mb2be

I spent some good amount of time test driving a model Y. I can't see why some would ditch their GLE for this car. When I got back into the GLE, it felt like heaven. Despite of some hiccup, this is a fine family hauler.

djgiovanni

I don't believe they're in the same class either. Maybe Model X?
I would NOT partake.

HotRodW

I doubt many ditch their GLE's for a Model Y, but I'll wager a bunch of GLC's were replaced with Tesla's smallest "crossover".

wildta

I would definitely get the concept CLA that was recently announced over a model y. The single screen in the Y has bothered me from beginning. I wouldn't give up my GLE until solid state batteries start getting used.

https://media.mercedes-benz.com/pres...4-62b37648bbbd

makris0000

When I was looking to get my 21 GLE 350 at the time I compared it to the Model Y. Prices were about the same, however size wise the GLE was bigger. I feel like people would maybe go from a GLC to a Model Y, but if I was to switch over to Tesla, the Model X is more comparable to the GLE size wise.

I've ridden in a Model Y before and it was very uncomfortable. Not really sure why someone would get that over a GLE. I know I wouldn't.

Aggie57

Not a Model Y but we bought a Polestar 2 last year, kept the GLE with the idea being to decide after a year which one to keep. For now we’re keeping both because the GLE is so roomy and great as a family hauler. But for general use we prefer the Polestar.

TexAg91

Still have the GLE, bought a Y for my work commute. It is a fantastic commuter car. Being able to charge it in my garage (installed a level-2 charger) every night is very convenient. The autopilot in heavy DC I-95 traffic is stress reducing

wildta

How would you compare Tesla auto pilot to driver's assist on the GLE if you have it? Just curious.

cupecoy

I have a Y, an X and a GLE in the family. I drive all of them. X is in the same class as the GLE and is better than the GLE in terms of literally everything except looks (subjective) & interior quality.
The MY is too simple and offers very little comfort but it's easy to drive, park, and operate - it's a very practical car that fantastically works well unless you crave comfort and luxury.
Personally, I don't use autopilot because it sucks and stresses me out more than driving itself - I also love driving so I mostly wouldn't give that up even if it worked well.

mikapen

Good feedback.

The closest I've been to a Tesla is the next lane.
I should drive one.

TexAg91

I have the standard autopilot in the Y, and driver’s assist in my GLE. They are comparable. The Y is more aware of the traffic around the vehicle and makes excellent use of regen braking to maintain speed and a safe following distance, where as the GLE uses the brakes. The Y is more responsive too in stop and go. The Auto steer is comparable, but the standard autopilot auto steer in the Y doesn’t change lanes, it will kick off the lane keeping and keep the speed adjusting cruise control on. My GLE will change lanes. They both can brake harshly if someone slams on the brakes in front of you at speed. The only real differentiator is the regen gen braking in the Y vice the brakes on the GLE — less wear and tear on the brakes in the Y. Brakes in a Y can last 300k miles. The full self drive in the Tesla is far superior, but it is a $12k option. GLE is more refined, the Y is more sporty. I have a new 2023 Y dual motor long range and it has acoustic glass and 19 tires which helps, but still not as quiet as the GLE.

TexAg91

They are different, everything is automated…but the acceleration is addictive. They really do make an excellent commuter car - if you can charge at home with a level 2 charger. If you can’t—don’t bother.

BlueYonder

I have nothing against EVs. They make a great grocery getter or commuter car. I wouldn't want to rely on one for long distance driving. I just made a 5000 mile roadtrip with my GLE450. Florida to Las Vegas and back with lots of back roads and scenic routes. Would have been very difficult to plan this trip around available charging stations. Not to mention the time added to reach my destination. Every small town has a gas station. In and out in 10-15 minutes.

