The Mercedes-Benz GLE: A Luxurious SUV with a Range of Options

When it comes to luxurious SUVs, the Mercedes-Benz GLE is definitely one of the top contenders. With its sleek design and advanced features, it's no wonder that many car enthusiasts have fallen in love with this vehicle. But what sets it apart from other SUVs on the market? Let's take a closer look at some of the key features and options available in the Mercedes-Benz GLE.

The GLE is powered by a range of engines, including a three-liter straight six-cylinder that produces 370 horsepower and can accelerate to 60mph in just over five seconds. This engine is paired with a nine-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive as standard, making it perfect for both on-road driving and off-road adventures. The GLE also comes with a range of other features, including a luxurious interior, advanced safety features, and plenty of storage space.

One of the standout features of the Mercedes-Benz GLE is its air suspension system, which provides a smooth ride over speed bumps and potholes. This system is standard on all models apart from the 300d, which instead comes with normal springs and dampers. However, the air suspension system is brilliant, providing excellent comfort and control even at high speeds.

The steering of the GLE is also noteworthy, with a light and responsive feel that makes it easy to maneuver in tight spaces. However, one area where the GLE falls short is in its braking performance. The brakes can be slow to respond, particularly when driven aggressively or uphill. But overall, the turning circle of the GLE is quite impressive, being slightly better than the BMW X5 and Audi Q7.

One of the most practical aspects of the Mercedes-Benz GLE is its blind spot visibility. While it's true that the high seating position can make it difficult to see behind the vehicle, the inclusion of parking assistant systems such as sensors and a reversing camera helps to mitigate this issue. The parking assistant is particularly useful for navigating tight spaces or parking in tight spots.

On the motorway, the GLE is comfortable and refined, with plenty of legroom and storage space for passengers and luggage. However, one drawback is that the four-cylinder diesel engine can be a bit noisy when revved up. This is a minor complaint, however, as the bigger six-cylinder engine is available for those who want more power.

For drivers who enjoy spirited driving, the GLE has a Sport mode that stiffens the suspension and adds weight to the steering. This mode is perfect for tackling twisty roads, where the GLE's four-wheel drive system provides excellent traction and control. The GLE also features advanced safety features, including lane departure warning and automatic emergency braking.

Ultimately, whether or not you should consider the Mercedes-Benz GLE depends on your specific needs and preferences. If you only plan to use seven seats occasionally, there are plenty of other SUVs available that may be more practical for that purpose. But if you want a luxurious and feature-packed SUV with excellent comfort and performance, the GLE is definitely worth considering.

Pricing for the Mercedes-Benz GLE varies depending on the model and trim level chosen. The basic 300d model starts at around $58,000, but those who want to opt for the larger six-cylinder engine or add more features may find themselves pushing closer to $60,000 or more. However, thanks to a configurator tool available on the Mercedes-Benz website, it's possible to compare prices and find deals that can help you save money.

In conclusion, the Mercedes-Benz GLE is a luxurious SUV that offers plenty of comfort, performance, and features for those who want a premium driving experience. Whether you're looking for a family vehicle or a high-performance machine, the GLE has something to offer. By considering its range of options and features, potential buyers can find the perfect SUV to suit their needs and budget.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the new mercedes gle and it's a little bit like an american musical sitcom you don't get it do you gle glee remember glee my intro jokes are getting worse and worse now if you'd like me to stop then just let me know in the comments box below and i will listen to you anyway there is something slightly american about this german suv does feel more american than its key competitors like the bmw x5 and the audi q7 and it's actually priced in between those two as well it starts from just under 56 thousand pounds but you can save an average of over six thousand pounds off a gle through car wow so if you click on the pop out banner up there or follow the link below the video you can get a car way to make sure you're paying a fair price for your new car and see what offers you can get from our trusted dealers let's start this review by talking about the new gles design this car may not be beautiful but it has plenty of presents lots of shiny bits of trims there's a shiny shiny here shiny shiny there shiny shiny there yes it's got lots of jingle jangle jewelry it looks expensive and it also looks massive for instance as standard you get 20-inch alloy wheels and they look kind of small thankfully you can upgrade to 22 inches then there's more jingle jungle shininess along here the roof bars and the running boards and yeah it all looks super tough you know this car had a job it'd be a bouncer at the ritz i like the front of it as well loads and loads of attitude that huge mercedes badge i also like this pin effect grille it's really really cool and there's more shiny bits down here this looks like a car that is owned by someone who's rather wealthy hopefully it's a successful on the inside so the design is quite nice actually i like the fact that you get this stitched fake leather on the dash it feels natural to me i don't know why you need real leather you have it down here as well also this open pore wood trim is really nice it's better than like