Hi All, I just returned my 2014 ML350 Bluetec and got into another lease with a GLE. I liked the 3.0 Diesel but seeing as it is no longer available in the US I decided to go with a gas engined vehicle. That and my long time service adviser said that the new 4 cylinder diesel is garbage....they seem to have a lot of CEL and oil leak issues according to what he has seen.

I was really looking forward to driving the GLE400 with the new V6 Biturbo. On paper it seems like it would make for a much livelier drive than the GLE350 with just under 100 ft.lb more torque and roughly 30hp more. I test drove both of them and was somewhat unimpressed with the GLE400. Either that or I was just pleasantly surprised by the GLE350. I found the GLE400 to be a little laggy upon accelerating from a stop, kind of like my Bluetec was. The GLE350 seemed to have instant off the line torque, and i'm not talking about flooring it or anything, it was just way more responsive. I drove both for a little over 5 miles each with a mix of around town and highway, so definitely not long enough to make a proper assessment. But on those short test drives, the GLE350 felt so much more responsive and equally quick in regular driving. Even under full acceleration it didn't *feel* as though there was a huge difference. In fact, the way the power is delivered in the 350 made it almost feel quicker.

Now, i'm sure the extra torque will make a difference in highway overtaking with the 400 as it doesn't need to be brought into high rpm's to get going so it will be more effortless. But after driving both, albeit for a very short amount of time, I was left unimpressed with the 400 which i was very much looking forward owning....or so i thought. It just seemed that for ML550 pricing the GLE400 is a bit of a let down. Again, I preferred GLE350 even without considering the $ savings.

Am I missing something or was there something up with the test vehicle? For those of you that have driven or spent time in both models, what are your thoughts?

 

I went with the 350 gas over the 400. The engine has been around forever so the issues and or maintenance would be well known. It's also likely to have less issues long term not having to deal with turbo parts. On the plus side for the 350 there is also no ECO start stop button and if you lease the money factor is supported better (cheaper).

 

I have a 400 and quite frankly, I am not too impressed with that motor either. The extra torque does help on the fwy but off the line isn't too impressive as you have stated. They really should have dropped the 400 and made it GLE450 and have the same specs as the coupe.

 

Renntech the puppy, become a predator..

http://www.renntechmercedes.com/inde...e400-bt-detail

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I realize that the 350 motor is known to be reliable, but I'm leasing so that my maintenance is included and the vehicle will be under warranty.

It seems the more I read, the more I notice all the hype over the GLE400. In fact, I'm starting to get little buyers remorse and I haven't even taken delivery of my new GLE350! I was pretty specific on the options I wanted and one had was sourced from a dealer in UT and is heading to my dealer in the SF Bay Area. I was about to exceed my allowed miles on my previous lease even though it was due to end in October. My sales guy waived my last 5 payments but I had to make a decision on the day in order to avoid being charged my premium for an additional month. So we did the paper work, and I turned in my old ML and they gave me a loaner until the GLE arrives.

I keep thinking back to the test drive and remember how the 350 felt in responsiveness....my biggest complaint with the 350 Bluetec was the lag it had when I was trying to make a quick turn into traffic from a stop or switch lanes in stop and go traffic. However, I did love the easy overtaking grunt when cruising on the freeway. I feel like I should have driven the 400 a little longer now...I'm going to have live with this vehicle for the next 3 years so I hope i haven't made a mistake.

 

haha...buddy of mine sent that link to me on day 1 when I picked up the GLE...I will definitely give it more thoughts

 

I have the 400 and I do agree that there is a bit of a lag when first accelerating but it is "livelier" than my wifes E350.. I have also noticed that in the hot southern heat days, the motor seems to be a bit under powered. When it is really hot out and the air is running, the rpm's are up a lot higher. Therefore when I'm breaking to a stop or sitting still at a stop, it takes more brake to stop and hold the car. I've noticed the rpm's up around 900 and even the "torque screen" in the engine data area is raised. The E350 does not do this.
But the main reason I went with the 400 over the 350 was by the time I added all the options I wanted to a 350, I was VERY close to a comparably equipped 400. So why not get the more HP motor! Either way, the 350 or 400 is a great car.

 

This is one of the reasons that I like leasing. You're not tied to the vehicle long term. You get to give it back. I now have a GLE350 and still miss my old ML350 BTC. I can't wait to go back to a diesel and take comfort in having the gas engine only short term. Fingers crossed MBUSA brings back the 6 cylinder diesel.

 

i got the 400 for the exact same reason as you, although I really thought MB should have put the 9G and the motor from the coupe in our 400.

 

And I still don't understand why our neighbor in the north gets it as well as the rest of the world except us..shame on MBUSA.

 

I have the same thoughts as you with regard to leasing. I was overthinking things the other day when I was stressing that I had made a mistake. I took delivery yesterday and have put about 100 miles on it so far and honestly, the 350 has a great little motor. I miss the torque of the bluetec and I don't doubt that the the 400 has better freeway (and all around) performance but GLE is an SUV after all. On the plus side, I saved about ~$7-$8k on the MSRP and got more options. Its pretty much fully loaded except for the ventilated seats and full panoramic roof. Ive been putting the seat massager to full use so far

Anyway, here she is....





I got a kick out of the Benz logo projected from the mirror puddle lights

 

that's a beautiful car. Is that metallic steel grey?

 

Looks like Tenorite to me.

 

Thank you. I'm very happy with it. It is steel grey. For some reason the color is not listed online but my sales person was able to search nationwide inventory and there are quite a few out there.

 

Even I liked this color. I am debating of polar white, palladium silver and metallic steel grey. So if we can't find the car in the dealer's inventory, can they get it from nationwide inventory? I sent a PM to you. Can you give me those details if you don't mind.

 

I just sent you a PM. But yes, your sales person can search nationwide inventory and narrow down vehicles based on your specifics such as color and option packages. Some dealers have vehicles that are marked not to be traded to other dealers as they are often special orders by a customer. The majority of the inventory on the ML350's and ML400's seemed to be dealer spec cars that most are willing to trade out to other dealerships. Depends on the car and the dealership that has it.

 

Thanks for the details