Next Year, the M-Class Will Become the GLE-Class
 

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Early next year, Mercedes-Benz will lift more than just the face of its third-generation M-Class SUV. It will also lift off the "ML" badge and replace it with one that reads "GLE."

The automaker is going to change the rig's identity as part of an attempt to make its vehicle portfolio a little more understandable to buyers.

Read the rest on the MBWorld homepage.

Makes sense to me but my largest concern is the redesign of the GLK/GLC for 2016. Realise the shape of the current GLA is in response to the Porsche Macan but I hope MB will not greatly change the new GLC from the GLK. Just finished a comparo of similar sized diesel powered vehicles from European manufacturers. The current GLK is slightly smaller & more fuel efficient plus the way MB allows a customer to add options imo is much better than the others. Last but not least is the more boxy shape on the current GLK which is one big reason why we chose the GLK. Please, no jelly bean shape (Lexus RX350 & other Asian manufacturer offerings) please for the GLC!

IMO, there is enough confusion for a non MB person without changing the name of a whole class of SUV. Now there will be the GLK and the GLE and the GLS. Why not GS, GM and GL?

That's small, medium and large.

I own 2 of the 2.1 4 cylinder diesels. Good engines for lighter vehicles. I also own a ML 350 6 cylinder diesel.
There is no way I would purchase or recommend a ML 250.

MY replacement for my ML 350 will be a Porsche, Audi, or BMW diesel.

Name the vehicles anything, but don't put the 2.1 4 cylinder in a 5000 lb vehicle. Stupid.

Its not that bad compared to BMW, they now have 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 series and half of them are offered in sedan, coupe and wagon.

Naming convention is confusing and inconsistent. Now, it is going to become confusing and even more inconsistent. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. I shopped by website photos anyways, and did not pay much attention to the name of the vehicle. Every car company has a confusing naming convention. It just doesn't matter.

well I'm sure by now you've seen the spy shots of the GLC and the boxy shape is definitely gone.
it will be interesting to see what engine offerings there are, BT, v6 and the v8 amg somewhere in the mid 400's for hp.

No 3.5L diesel, the best engine ever put in that car.

There is definitely a push for lower power, lower torque vehicles as a result of law in the USA that punish manufacturers for low fuel efficiency. This is short-sighted, because a larger vehicle that transports more people can be often much more fuel efficient than an army of small vehicles that transport very few people. But it's all about what passes the "sniff test" to political lobbyists (who fly private jets to Washington anyways). I'm more of an admirer of high power, high torque vehicles with a large road presence than the opposite - things with mass that do well in collisions. I've seen way too many tin cans with "favourable crash ratings" cause misery to the people inside them who believed the marketing garbage.

This is definitely LESS confusing, having the SUV models match their corresponding sedan. I believe the GL becomes the GLS...and the G stands alone.

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Even Google likes the GLE

Ah, this is inaccurate, as MB has made it clear that their displacement downsizing is due to EU laws and not USA's weaker standards. The mothballing of normally aspirated v-8's and v-12's from AMG was directly a result of these tougher european regs.

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/anal...-tougher-still

In addition to changing the SUV designations, they are changing the SLK to SLC. Also, dropping the "Bluetec" badge on diesels and "Hybrid" badge on hybrids. What would have been a ML250 Bluetec, will now be badged GLE250d. An E400 Hybrid will become E400h.

So the ML550 will be the GLE550g? Or are they killing the 550? I heard that they are going with a 400 (V6) in USA, but that they are keeping a V8 in the new ML series for Canada that is not an AMG.

You'll have to search around for it, but it was recently announced that there will be NO more non-amg v-8's. (this may be 2016 or 2017?). All v8's and v-12's will be lower displacement and have hp boosted by turbos. smaller displacement for production models is an EU requirement, so maybe making all higher displacement motors "performance shop" motors is a workaround?

The GT is going to come in two v-8 flavors...The GT and the GT-S, the black series will likely be the v-12. I lose interest by the end of the article, but it actually sounds like they'll have two different cylinder bores for the v-8's.
I would be fantastically happy with the 450hp GT as opposed to the 500hp GT-S...I may end up going even lower in hp with something like a porsche cayman GTS for better drive-ability.
driving the 475hp clk63 has convinced me that while I love the exhaust note, and the sliding, and the way the tires grind off, and the acceleration...it's far too blunt an instrument for casual driving.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/in-dept...o-twin-turbos/

So if I have a 2015 ML350, can I order the updated badging? Sounds like the ML changes in 2015

http://www.emercedesbenz.com/autos/m...nward/#gallery

Exactly why I went with the 550 as opposed to the AMG. Still get the rush of power but with better gas milage and I get the "Sleeper" Ute.

I understand MB is being pushed by EPA regs but bolting the 4 banger cdi in the ML over the 3.0 v6 cdi is a BIG mistake

It is difficult to replace true power with smoke and mirror tricks of torque that is supplied by smaller engines. Nothing can really replace the raw power of a V8 engine. Loading 4 people in a "high horsepower" 4 banger quickly reveals the "smoke and mirrors" of this new trend to the romancing of the uninspiring in terms of engine performance.

The only exception is the new Volvo XC90 with the electric assist on the tiny gas engine. Huge horsepower and torque in the vehicle.....can't wait to see if MB one day tries to one up that.

In the mean time, I am hugely impressed by the gas mileage of my ML550. It actually gets better mileage reportedly than the ML400 with the V6!
:zoom:

I'm hugely impressed by all of these armchair journalists who haven't driven an ML250 commenting on it.

Is the GLE a rebadged ML, or an "E"-"GT" using BMW-esk nomenclature?

:word:

Possibly the ML 250 will have pedals inside to help the driver cycle up steep hills.

Correct, There will be two models:

GLE (W166)
GLE Coupe (C292)

Ha! Ha! That's funny! MB finally caved to the insane demands of the inadvertently emasculated tree huggers by making a Fred Flintstone vehicle for them! Likely just to satisfy the USA fleet mpg requirements. Another reason to love being a Canadian! We tend to enjoy the indiscernible droning diatribes of the environmentalist nutbars as they fade into the deep satisfying throaty roar of our V8 engines.....