Did anybody cross-shop a GLE 350 diesel (V6 diesel in Canada) with a Jeep Summit Ecodiesel (V6 diesel)?? Just wondering what you thought of each in a comparison...

I am looking at both vehicles (summit vs MB with premium pkg, hitch, and LED ext light options only) and I have a slight price advantage with the Jeep given that I get employee pricing since my family member works for Chrysler... however, that doesn't always sway me to purchase in that family of vehicles....

a few differences ... jeep vs MB
20 inch tires vs 19 inch
8 sp tranny vs 9 sp tranny
all seats down rear cargo space 68.3 cu ft vs 70.1 cu ft
$10K cheaper Canadian vs $10K more Canadian
engine not as refined vs quiet interior smooth ride
less expensive service vs expensive service costs
more local dealers for service vs only 1 local dealer forservice
real leather seats vs fake leather seating (unless get that option)
good uconnect system vs okay system
no 360 degree camera vs has 360 degree camera views

 

I have extensive experience with both the EcoDiesel and the 300d as my wife had the ecodiesel and traded it off on a GL.

The Jeep has a V6 turbodiesel. The 300 has a 4cyl twin turbo. The 350 has the 6 cyl so I imagine they would be very close. The jeep is a little more punchy. Both get about the same mileage. The Jeep uconnect system is better then Mercedes command, hands down. I have the same system in my Ram 3500. Here are the big differences.

The Jeep had 3 safety recalls and we waited for parts FOREVER. My Ram 3500 had four, same problem, waiting for parts.....The airbag recalls were just not good. The jeep developed a rattle in the dash that wouldn't go away even after 5 dealer visits. We also had strange problems with the bluetooth disconnecting our phones. Our dealer had a really bad habit of getting oil in our headliner and greasy prints all over the drivers seat portion of the car.

I could go on and on and on. We owned a 2011 Grand Cherokee, a 2013 Grand Cherokee SRT8(developed a nasty oil leak in the first 10,000 miles) and the 2014 Eco. I loved these cars but the quality control is absolutely terrible with Jeep right now. You can spend 70 grand on a Hellcat and there are videos about the poor quality control. They have such a fantastic product and yet there are quality issues and problems all over the place. Somebody even made a rap video:


And of course they are spending SO much money on these recalls across all of their product lines that profits fell by 89 percent in one quarter due to recall costs:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2338a...t-recall-costs

Back to the Mercedes....

The Engineering tolerances seem to be a lot better, no rattles and a much much quieter ride. The command system pretty much sucks in comparison to more modern systems but it is adequate. We made the decision to walk away from Jeep. We love our GL and our GLE. Our dealer is 120 miles south but has a car waiting for us during service intervals and they bring our cars back washed and clean inside. Service, reliability seem a LOT better so far...

 

Thanks for your thoughts... (note to others: interesting that in the U.S. Mercedes chose to put a 4 cylinder diesel in the GLE suv... as the author above notes... called a 300d in the US VS in Canada we have the model 350d with a V6 diesel... not sure what the thinking was there?? thus, as the authors states, the engine performance between the Jeep ecodiesel and the MB (torque, horsepower ) are very similar in Canada.

Yes, as you state, I have heard issues about poor reliability and recalls in earlier model years (I would be ordering a 2016 or 2017 although there is no guarantee that all the earlier bugs have been fixed and that quality control issues still remain, which always take time and effort to turn around) and that is a concern given that I currently own a VW diesel (yes one of those special ones!) and have had issues with it being unreliable in different areas).

I owned several new Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland models through the years (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 (with a Mercedes diesel in this one--) and 2010 Hemi) and given that I traded them early with low mileage, I never ran into many issues with any of them and I must say I really liked them... comfortable, powerful, and its' ability to go anywhere, in any weather, I always felt confident in this vehicle that I was going to get where I was going.

In 2010 when Daimler divorced Chrysler, I could no longer get the diesel MB engine in the Jeep, so I traded in my Jeep Overland with the Hemi gas guzzler for a MB ML 350 diesel (same engine as the 08 Jeep--that is how much I truly enjoyed that diesel engine).