the shiny glossy trims that you get because they scratch way too easily however i'm a little bit disappointed by these vents the ones in like lower down mercedes like the a-class i like these cool turbine design this is just a little bit more meh there is shiny bits about the place and more shiny here and more shiny here like the outside then it's shiny shiny shiny shiny shiny and some of the stuff you touch feels really expensive like the metal window switches and the door handles and then other bits not so much for instance inside the actual door handle which you will touch some really cheap nasty plastic scratchy down here and look at this rear view mirror i mean it's awful it's like out of some kind of dasher or something and this particular panel it wobbles a bit yet this bit the center console is solid as a rock now you do find a mercedes that they can look really good and parts are great but other parts just don't feel as posh as say in a bmw x5 but generally it is rather nice and the thing that really dominates interior anyway is this look this huge digital display and that brings me onto this car's equipment list but for that we need to go into geek mode as standard the gle gets this huge entertainment screen with inbuilt satellite navigation and a digital driver's display which is just glorious dorso gets the amg line styling body kit which is very aggressive plus high performance headlights with high beam assist there's black nappa leather seats too and the fronts have heated then there's a reversing camera which is very handy and lots of safety kit to prevent you having an accident in the first place such as auto emergency braking on the entry-level 300d version of the gle you can get the seven seat equipment line package for two thousand pounds and it includes four zone climate control instead of the normal two and a third row of seats however this pack does come as standard on all higher levels of jelly being a mercedes there are lots of option packs available such as the premium equipment line for over four thousand pounds which includes a panoramic glass sunroof a wonderful bumistan sound system and a not so wonderful air freshener system then there's a technology plus pack which includes this rather bright and lovely heads-up display and augmented reality for the satellite navigation system that uses a live camera feed from the front of the vehicle and it shows that image on the screen inside the car and superimposes graphic directions over it so you never get lost i absolutely bloody love it finally for 1700 pounds you can get the driving assistance pack which includes an automatic cruise control to give you a safe distance from the car in front and it'll even steer to keep you in lane though you shouldn't drive with your hands off the wheel because that's dangerous look mum no hands way dangerous right that's enough of that far too much information to remember let's continue with the review by critiquing this car's infotainment system the left-hand screen controls all the major infotainment functions and you can operate it using the trackpad and shortcut buttons between the two front seats or you can use the control button on the left side of the steering wheel or voice commands though this method is limited and the system doesn't always understand what you're saying especially if you're a mid-lender like me now you can just press the display itself as it works as a touch screen though this is harder to do while you're driving the screen itself though is super sharp very bright and reasonably responsive though the mapping doesn't scale as quick as most smartphones the menus are however super easy to find and the inbuilt satellite navigation system dead simple to operate while inputting destinations and waypoints is pretty quick you also get live traffic information but it's just not as good as that you get with waze or google maps which can use from your phone if you have the tech pack fitted to the car though apple carplay and android auto don't fill the screen so it looks a little bit odd when you're using it then there's a second screen and the digital dials they're extremely clear and you navigate through them using the controls on the right hand side of the steering wheel you can see everything from the assistant systems to the telephone navigation trip information radio media and service information all on this one screen it's really really good and you can choose between four different display styles i think i prefer the classic one overall i really like mercedes latest infotainment system i think it's very very good it is right up there with the very best right up there believe it or not with bmw's idrive but if you do want to see what the idrive is like in the bmw x5 this car's main rival then click on the pop-up banner to watch my in-depth video review of that car now though we need to talk about the connectivity so underneath here you have two usb c charging points there and very modern and of course you can get wireless charging for your mobile phone then underneath here there's another usbc socket and a little cradle where you can hold your mobile phone and some storage area as well speaking of storage areas the glove box is only okay because some of it's taken up by this air freshener lovely there are a couple of cup holders here you might be thinking well what happens look that's fine for a cup of coffee but that's all a bit loose and yeah that's just gonna fall over don't you worry mercedes have thought about that you just press that button and these little grippers hold it nice and tight and then the door bins are massive huge you can put loads of stuff in those door bins the only thing is is that they're not lined up they are in some cars so things might rattle about a little bit in there and generally like the layout is very very good in this car i like the fact you have a little thing to rest your hand on when you're using the infotainment system that's really nice now some