year of good ratings the overall projection will improve.

Then just don't read it...

And that has nothing to do with their rating of Mercedes overall as a brand. The GLE is only one model.

I don't understand why you think the entire Mercedes ranking as a brand should hinge on one model year of one model

 

I don't. It doesn't.

But you have to actually read the article to uncover what I've been showing. They base their CURRENT reliability AND consumer ratings on two models.

I agree it's a long and difficult read, and there's very little correlation between the data (on the entire line) in their charts AND text / videos, and the chart you post.

​​​​​Read the article that generated that graphic. Low correlation with their own stated findings and opinions. Egregious IMO.

Yes, I agree that every entity that posted the headline has identified themself as questionable.
I'm questioning. The answers are unkind, but hard to refute, in the whatever context you choose.
It is what it is.

PS If you want a chuckle, watch one of their YouTube videos. They are VERY heated in their cupholder and Infotainment discussions. Good stuff.