After 15 months my new GLE 350de was finally delivered two weeks ago!

I was driving a BMW X5 45e prior to the GLE and when the three year lease was up on the BMW I needed to make the decision of a new X5 or the GLE. The electric range was of importance to me and all the other bells and whistles (and price) was about the same. On paper when I ordered in February 2022 the GLE had 106 km range, while the X5 had 88 km.
Having been driving the "same" X5 for three years I knew the range was about 70 km in the winter (down to -15 C), up to about 80 km in the summer, so not far from the promised 88km.

The first disappointment with the GLE, the range... It's been unusually cold here in Sweden now, 6-8 degrees C, but the farthest I've gotten on a full charge is 64 km!
That's worse than the X5 in -15!
Is it really that bad?

The to a few other questions I haven't been able to figure out:
- The automated wiper, can you adjust the sensitivity? I feel it's not wiping often enough, and there seem to be no difference between the two "intervall" steps on the wiper switch.
- Stop and Go assistant, doesn't seem to work at all. If I have cruise control on and there's a red light, the car stops, but doesn't start again when the cars in front starts rolling. The "switch" for Stop and GO assistant is turned on.
- The recouperation when costing, can't it be set to always be on "max". I have to pull the paddle each time to get it to max, and using the cruise control turens it off. I want it always on.
- Using "hold" by pressing the break pedal after stopping is fine, but can't you set it to always "Hold" without pressing the extra step on the pedal?

The MBUX system is far better than what's in the X5 and the GLE feels much more "luxurious" and is much roomier in the back than the X5 was. The "smoothness" of driving is also much better in the GLE (both using gas powered suspension) and the "handling" in normal driving is nicer in the GLE (in "sports" mode the X5 wins though).

 

It depends a lot on the speeds you're doing. When I'm in Sweden on small roads it did 80km+ even in -15°C, here in Belgium on the highways it's more like 60-70km.

Just those two. You can always poke the button on the stalk for an extra wipe.
For some (probably liability) reason it only works on multi-lane roads with a fixed divider (and even then, I think map-based, not camera-based). Which, incidentally, is also where it's the least useful with the huge gaps it leaves. You can make it manually go using the resume button on the steering wheel.
Not as far as I know. I agree it's stupid that the cruise resets the regen setting.
You can mimic it by setting the cruise when sitting behind someone.

 

- Using "hold" by pressing the break pedal after stopping is fine, but can't you set it to always "Hold" without pressing the extra step on the pedal?

Unfortunately no, you have to tap the pedal to engage the "HOLD" feature.

 

Originally Posted by AWasen
-- Using "hold" by pressing the break pedal after stopping is fine, but can't you set it to always "Hold" without pressing the extra step on the pedal?

I, also, came from an X5 and loved the "set it and forget it" approach of the "Hold" feature; especially when dozzing off in traffic. However, tapping the break has since become second nature, and Stop n Go feature keeps me out of trouble in traffic. I am confident you will soon become accustomed to it. Enjoy the new ride!!!

 

Thanks guys!

I still have some issues with some of the choices MB has done as compared to the X5 I had...

Over all the GLE is a "nicer" car IMO.

The all electric range is really disappointing though... 😔
I've gotten 78 km now as max. with 20 degrees outside, that's the same I did in the X5 which had 88km according to WLTP, so I guess BMW was just more honest about the numbers...
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So, it seems MB has done a bit of a "change" in relations to range for the GLE 350de... The only figure that was mentioned when I ordered the car was 106 km all-electric range and I guess I just assumed that it was WLTP as that has been the "official" standard, at least here in Sweden, for many years...

So, now, after complaining about the range to my MB dealer I got the information that 106 km is according to NEDC, and WLTP is 98 km, but MB's official "real range" is "up to 88 km", and in the agreement there is actually fine-print stating 88 km as the expected maximum range. One can then wonder why this was never mentioned and they only talked about 106 km..?!?! A tad dishonest and makes customers, like me, very disappointed.

Theoretically it should have 10 km more than my 2020 BMW X5 45e had, but that is simply not true, the GLE comes about the same on all electric... This is quite surprising as the GLE has 6 kWh more battery (24 kWH vs 32 kWh).

 

Hi AWasen,
I am considering buying either the BMW 45e or MB GLE350de.
I've read the post and, since the pure EV range is the same, which one do you like better? which one os the overall winner?
Thank you for your reply.

NG

 

We'll, though question really... MB is a much comfier car and has better seats, plus I like the look of it better than the X5.
BMW, the one I had, was three years older than the MB when I got that, but then already the auto-pilot was much better on the X5!
The MB auto-pilot is honestly quite crappy... Also at standstill traffic the MB only has assistant for queueing on freeways! Idiotic!

Some settings and functions, e.g. automatic high beam, wind screen vipers, etc. worked better on the X5.

So, if you are looking for comfort go for the MB. If you want a better driving experience the BMW.

I've since switched to a Xpeng G9 Performance and I can honestly say that German cars really have their work cut out for them to keep up with the Chinese!
The G9 is awesome!

 

Like someone already wrote, this only works on designated multi-lane roads in a traffic jam. There will be an extra message that pops up for a moment - "stop and go assistant active" or something like that.

 

Thank you for the elaborate reply. That’s really helpful. Enjoy the new car!