people might confuse that for the gear selector and stop pulling on it then why won't i get it in drive that's because mercedes has the gear selector up here on the steering wheel which is very american but also very sensible because you can just flick from drive parking reverse dead simple when your hands are on the wheel speaking of which driving position very very nice lots of adjustment in the steering wheel but it moves with all the urgency of an oxygenarian very slow and steady and there's lots of adjustment in the seat now i was reaching down there because that's where it is on most cars which is quite fiddly it's actually much better up here much easier to use and get to and you can even alter the headrests electrically and extend the base out as well don't worry you'll still get used to it and yeah even if you're small you can jack it up quite high so you can see over this dash because the dash is relatively high now let's hop out of the car and into the back seat so first of all let's explore the knee room that's a new room explored and it's very very generous now if you need to stretch out if the person in front of you has their seat in the lowest position you can't quite squeeze your feet under their chair but if they raise it up a bit you can in terms of headroom no complaints at all about that this car has a glass roof normally that reduces the headroom but doesn't matter here there's loads of it now as standard the jle is a five-seater but you can get a seven seater upgrade if you do that you get electrical operation of this middle row of seats so you can slide them forwards you can slide them backwards you can make them more upright or less upright and did the headrest basically you can do pretty much what you can with the front seats and it is then super super comfy you also have massive windows a decent window line it's not too high so kids can see out all very nice if you need to carry three people at once in the back completely doable so this middle seat isn't too bad even though it's not an individual chair it's all right there's a bit of a hump in the floor and it's not kind of wide enough to put your feet on the cutaways aren't great either so actually if you've got three in the back at once the foot space isn't the best for this kind of car also the body isn't the widest so it does just see more space to carry three people across the back in one go in an audi q7 it's just a little bit better for that especially as the audi has individual chairs so you get three individual chairs here in the middle right and if you want to see my full in-depth video review of the audi just click it down the pop-up banner you can go watch it most of the time anyway you're going to be having two people in the back here and if you do you can just fold out the armrest and it does have a little bit of storage and some funky little cupholders look at these the way you're operating you fall out pretty cool and the door bins yeah they're a good size totally nailed that you've also got some charging points there for two mobile devices and places to store them though i think that was originally intended to be an asteroid maybe it is in other markets there's also some storage here on the seat backs all very good now when it comes to fitting a child seat access to the rear seats is very good thanks to the wide door openings and you won't need to adjust the front seats in order to get the seat and base behind you get at the icifix anchor points by lifting up some seat covers it's not the easiest system because you have to do that while trying to juggle the seat into place but it's not too bad also if you fit two child seats in the back of the car you will still just about have enough space between them for an adult to sit on short journeys right in one go now show you what it's like in the third row if you specify the two thousand pounds seven seat equipment line which also includes the four zone climate control so to get in the very back it's electrically operating this thing you press that button and the seat will move forward to give you access but it takes forever and ever come on it's done right oh i just hurt my back chopped it on there getting in so first annoying thing is this right i'm in the back i'm kind of happy i want to pull the seat back so once again i'll do it electrically i have to keep my hand on it i think this is for safety reasons so you don't squish your foot doesn't actually go back to where it was the person who then sits here has to decide where they want it by using the controls on the door which i can't now reach actually and if you see there if they leave it like this they're not going to have much legroom so they are going to want to slide it back to similar position that this is in let me just fold this down because yes you can fold this chair down for through loading but it will let me show you what it's like for rear space back here because i have to shuffle over here first of all headroom that ain't great but knee room it's not good but the worst thing is foot space the way the mechanism is for this middle row just means there's no foot room at all i think kids will even find it cramped back here yeah they do have a couple of cup holders there and usb charging points but that's not going to make up for the fact it's not very nice in the back of this car if you want to carry seven people in your suv you need to look at something like a land rover discovery in fact if you click up there on the pop-out banner you can see my full in-depth video review of the driver discovery this seat mechanism actually is a bit of an ass to say the least let's put this back and let me oh let me get out let me get out come on i just want to get out of there now look see it's not moving back into its place i have to do this on the door ah i'm so bored i think i'm just gonna die from it right let's do the boot hopefully this isn't gonna be so stressful but i have my doubts so in seven seater mode you haven't