Aggie57

That’s a valid concern and one reason we have both an EV and our GLE. But things are improving, faster in some places than others, especially now that many manufacturers are moving to the Tesla NACS charge port and their owners will have access to Tesla supercharger stations. In reality once you get reasonable access to charging stations, i.e. you don’t have to wait long and they’re convenient, then using an EV really doesn’t add much time to a trip. It’s the need to divert and wait that adds time at present.

mb2be

I think the best (and only) positive thing about the tesla is FSD. Their autopilot is still great but FSD is a different animal. If one has not tried it, you should definitely give it a try. It's just unreal IMO. The only "negative" things about it are its cost (12k to buy or 199/month. This is not too much for X/S but crazy for 3 and Y.) and it wants you to place hands over the steering wheel every 30 seconds or so. It's kind of contradictive but I guess people abused it and they changed to this now.

Same here. I'm not against EVs either but charging is a very valid concern. Bucee's now has it so it's not bad if your route has them. But still around 20 minutes to only get about 200miles, not that convenient at all. And you're stuck with food choice unless you want to make more stops.. Even at home it takes a long time to charge. You pretty much have to plug it in every night.

TexAg91

Me too. However, I'm looking to trade my 2020 GLE for a 2024 GLE 450e or a BMW X5 PHEV. At the moment, the X5 PHEV looks to be the better value...so I'm leaning that way...but just started to look seriously. Will be doing some test drives in the near future.

Ron.s

So true!
If resale value is a concern then BEV’s (at least higher end) prices can drop 50% or more in 2 years. Add in future technological advances to BEV’s and that might increase for even entry models. (Ala Volt, Leaf, etc.) Add in the depreciation and any cost advantage (if there is any) may be more than offset by loss in resale value. As the BEV battery approaches EOL, the car may be almost worthless, disposable. There is always a market for older ICE vehicles, maybe much less so for an older BEV.
A BEV can be a “feel good” purchase, IMO, but a poor financial decision. As if buying a new car is a good financial decision…it just gets worse adding electric. My favorite SA recommends that his clients Lease to reduce the almost certain haircut.
Small chance of a fire in your garage but a BEV is one of the worst incendiary devices around.
I’ll sit this one out for now.

mb2be

You should definitely do an extensive test on the X5. PHEV comes with air suspension std so you should be OK. If not the case anymore, 21" can be rough because they are RF and less sidewall compared to GLE's 21". It's worse when it gets older. You can swap out for non RF for a more comfortable ride but there are not many good non RF for these sizes. It's not as comfortable as the GLE's 21". Some replace with higher sidewalls (same as GLE's 21") to get a more comfortable ride. Other than the rough ride from RFs, I like everything else from the X5. This is personal but I like it for its look, suspension and steering are dead on. GLE's suspension is nice for long drive but a bit too soft and not good for locals IMO. Sometimes when going over some areas, it feels like something was falling apart. Steering is also too light/loose for me. Since you have a Y, X5 drives more/less like a Y but better.

BlueYonder

The extra weight of a plug in hybrid makes an air suspension a good idea. I have been very happy with the air suspension on my 2024 GLE450. If you can get it on the GLE450e I would highly recommend it. I had the previous hybrid GLE550e without the air suspension and the ride was not great. The BMW air suspension is per axle while the Mercedes is per wheel. The BMW has their great straight six while Mercedes decided on the four banger. The dash of the BMW appears to be cobbled together from spare parts which is unusual for BMW. Neither car has a spare tire so you are condemned to RF tires. You could get a TireFit kit with a pump and slime and get better tires in the future.

mb2be

....

stktyz33

re: PHEV

I've been looking into 450e and X5 50e recently as options for our next car... X5 looked way more attractive from the power train perspective - I6 + electric, vs I4 + electric on 450e. I drove regular X5 40i before for a couple of weeks and it was fun to drive, so I imagine 50e is even better. For practical reasons, we decided not go with PHEV for this round and ordered GLE450.

Having that said, when I was doing the research, I found a large thread on one of popular BMW forums regarding CEL issues on 50e. There are more than a dozen users reporting issues with cars being at the dealerships for weeks, ordering parts, fixing the issues only to have them reoccur, swapping the cars etc. We obviously don't know what percentage of the vehicles is affected but it certainly cooled down my excitement.