*Caveat - the warranty coverage is sometimes model specific and/or model year specific, so don't necessarily take this screenshot as German scripture.

 

The GLE450e can run heat just fine without the ICE running.

 

I think I understand what you mean... Are you saying that the A/C compressor on the 450e is different from other models with the standard 48V mild hybrid (i.e. GLE450)? You may very well be correct, I just don't know.

The experience I've had with my standard 450 is that it will happily run the A/C without the ICE running -- for example if I'm stopped for a long red light, or if I'm parked waiting for my wife to "run into the store really quick."

What I've never tested is how long the Germans will let me sit there with the A/C running (engine off), before the vehicle's programming will require the ICE to restart.

 

The HVAC systems on the GLE450e are different than the GLE450 with the 48V mild hybrid cars. It has electrical systems that run off of the battery pack versus a mechanical system on your typical ICE vehicle.

 

The air conditioning compressor in both the 2024 GLE 350 and GLE 450 are both electric and run off the 48 Volt system. Prior to this year the GLE 350 did not have a 48 V system and you are correct the air-conditioning compressor was run by an engine driven accessory belt. The air-conditioning compressor in the GE 450e is also electric, and I believe it runs off the same 48 Volt system architecture. The only difference that I’m aware of is the 48 Volt battery size and how long the air-conditioning compressors can run before the battery is depleted to its minimum allowable state of charge - when the engine turns on. Obviously, the plug-in has a much larger battery and can store a lot more energy (from the power grid) than the much smaller battery in the mild hybrid system that is in both the GLE 350 and 450.

 

. Yes, and I understand it uses resistance heating, not a heat pump. So it’s not the most efficient while heating with the ice off… but it can. (that is my understanding anyway, please correct me if someone knows different)

 

If you want a Night Package decide on what parts of the trim you want blacked out and take the car to your local tint shop. Chances are they also do clear and colored wraps. My 2024 GLE450 was wrapped to look like the Night Package plus I had the load sill protector done for $500-$600. Looks just like the factory package. You might want to get the front windows and windshield tinted at he same time.

 

It's so interesting seeing different people's tastes. I think there's such a thing as too much chrome that makes it gaudy (Cadillac, Lincoln, Maybach) but I think most MBs do the chrome extremely tastefully and I generally really dislike all the blacked out trim (unless it's a white car). To each their own.

 

We will expect a 50% drop on the price of any MB after 3-4 years. It has always been the case unless it is a Toyota. For people who have the cash, willing to wait for that one-off fully loaded MB after 3-4 years of lease-end with only 15-20k in the motor it just makes sense to buy it and save the 50% depreciation cost for repairs or go for a 3rd party extended warranty coverage. Buying one of these heavy tech MB at full price and keeping it past 100k is just asking for trouble unless you get very lucky with one that did not have those german gremlins. Any car brand that has batteries as their main power source will be a tough case when it is time to replace the battery if the cost of the battery is equal to the value of the vehicle. Even tesla's battery replacement costs a fortune. Model 3 battery replacement is at the north of $25k and how much is the car brand new? Before everyone is worrying about engine replacement, now it is battery replacement. One thing for sure, any ICE vehicle will outlast any EV vehicle out there as long as you take good care of it. EV batteries have a life span and no matter how much you skip all the fast charging stations and just charge using a 110v outlet the battery will still degrade. After 10-12 years or +150k it might just brick itself and you are ended up with a very heavy paper weight. With ICE even if it is leaking oil, burning a quart every 1000km it will keep on running until you blow up the piston rings even if it is a BMW.

 

Then again…maybe not.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/...-battery-last/

 

Another-
https://www.motortrend.com/news/here...v-reliability/
From the article: .....the rear motor unit on this one has been replaced a whopping 13 times (an average of 84,285 miles per motor including the current one, though we hope reliability has improved in recent years). The battery pack has faired much better, only being replaced three times so far, for an average of 300,000 miles.
​​​​​​
This is appropriate time to insert "YMMV."