got much space in the boot oh yes and have a nice scuff plate as well so you don't scratch things as you're moving items in and out now i want to show you what it's like in five-seater mode but oh no those seats are too far back right what i have to do is move the bases forward so i can go back round here bear with me people bear with me so yes i'm pressing the button on the door to move it forward just a touch come on move forward and of course i'll do the one over this side as well really imagine trying to do this when you're trying to get away on holiday or something like that and you've got a car full of angry kids hopefully that's forward enough now please go down yes and then you have look a large boot area so the capacity may be less than a volkswagen touareg but it's slightly more than a bmw x5 oh yeah look nice and flat and right if you want to carry really big things then you want to fold down this middle row then you do it electrically yes they have to come back to their position so that they can think about going down come on there we go you're on the five-seater version you don't have any of this faff because the seats just operated on cables you can just pull a cable and it'll just lower it next one moving back down going down then we have this flat load area which is actually quite good i think i'm gonna have a lie down i'm gonna just have a break with all the jellies rear seats folded there's a huge amount of space so enough room for three large boxes 15 small boxes and a further two small suitcases you can also fit a bike inside without having to take a wheel off and the gles large opening and flat floor make it a doddle to get everything inside with the middle row of seats in place there's room for dodge and two small suitcases under the load cover or you'll easily get a set of golf clubs plus a push chair in there all together then if you have the seven seats in place you'll be able to squeeze in a couple of small suitcases in side by side but only just say yeah this car may be impressive in what it can actually carry but messing around with those seats in this seven seater model is an absolute nightmare and that brings me on to five other annoying things about the mercedes gla if you have bottles in the door bin it's a little bit awkward to get at the boot release or the button for the tow hitch these running boards do look pretty cool but they just extend out a little bit too far it means that whenever you're getting it in or out you're always rubbing the backs of your trousers over them and they'll get dirty and so with your trousers and oh my god you have to wash your clothes more often than you planned these are some of the most convincing fake exhausts i have ever seen but they will not fall the car wound stick of truth both me and the stick are thoroughly disgusted by these as well as operating the voice commands by pressing a button you can activate it by saying the car's brand name that does mean that the system just chimes in if ever you mention the word mercedes how can i help you and that happens but then she doesn't do anything you ask and she always interrupts you turn the temperature down will it do it come on can you say that again please it never understands you or does what you ask it's annoying you have to be really sensitive and gentle with the fuel filler cap because if you try to do it too hard it just won't shut every time thankfully this car has plenty of cool features to help make up for all this here's five when you turn up the temperature on the climate control the ambient lighting glows red to signify it's getting warmer when you make it cooler it glows blue in fact this car comes with 64 different colors of ambient lighting and you can mix and match throughout the cabin you can control the passenger seat here from the driver's side so it's handy if someone has left it in an annoying position you can just put it back where you want it good old mercedes you can store the parcel shelf underneath the false floor brilliant brilliant brilliant that's not going to save it from being chucked in the bushes though i'm now having to get the parcel shelf back because it's gone really deep into this thorny bush ah it's got my nipple oh or about the entry-level 300d version of the gle get air suspension and you can raise or lower it by toggling this knob the towing assistance pack includes a pop-out rear tow hitch like this it'll also control the car steering automatically for you when you're trying to reverse the trailer so it's much easier to do than normally okay so now let's talk about engine choices on this gle range kicks off with a 300d which is what this car is and it has a two liter four cylinder diesel with 245 horsepower and it can go from naught to 60 in just over seven seconds then there's a 350d which has a three liter straight six diesel engine with 272 horsepower and could do not to 60 in under seven seconds then there is the same engine but tuned to 330 horsepower in the 400d and that can do not to 60 in just under six seconds but if you want a petrol there's the 450 and that has a three liter straight six as well and that has 370 horsepower and it can do not 60 in about five and a half seconds there will eventually be a four liter twin turbo v8 in the fire breathing amg version of this car but it's not available yet now all gless come with a nine-speed automatic gearbox as standard and of course all-wheel drive so pricing this 300d amg line seven seat would normally be 58 000 pounds but i've just plugged the details into the car wire configurator and i've got an offer back for just over 52 000 pounds so saving of around five and a half grand which is quite useful now if you want to try our configurator just click up there on the pop-out banner or follow the link below the video now it's time to take the gle for a test drive and let's start with what it's like in town all models apart from the 300d get air suspension as standard though bizarrely this 300d is fitted