Then for a change of pace, I traded my ML 350 for a VW wagon diesel... in a lot of ways, it was nice to drive a wagon over a large SUV (handling, ease of wash/wax, low liftover height etc) and I even had 66 cu ft of rear storage behind the front seats (for my lab); however, our winters in Northern Ontario are fierce and I was never as confident in that wagon as an SUV in poor weather and being so low to the ground, and most other vehicles on the road are SUVS/trucks, there is always a sight issue, as well as no ground clearance (car would even freeze to the ground overnight if left out of the garage), and the paved roads in our local city have plenty of pot holes! I was due for a new vehicle as my warranty was coming to an end and then all hell broke loose for VW emissions and I have been caught in the middle since).

With respect to my shopping, yes, I have read that the uconnect system in the Jeep is top notch like you say and I believe in 2017 there are even upgrading it once again (apple car play etc).... one thing the new Jeeps won't have until they upgrade the model (pushed back to year 2019? I believe is the 360 camera views that the current 2016 GLE MB already has).

Given that no 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees are locally available yet (only started production in late December/early January for a very short production year (2017s start production July), I haven't been able to test drive a 2016 Jeep but I did test drive a used 2015 ecodiesel Overland and a new 2016 MB GLE 350d.... I can definitely hear the difference in noise level between the two (although the Summit model supposedly has a noise cancelling system over the Overland model).... the MB was quiet as a mouse and more refined ride.

Really nice of your dealer to give good service and have a car waiting for you... I guess they treat good customers very well... not sure our local dealer would give access to a car... I would have to ask about that given that although I do currently live within 6 miles of the dealership, there is a good possibility that after I may move about an hour away in the next couple of years or so....

thanks again for your thoughts.... very much appreciated given that it is a major purchase and takes some time to decide what is best for me...

 

I too am cross-shopping a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with the EcoDiesel (from Italian firm VM Motori), and the Benz GLE 350d with Premium Pkg. I'm still debating whether I should spring for the Sport and Exclusive packages, it's just that it starts adding up to some serious coin.

The Jeep scores points with its appearance, capability, rear cargo, infotainment, and value pricing.
The Benz scores points on refinement, comfort, cameras, safety and "prestige".

The funny thing is both vehicles were co-developed at the same time under Daimler-Chrysler.
I prefer the Jeep, my wife the Benz (go figure).

 

Now that I have had some time to shop both...I actually prefer the Jeep as well... I think I am going to order a Summit ecodiesel soon....

 

I would look into resale value and see which one depreciates less. This is a big purchase and it would be nice to have the one that retains the most value.

 

I'm looking to lease so it is slightly less of an issue. Perceived resale (or buyback value) does influence the lease payment, but considering how fast both vehicles depreciate, it is pretty much equal. M-Bs tank in value because it is a luxury german brand and repairs are costly, and Jeep drops in value due to it being a Chrysler product (only Wranglers seem to defy that though).

The other thing is, if I was purchasing, I wouldn't worry about resale value pretty much the same way I didn't keep my first girlfriend a virgin in the hopes she would be more desirable for her next boyfriend.

 

Jeep and MB do not belong in the same sentence.

 

Insane buying the Jeep Ecodiesel ... did I miss something - I "hope" you have driven the GLE - and if you have driven the GLE - please outline for the group exactly what's not to love in the GLE ?

 

Remember Daimler-Chrysler? Well, the current GLE and Grand Cherokee are both derived from the same platform dating back to that era. The Jeep will have a new platform in 2018 or 2019. I imagine the same for the Benz. Obviously they will both differ significantly at that point.

Update to my predicament, Jeep now offers leasing again in Québec at 0% for 36 months, so this makes it more interesting for me.

I did drive both and I enjoyed both. The Jeep has its diesel built by Italian supplier VM Motori, and they've been around for a long time. The idle is a bit more noticeable in the Jeep compared to the Benz, but it isn't an issue for me. The Grand Cherokee's Quadra-Lift air suspension works well, but I found it softer than the GLE's Airmatic. The Benz is comfier, but the Artico artificial cow hide is not as nice as the leather in the Jeep. COMAND is harder to navigate than uConnect to find and change settings. The trunk space is also bigger in the Jeep.

Don't get me wrong, both vehicles are great, but I find the Jeep is more capable, and better value. The Benz has a better dealer experience, I'm told. I still have a couple months left before I pull the trigger on either one.