 

That is correct….all manufacturers have variability in their manufacturing process. Looks like model S in that article was a 2014 model year and it looks like that electric motor had a bad design I was notoriously unreliable. One nice thing about Tesla is they do implement continuous process improvement—and don’t wait to a new model year to make reliability improvement change,. Good if you get the improvement…but as you say - YRMV

 

Cometguy, what did you end up buying? I’m looking at the 450e and the Volvo Xc 60 Recharge. The 450e tech is better, range is better, the Volvo’s size is better for me (I currently drive a GLC and the size is fine) and it’s a bit cheaper in the Plus Trim.

 

I've owned two Tesla S Models and one EQS. Why I asked myself, would I buy a car with a limited range that made you SIT for a half hour to recharge it, time after time if you actually drive long distancess ? Those three did not make any sense to me, even though I own a 19 Mercedes S sedan which comes close to 500 miles at a stretch and five min approx to refuel???? So, I traded the EQS " go nowhere car" for the GLE 450e which will give 40-55 miles around town, and if I get the itch to go to Ca or Canada, I can use that same car with no bs stopping for thirty minutes to recharge numerous times while the GLE 450e would still be traveling down the hwy during those 30 minutes.

By he way, EV insurance is a full arm and a leg with both big toes cut off, if you want insurance. Opppps! Forgot the warning with the two red hands on the steering wheel that comes up alllll tooooo often. Drivers aid they say, I say dirvers distraction.

 

I have the 2024 GLE 450e and if you fully charge the battery, you can get around 59 miles of range. But it depends on the weather. This car is great because on a regular GLE 450 I usually fill up my tank 3 times a month, but with the GLE 450e, I’m only filling up half a tank during the whole month and I’m saving a lot of money on gas.

 

I own a 2022 XC60 T8 ER ("Recharge"). I've been planning to trade it in before warranty end for another PHEV, on my route to getting a full BEV after that (just waiting for the BEV tech and public-charging infrastructure to get a bit better). I'll share my thoughts here.

I'm looking to trade in my XC60 this year for two reasons: (1) I've already put 30k miles on it in only 1.5 years of ownership because I do lots of cross-country road trips, so I'm going to hit the 50k-mile warranty limit within a year at my current rate; and (2) I really can't stand the bad computer-screen layouts and the lack of physical buttons/switches for drive mode, phone, and climate controls. The XC60 T8 also has one big Achilles heel in driving: the electric motors are only on the rear axle, and the ICE runs only the front axle; this means that there's a power mismatch in AWD, but more importantly that you can't drive in AWD in electric-only, and when I turn left or right at an intersection, there's often bad spinning of rear wheels even on dry pavement. The instrument panel of the XC60 is horrible in that it's not configurable and it contains very little data/info for the driver; seems like it was designed for soccer moms, not for serious drivers. The infotainment screen is beyond frustrating; the only good thing about the computer screen is the Google Maps. That said, the seats and rearward visibility in the XC60 is superb, as is the ground clearance (8.5-9 inches, and that's important for me in my daily and cross-country driving). The 40 miles of local all-electric range in my XC60 is very good, but still below what I'd like; I feel that 40 miles is an absolute minimum that needs to be in a PHEV, but 50-60 miles is more practical/useful. The software glitches and problems taking eyes off the road for too often and too long to deal with the infotainment screen for things that should be in physical buttons/switches are just too much in my XC60, and I'm ready to leave Volvo forever after buying four Volvos lifetime. Their going the way of Tesla on their interiors is just beyond sad.

So I had only one real contender prior to seeing Kyle Conner's YouTube range-test video on the GLE 450e several months ago: the new 2024 Cayenne E-Hybrid, with its expanded battery pack. I just don't like what any other automakers put out there, and I don't like the external appearance of most other automakers' cars (i.e., non-Volvo; non-Porsche). This has always been the case for me with Mercedes -- always thought their exteriors are ostentatious, over-the-top-gaudy -- and I've always had this image of Mercedes as a mob car or a car that drug dealers buy. But Conner's YouTube video really grabbed my attention, starting with his getting 68 miles of all-electric range in around-town driving and 58 miles at 70 mph, and then noting the DC-fast-charging capability -- two things that make this PHEV absolutely unique. On closer examination, I found that the GLE 450e also has very good computer screens that are geared toward a serious driver, along with physical switches for climate controls and that nifty trackpad (which means you almost never have to touch the touchscreen, a huge plus to me). I never considered buying a Mercedes previously because I've never liked their looks and I've always heard the worst about reliability. The GLE 450e is probably the only Mercedes vehicle I'd ever consider buying. (Context: I've owned numerous Volvos and Porsches.)