with air suspension and you won't be able to get it with it it'll just be on normal springs and dampers so a bit of an odd one what i can tell you though is that the air suspension is brilliant really good over speed temps really good over potholes i like it a lot same it doesn't come with a 300d now the steering is nice and light one thing i'm not so keen on though are the brakes so you press the pedal nothing really happens and you press a bit more and you're suddenly coming to a hunt can't fault the turning circle though it's not too bad at all for a big suv the turning circle is slightly better than the bend luke x5 and audi q7 one thing that's not quite so good though are the blind spots so yeah you sit up high but you've got a thick pillar there the view at the back isn't brilliant either so can can make it a little bit more tricky to get this big thing into a space thankfully you can of course use the parking assistant systems such as the sensors and the reversing camera i love a reversing camera but looking out that way isn't so good right at least the steering is super light that really really helps and so you can quite easily just move backwards and forwards until you eventually get it right but that wasn't too bad at all it's doable anyway let's see what this thing is like on the motorway as you can imagine this jelly is pretty good over long distances the seats are sort of firm but they support you well which is great and it's generally quiet apart from on some surfaces the tires do make a little bit of a noise this four cylinder two liter diesel engine is okay but let's say you suddenly need to overtake 50 gearbox actually kicked down really nicely this nine speed auto and i'm a 70. now this two liter diesel actually has plenty of pulling power if you ask me the only thing is is that it gets a little bit noisy when you're revving it out i would spend the extra and get the three liter six cylinder it's just smoother and actually in terms of economy you're gonna get about the same so this is doing 30 miles per gallon and i think that bigger engine will too because it's just going to be less stressed although this isn't a car that really makes you the driver feel stressed which is good finally let's try this big suv on a twisty road the first thing i'm going to do is put it into sports mode which stiffens up the air suspension adds a bit of weight to the steering it kind of holds on alright obviously you've got four wheel drive to help accelerate your i have a corn if it's slippy that's good it's not the sharpest thing in the world but you don't expect it from a mercedes suv it's more than adequate though what do you want to do told you it always chimes in just drive shut up can you say that again please shut up go away cancel be gone so there was my final verdict on the mercedes gle should you avoid it should you consider it should you shortlist it or should you just go right ahead and buy it well i reckon you should shortlist the mercedes jeerly now i wouldn't pick it if i want to use seven seats all the time but if you only want them occasionally or use it mainly as a five-seater version it's a really nice luxurious suv do you agree with my verdict let me know in the comments section also please subscribe to this channel for more videos and if you click on the deals box to the right you can see how much you can save on a new car at carl wow or click on the video windows below to watch another of my videosthis is the new mercedes gle and it's a little bit like an american musical sitcom you don't get it do you gle glee remember glee my intro jokes are getting worse and worse now if you'd like me to stop then just let me know in the comments box below and i will listen to you anyway there is something slightly american about this german suv does feel more american than its key competitors like the bmw x5 and the audi q7 and it's actually priced in between those two as well it starts from just under 56 thousand pounds but you can save an average of over six thousand pounds off a gle through car wow so if you click on the pop out banner up there or follow the link below the video you can get a car way to make sure you're paying a fair price for your new car and see what offers you can get from our trusted dealers let's start this review by talking about the new gles design this car may not be beautiful but it has plenty of presents lots of shiny bits of trims there's a shiny shiny here shiny shiny there shiny shiny there yes it's got lots of jingle jangle jewelry it looks expensive and it also looks massive for instance as standard you get 20-inch alloy wheels and they look kind of small thankfully you can upgrade to 22 inches then there's more jingle jungle shininess along here the roof bars and the running boards and yeah it all looks super tough you know this car had a job it'd be a bouncer at the ritz i like the front of it as well loads and loads of attitude that huge mercedes badge i also like this pin effect grille it's really really cool and there's more shiny bits down here this looks like a car that is owned by someone who's rather wealthy hopefully it's a successful on the inside so the design is quite nice actually i like the fact that you get this stitched fake leather on the dash it feels natural to me i don't know why you need real leather you have it down here as well also this open pore wood trim is really nice it's better than like the shiny glossy trims that you get because they scratch way too easily however i'm a little bit disappointed by these vents the ones in like lower down mercedes like the a-class i like these cool turbine design this is just a little bit more meh there is shiny bits about the place and more shiny here and more shiny here like the outside then it's shiny shiny shiny shiny shiny and some of the stuff you touch feels really expensive like the metal window switches and the door handles and then other bits not so much for instance inside the actual door handle