I'm not sure anyone would be financially better off buying/leasing a new vehicle every 3-4 years unless they have the worst luck ever with engines/transmissions.

 

Yeah, that 20% first year depreciation can buy a lot of repairs.

 

When my E450 All-Terrain was in for its Service-B, they gave me a pretty new C300 sedan loaner for the day, with around 1200 miles. The C300 has the same 4-cylinder engine and 48V system as the GLE350 (I am guessing that is the case), but being a sedan is much lighter.

The thing was a dog. Very laggy and slow, when compared to my All-terrain. By the end of the day, I kind of got used to the lag and its characteristics, but I sure was glad to be back in the E450 and turn in the loaner.

The GLE is a very heavy vehicle, and putting this 255hp 4-cylinder to power it, is a pathetic move on MB’s part. BMW does not subject their X5 customers to a 4-cylinder, as far as I know, and the only reason why MB does it, is because people look to pinch a few pennies and buy it, instead of going for the FAR better 450. To add insult to injury, MB also equips many of these GLE350s with the fat 315mm wide tires on 21” wheels……the last thing the underpowered 350 needs, is MORE traction from wider tires !

 

Actually, it might be different, the GLE 350 had the M264 I think while the new C-Class W206 C 300 have a M254?

 

I mean there is a lot of tech for modern vehicles for sure.

 

You mean the engine not as smooth? If you mean the ride then the ARC might be standard on the 63 should had helped.

 

What Mercedes does really well, is the engineering of their fundamental drivetrain, along with the vehicular structure itself, and the engineering of their standard suspension, and all of that will go on for ever, with nothing other than standard maintenance. I had one of those early ML320s from back in the day, which had absolutely no problems whatsoever, until I donated it when it touched 235K (well maintained) miles. Absolutely no problems whatsoever……exactly what I would expect from a good Mercedes.

My 2022 E450 All-Terrain has had zero issues till date, but it only has 30K miles…..and reliability wise, compares favorably with my 2019 Honda Fit with a stick-shift, which is my reliability benchmark. My buddy with his 2020 E450 All-Terrain, just crossed 165K miles, with zero problems, and he plans to buy the new 2025 E450 All-Terrain, once it touches 200K.

If you want to keep a Mercedes for the long haul, I would not go crazy with many of the electronic doo-dads and hyper modern things like the E-ABC etc. Aggressively edit those out of your options list. Those are ticking timebombs that will cost a LOT to fix and they WILL go wrong, sooner rather than later…..just the nature of the beast. If you are a leasor, and plan to turn in the car after the lease, go crazy with these options, but if you are a buyer, be VERY choosy in the complicated electro-mechanical bits that you add on…..the lesser the better, and the Mercedes will reward you with trouble-free long-term ownership.

Bottomline, being at the bleeding edge of technology, is asking for trouble, especially when we are talking about highly complex electro-mechanicals…..I prefer to be at the trailing edge of technology, for products that I keep for the long haul, and it has worked for me very well, thus far.

 

I guess especially in the case of the R232 SL it might had been a better idea to buy used given the depreciation and the ADM when purchased new plus the first model year issues and recalls.

 

The ride is not as smooth. The 450 rode more like our S580. I think I saw Benzninja advertise that he code "code" comfort to be as smooth as the non AMG but it is really comfortable as is.

 

I see.

 

New cars aren't made to last.... Just lease them. It easiest.

 

The C300 was awful, I couldn't stand it. I couldn't even fit in the car. I'm 6'3 and I told the service advisor, I can't fit in this car. and he goes " Did you try moving the seat back?". Insane. Claimed they didn't have any other loaners which was bs.

 

I had an W220 S430 that I loved, the only issue I ever had with it was the airmatic, but that was a know issue. But my ML500 sucked. LOL.

 

Loaners are predictably Dogs. They have been fed a diet of the cheapest fuel available, and the de-rating of the engine is Huge.

You really can't tell the performance until you're into the second tank of 92 octane.
I had a C43 AMG loaner that was Much Slower than our GLC300, until I emptied the tank and started with the resl stuff. Then I appreciated it.

 

I had an EQE for a loaner. It was great. They didn’t care how much range was left.

 

It probably wasn't charged with low-grade electrons, like most loaners. 😀

 

 

I only use level 3 Super electron-91 in my EQ loaners.

 

Update to my post: It does affect the M264: https://mbworld.org/forums/gle-class...ml#post9074554

 

My 450e listed for $88k. No Napa or air suspension. Several other options missing. I paid $73k. It was a CPO with 12,000 miles.

 

Had a 24 E350 for a month as well, idk whoever had that car before me beat the **** outta it. Poor thing. It was super nice

 

Now that’s top tier electron fuel.

 

That's a good point about loaners. If they are filling it with regular, then the engine knock sensors will go wild, and the system will pull engine timing in a big way, trying to limit damage to the engine, and in turn will cut down on power.

But despite that, the 4-cylinder is a drag, especially if outfitted onto a 5000lbs GLE. And even worse if they equip the GLE350 with 315mm or 325mm wide rear tires.

BMW does not insult their X5 customers (direct competitor to the GLE), by equipping it with a 4-cylinder engine, and not sure why MB feels they can get away with such an obvious cost cutting move.

 

You must have averted your eyes when you walked past all their four cylinder offerings or their online configurator.
Yes, they do offer 4-cylinder x5's.

 

Are you certain (I am talking about the US market) ? As far as I know, for the 2025 X5, they offer their 3.0L Inline-6 in both the base engine and the plug-in hybrid, and a Twin-turbo V8.

No 4-cylinders for the X5, unless I am missing something. Maybe other markets offer 4-cylinders but the US starts with the 3.0L Inline-6.