GLE Transmission vs GL Transmission
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Joined: Mar 2016
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2010 GL350
GLE Transmission vs GL Transmission
I have a 2016 GL 350 (BlueTec) and a 2022 GLE 350.
I'm trying to understand why the 2016 GL 350 seems to be a smoother ride than the 2022 GLE 350.
The GL the transmission just seems to flow very, very smoothly whereas the GLE tends to have a little bit of a hitch.
I typically drive the GLE in C or comfort mode.
The GLE has 45k miles and we have it regularly serviced every 10K miles.
The GL just passed 100k miles and we also have that regularly serviced every 10K miles.
What are your thoughts?
I'm trying to understand why the 2016 GL 350 seems to be a smoother ride than the 2022 GLE 350.
The GL the transmission just seems to flow very, very smoothly whereas the GLE tends to have a little bit of a hitch.
I typically drive the GLE in C or comfort mode.
The GLE has 45k miles and we have it regularly serviced every 10K miles.
The GL just passed 100k miles and we also have that regularly serviced every 10K miles.
What are your thoughts?
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 11,617
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
They have different transmissions obviously. Your GLE has a 9-speed and your GL has a 7-speed. They run different software for starters. The 9-speed is also a different approach. It's meant to be more responsive, so it has shorter gearing. The first 6 gears are shorter than all 7 gears in your GL. Shorter gears make for a more direct response and faster acceleration, but it can also increase jerks. Then to get the fuel economy, the 9-speed has three overdrive gears, 7, 8 and 9. In addition, more gears means more shifting. That's especially the case in your GLE 350, because of the small engine. For the 2-liter engine to have any oomph, the turbo needs to spool, so you may have noticed that your transmission has to constantly downshift and upshift to keep the engine in its powerband. The diesel engine in your GL simply has more low end torque, so it doesn't have to downshift as much to get going. Diesel engines are known for their low end torque. IMHO, the combination of the 9-speed with the lack of low end gut of the 2.0l 4-cylinder engine makes for a terrible combination. As said, it constantly has to change gears. I have the 9-speed, albeit a different variant in my C63, but because the V8 has tons of torque it also doesn't have to constantly shift. There's pretty much always enough torque at hand in any gear, but pretty much any MB loaner I've ever driven with the 4-cylinder constantly has to shift. I actually ended up driving many of them in Eco mode. It shifts less and instead sails when coasting. It made for a more pleasant around town driving, or I put it in S if I need it to move. C is just kinda terrible.
Last edited by superswiss; Jun 6, 2026 at 01:11 PM.