which you will touch some really cheap nasty plastic scratchy down here and look at this rear view mirror i mean it's awful it's like out of some kind of dasher or something and this particular panel it wobbles a bit yet this bit the center console is solid as a rock now you do find a mercedes that they can look really good and parts are great but other parts just don't feel as posh as say in a bmw x5 but generally it is rather nice and the thing that really dominates interior anyway is this look this huge digital display and that brings me onto this car's equipment list but for that we need to go into geek mode as standard the gle gets this huge entertainment screen with inbuilt satellite navigation and a digital driver's display which is just glorious dorso gets the amg line styling body kit which is very aggressive plus high performance headlights with high beam assist there's black nappa leather seats too and the fronts have heated then there's a reversing camera which is very handy and lots of safety kit to prevent you having an accident in the first place such as auto emergency braking on the entry-level 300d version of the gle you can get the seven seat equipment line package for two thousand pounds and it includes four zone climate control instead of the normal two and a third row of seats however this pack does come as standard on all higher levels of jelly being a mercedes there are lots of option packs available such as the premium equipment line for over four thousand pounds which includes a panoramic glass sunroof a wonderful bumistan sound system and a not so wonderful air freshener system then there's a technology plus pack which includes this rather bright and lovely heads-up display and augmented reality for the satellite navigation system that uses a live camera feed from the front of the vehicle and it shows that image on the screen inside the car and superimposes graphic directions over it so you never get lost i absolutely bloody love it finally for 1700 pounds you can get the driving assistance pack which includes an automatic cruise control to give you a safe distance from the car in front and it'll even steer to keep you in lane though you shouldn't drive with your hands off the wheel because that's dangerous look mum no hands way dangerous right that's enough of that far too much information to remember let's continue with the review by critiquing this car's infotainment system the left-hand screen controls all the major infotainment functions and you can operate it using the trackpad and shortcut buttons between the two front seats or you can use the control button on the left side of the steering wheel or voice commands though this method is limited and the system doesn't always understand what you're saying especially if you're a mid-lender like me now you can just press the display itself as it works as a touch screen though this is harder to do while you're driving the screen itself though is super sharp very bright and reasonably responsive though the mapping doesn't scale as quick as most smartphones the menus are however super easy to find and the inbuilt satellite navigation system dead simple to operate while inputting destinations and waypoints is pretty quick you also get live traffic information but it's just not as good as that you get with waze or google maps which can use from your phone if you have the tech pack fitted to the car though apple carplay and android auto don't fill the screen so it looks a little bit odd when you're using it then there's a second screen and the digital dials they're extremely clear and you navigate through them using the controls on the right hand side of the steering wheel you can see everything from the assistant systems to the telephone navigation trip information radio media and service information all on this one screen it's really really good and you can choose between four different display styles i think i prefer the classic one overall i really like mercedes latest infotainment system i think it's very very good it is right up there with the very best right up there believe it or not with bmw's idrive but if you do want to see what the idrive is like in the bmw x5 this car's main rival then click on the pop-up banner to watch my in-depth video review of that car now though we need to talk about the connectivity so underneath here you have two usb c charging points there and very modern and of course you can get wireless charging for your mobile phone then underneath here there's another usbc socket and a little cradle where you can hold your mobile phone and some storage area as well speaking of storage areas the glove box is only okay because some of it's taken up by this air freshener lovely there are a couple of cup holders here you might be thinking well what happens look that's fine for a cup of coffee but that's all a bit loose and yeah that's just gonna fall over don't you worry mercedes have thought about that you just press that button and these little grippers hold it nice and tight and then the door bins are massive huge you can put loads of stuff in those door bins the only thing is is that they're not lined up they are in some cars so things might rattle about a little bit in there and generally like the layout is very very good in this car i like the fact you have a little thing to rest your hand on when you're using the infotainment system that's really nice now some people might confuse that for the gear selector and stop pulling on it then why won't i get it in drive that's because mercedes has the gear selector up here on the steering wheel which is very american but also very sensible because you can just flick from drive parking reverse dead simple when your hands are on the wheel speaking of which driving position very very nice lots of adjustment in the steering wheel but it moves with all the urgency of an oxygenarian very slow and steady and there's lots of adjustment in the seat now i was reaching down there