So last November, I started test-driving GLE 450e vehicles, and so far I have test-driven them eight or nine times at a half-dozen local MB dealerships, and I've sat in them fiddling with the computer screens for hours. Since I drive a LOT of miles on my road trips, it's important to me to have tire pressure, altitude, engine-coolant temp, tachometer, power-use diagrams (all four wheels), etc., visible at all times, and none of this is possible in the XC60 (but it is also in the Cayenne E-Hybrid, which also has physical switches for climate controls). From my many hours sitting in, and driving, a bunch of GLE 450e cars, I've come away impressed with many things but still put off by others. The little buttons on the steering wheel can be very frustrating to use in practice, but that's not a deal-breaker for me. I suppose that the biggest issue for me in the computer screens is the map: it seems very inferior and cumbersome to use compared to what Porsche and Volvo offer, and maps are huge for my road trips. The map software is finicky and frustrating to use in the GLE 450e; I like how it's laid out horizontally in the infotainment screen and how you can configure it in the instrument panel, but the actual map itself, and moving around within that map easily, is not great. There are lots of little things that I like about the GLE 450e cockpit setup. The "return"-arrow key on the left steering-wheel button panel lets you toggle between the "classic" screen and one other instrument-panel screen (navigation, offroad, diagnostics, etc.) very easily, for example. I wish that you could configure the infotainment screen to have different panels showing at once (like map, phone, powertrain diagram, music together simultaneously) as you can do in the Porsches (and which CarPlay sort of does, but not well at all). I also found CarPlay next-to-useless in the GLE 450e, but then I find it that way in all cars (it's not a great software system for cars).

Here are some more big plusses that the GLE 450e has over the XC60: dual sun visors (all cars should have this but very few do; the Cayenne does); regular AM radio (Volvo only has apps, which don't work very well and are very limited in choice); standard ambient lighting; paddles shifters; can permanently disable auto-car-locking when the car starts to move; better cupholder placement. This in addition to what I already mentioned above regarding electric AWD, computer screens, physical buttons, etc.

Here are plusses that the XC60 has over the GLE 450e; better visibility; better exterior appearance by a lot (yes, I know it's subjective, but it's my take); lower MSRP; much better engine sound and acceleration; bigger gas tank (by 1.5 gallons); one-pedal driving all the way to stop; can charge the traction battery with the ICE (great on long road trips, where you want to drive in electric-only in stop-and-go traffic); much lighter vehicle and not so huge; easier to get in and out of (GLE 450e has big lips under the doors that rub your legs during egress and ingress); power rear-folding headrests; no fake exhaust tips on rear.

Here are plusses that the GLE 450e has over the Cayenne E-Hybrid: 68 miles of all-electric range (vs. 45 miles in the E-Hybrid), as per range testing by Kyle Conner; "almost"-one-pedal driving; better rear-view visibility; more interior space; very little shiny "piano-black" surfaces, whereas Porsche has sadly gone to shiny-black surfaces all over their interiors; MSRP about $25k cheaper for how I'd spec the GLE 450e vs. how I'd spec the Cayenne.

Here are plusses that the Cayenne has over the GLE 450e: can get an all-metal roof (huge in my book); V6 engine, much better power train; real exhaust tips visible (can't figure out MB mentality on fake exhaust tips); drive-mode dial on steering wheel (and you don't have to scroll past Sport and turn on the engine to get to Individual); can turn off all external lights with car on (GLE 450e can't do this); bigger gas tank (by 2.5 gallons); better gear-mode selector (steering-wheel stalk is a horrible place to have a gear-mode selector); many more options that you can order that you can't get in the GLE 450e or the XC60 (like heated windshield, a must; infrared night-vision screen; etc.); first year maintenance free.