because that's where it is on most cars which is quite fiddly it's actually much better up here much easier to use and get to and you can even alter the headrests electrically and extend the base out as well don't worry you'll still get used to it and yeah even if you're small you can jack it up quite high so you can see over this dash because the dash is relatively high now let's hop out of the car and into the back seat so first of all let's explore the knee room that's a new room explored and it's very very generous now if you need to stretch out if the person in front of you has their seat in the lowest position you can't quite squeeze your feet under their chair but if they raise it up a bit you can in terms of headroom no complaints at all about that this car has a glass roof normally that reduces the headroom but doesn't matter here there's loads of it now as standard the jle is a five-seater but you can get a seven seater upgrade if you do that you get electrical operation of this middle row of seats so you can slide them forwards you can slide them backwards you can make them more upright or less upright and did the headrest basically you can do pretty much what you can with the front seats and it is then super super comfy you also have massive windows a decent window line it's not too high so kids can see out all very nice if you need to carry three people at once in the back completely doable so this middle seat isn't too bad even though it's not an individual chair it's all right there's a bit of a hump in the floor and it's not kind of wide enough to put your feet on the cutaways aren't great either so actually if you've got three in the back at once the foot space isn't the best for this kind of car also the body isn't the widest so it does just see more space to carry three people across the back in one go in an audi q7 it's just a little bit better for that especially as the audi has individual chairs so you get three individual chairs here in the middle right and if you want to see my full in-depth video review of the audi just click it down the pop-up banner you can go watch it most of the time anyway you're going to be having two people in the back here and if you do you can just fold out the armrest and it does have a little bit of storage and some funky little cupholders look at these the way you're operating you fall out pretty cool and the door bins yeah they're a good size totally nailed that you've also got some charging points there for two mobile devices and places to store them though i think that was originally intended to be an asteroid maybe it is in other markets there's also some storage here on the seat backs all very good now when it comes to fitting a child seat access to the rear seats is very good thanks to the wide door openings and you won't need to adjust the front seats in order to get the seat and base behind you get at the icifix anchor points by lifting up some seat covers it's not the easiest system because you have to do that while trying to juggle the seat into place but it's not too bad also if you fit two child seats in the back of the car you will still just about have enough space between them for an adult to sit on short journeys right in one go now show you what it's like in the third row if you specify the two thousand pounds seven seat equipment line which also includes the four zone climate control so to get in the very back it's electrically operating this thing you press that button and the seat will move forward to give you access but it takes forever and ever come on it's done right oh i just hurt my back chopped it on there getting in so first annoying thing is this right i'm in the back i'm kind of happy i want to pull the seat back so once again i'll do it electrically i have to keep my hand on it i think this is for safety reasons so you don't squish your foot doesn't actually go back to where it was the person who then sits here has to decide where they want it by using the controls on the door which i can't now reach actually and if you see there if they leave it like this they're not going to have much legroom so they are going to want to slide it back to similar position that this is in let me just fold this down because yes you can fold this chair down for through loading but it will let me show you what it's like for rear space back here because i have to shuffle over here first of all headroom that ain't great but knee room it's not good but the worst thing is foot space the way the mechanism is for this middle row just means there's no foot room at all i think kids will even find it cramped back here yeah they do have a couple of cup holders there and usb charging points but that's not going to make up for the fact it's not very nice in the back of this car if you want to carry seven people in your suv you need to look at something like a land rover discovery in fact if you click up there on the pop-out banner you can see my full in-depth video review of the driver discovery this seat mechanism actually is a bit of an ass to say the least let's put this back and let me oh let me get out let me get out come on i just want to get out of there now look see it's not moving back into its place i have to do this on the door ah i'm so bored i think i'm just gonna die from it right let's do the boot hopefully this isn't gonna be so stressful but i have my doubts so in seven seater mode you haven't got much space in the boot oh yes and have a nice scuff plate as well so you don't scratch things as you're moving items in and out now i want to show you what it's like in five-seater mode but oh no those seats are too far back right what i have to do is move the bases forward so i can go back round here bear with me people bear with me so yes i'm pressing the button on the door to move it forward just a touch come on move forward and of course i'll do the one over this side as well really imagine trying to do this when you're trying to get away on holiday