As I have been mulling the GLE 450e vs. the Cayenne E-Hybrid, Porsche has just debuted its Macan Electric. It has come into the mix for me now because it has much more range (325 miles at highway speeds, 400+ miles in local driving) and even faster charging than the outgoing Taycan. Public-charging infrastructure will probably keep me in the PHEV lane for another few years, but the Macan 4 is the only BEV that could possibly get me going BEV sooner than I've been planning.

 

I disagree with the I-4 and your statement saying it's better than the six. I've about 2,200 miles on a '24 GLE 450e and with batery in HOLD mode and driving at a conservative 75 mph, I get only 21-22 mpg with that I-4. In Hybrid mode using the engine and battery on the same trip I see around 31-32 mpg. Problem with that is the battery charge will not be there after ???? 200 miles, so if I'm driving to the west coast it'll be using gas and getting 21-22 mpg. About what I got with a '17 GLS 450 but that car had a 26.4 gal gas tank and the GLE 450e has a 17,2 gallon tank.

The GLE 450e does a steady 75 or 80 mph just fine but don't expect it to accelerate like a GLE 450 six. Just my opinion after a couple (2,200) miles. Nice and quiet with the acoustic glass I might add.

This is written in ref to a post several posts above this one.

 

I recently picked up the GL450e too and my all electric mode actual driving range is only 32mile - actual miles driven in the trip meter before Electric Mode dies off to convert to Hybrid mode. When it is fully charged, it shows 45miles in the MercedesMe App when charged 100%.
How did you get 59 miles range?

 

Well, that's what I've been getting in the beginning and as the weather got very cold it went down to 48 miles @ 100%. If you watch some of the YouTube videos on the 450e, they have even more miles on a full charge.

 

I gave my car to the dealer to look at as it definitely does not give any range more than 32 miles on full EV mode. Not sure how others got more than 50miles. This is with AC and heater off. I am calculating and it is losing 30% of actual said battery capacity. Temperature in my area is in the 40 degF.

 

Something is wrong if you're getting only 32 miles on a full charge. Hopefully, the service department will replace the battery pack for you.

 

In the same temperature range my 450e charged to only 80% will consistently provide about 45 miles to discharge in all electric mode. I have tested it several times with the same results. I typically charge to 80% and try not to discharge to less than 10%, always keeping a little battery reserve power for performance boost when under gasoline power. Using those criteria I assume that I conservatively have about 40 miles of all electric power on board. If I charged to 100 % and used all electric modality down to approximately 0% I could probably consistently average around around 60 miles between charges.

 

Also I had a transmission issue that happened once so far. I parked the car straight in with cars on my right & left. I went to the Mall and came back after 2 hr and tried to reverse the car out in EV Mode and it moved forward. I shut it down and tried it a couple of times in EV Mode and it kept on moving forward instead of reversing in Reverse gear. I changed it to Engine Mode only and was able to reverse it out. The Dealer Technician at MB can't figure it out what why.

My car has been lying with the dealer ship since Monday this week.

Luckily I got this on a lease as this is one car I will not keep. I have had good experiences with BMW and this is my first MB!

 

I bought a GLE450e in August of 2023. Interestingly (to me at least) the all-electric mileage has INCREASED from about 54 miles when it was new, to a consistent 62 miles in around-town driving. I have gone on long trips, too, and pulled a 21' travel trailer on a 600 mile trip. I've had a couple of "build quality" issues, like the front seat bolsters collapsing, but no mechanical issues at all. This is a pretty big SUV -- it handles about the same as my 2017 Land Rover Discovery, which the GLE450e replaced -- but it does not wander and brakes very predictably, and it has plenty of acceleration, both in all-electric and when calling up all power, ICE and electric. No doubt the car is rather expensive -- mine was $88k w/ the various options -- but the comparably equipped Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne, which are probably the most like the GLE450e -- are more than $100k. I'll admit I haven't looked at the Mitsubishi SUV PHEV, but it seems to be the best "budget" alternative in this limited class of 2-row PHEVs. In conclusion, I think the Mercedes delivers what it promises but it is always up to the individual whether a "luxury" car is worth the premium price.

 

@Bluie thanks for your report.
I think I'd be pretty satisfied with my purchase.