or something like that and you've got a car full of angry kids hopefully that's forward enough now please go down yes and then you have look a large boot area so the capacity may be less than a volkswagen touareg but it's slightly more than a bmw x5 oh yeah look nice and flat and right if you want to carry really big things then you want to fold down this middle row then you do it electrically yes they have to come back to their position so that they can think about going down come on there we go you're on the five-seater version you don't have any of this faff because the seats just operated on cables you can just pull a cable and it'll just lower it next one moving back down going down then we have this flat load area which is actually quite good i think i'm gonna have a lie down i'm gonna just have a break with all the jellies rear seats folded there's a huge amount of space so enough room for three large boxes 15 small boxes and a further two small suitcases you can also fit a bike inside without having to take a wheel off and the gles large opening and flat floor make it a doddle to get everything inside with the middle row of seats in place there's room for dodge and two small suitcases under the load cover or you'll easily get a set of golf clubs plus a push chair in there all together then if you have the seven seats in place you'll be able to squeeze in a couple of small suitcases in side by side but only just say yeah this car may be impressive in what it can actually carry but messing around with those seats in this seven seater model is an absolute nightmare and that brings me on to five other annoying things about the mercedes gla if you have bottles in the door bin it's a little bit awkward to get at the boot release or the button for the tow hitch these running boards do look pretty cool but they just extend out a little bit too far it means that whenever you're getting it in or out you're always rubbing the backs of your trousers over them and they'll get dirty and so with your trousers and oh my god you have to wash your clothes more often than you planned these are some of the most convincing fake exhausts i have ever seen but they will not fall the car wound stick of truth both me and the stick are thoroughly disgusted by these as well as operating the voice commands by pressing a button you can activate it by saying the car's brand name that does mean that the system just chimes in if ever you mention the word mercedes how can i help you and that happens but then she doesn't do anything you ask and she always interrupts you turn the temperature down will it do it come on can you say that again please it never understands you or does what you ask it's annoying you have to be really sensitive and gentle with the fuel filler cap because if you try to do it too hard it just won't shut every time thankfully this car has plenty of cool features to help make up for all this here's five when you turn up the temperature on the climate control the ambient lighting glows red to signify it's getting warmer when you make it cooler it glows blue in fact this car comes with 64 different colors of ambient lighting and you can mix and match throughout the cabin you can control the passenger seat here from the driver's side so it's handy if someone has left it in an annoying position you can just put it back where you want it good old mercedes you can store the parcel shelf underneath the false floor brilliant brilliant brilliant that's not going to save it from being chucked in the bushes though i'm now having to get the parcel shelf back because it's gone really deep into this thorny bush ah it's got my nipple oh or about the entry-level 300d version of the gle get air suspension and you can raise or lower it by toggling this knob the towing assistance pack includes a pop-out rear tow hitch like this it'll also control the car steering automatically for you when you're trying to reverse the trailer so it's much easier to do than normally okay so now let's talk about engine choices on this gle range kicks off with a 300d which is what this car is and it has a two liter four cylinder diesel with 245 horsepower and it can go from naught to 60 in just over seven seconds then there's a 350d which has a three liter straight six diesel engine with 272 horsepower and could do not to 60 in under seven seconds then there is the same engine but tuned to 330 horsepower in the 400d and that can do not to 60 in just under six seconds but if you want a petrol there's the 450 and that has a three liter straight six as well and that has 370 horsepower and it can do not 60 in about five and a half seconds there will eventually be a four liter twin turbo v8 in the fire breathing amg version of this car but it's not available yet now all gless come with a nine-speed automatic gearbox as standard and of course all-wheel drive so pricing this 300d amg line seven seat would normally be 58 000 pounds but i've just plugged the details into the car wire configurator and i've got an offer back for just over 52 000 pounds so saving of around five and a half grand which is quite useful now if you want to try our configurator just click up there on the pop-out banner or follow the link below the video now it's time to take the gle for a test drive and let's start with what it's like in town all models apart from the 300d get air suspension as standard though bizarrely this 300d is fitted with air suspension and you won't be able to get it with it it'll just be on normal springs and dampers so a bit of an odd one what i can tell you though is that the air suspension is brilliant really good over speed temps really good over potholes i like it a lot same it doesn't come with a 300d now the steering is nice and light one thing i'm not so keen on though are the brakes so you press the pedal nothing really happens and you press a bit more and you're suddenly coming to a hunt can't fault the turning circle though it's not too bad at all for a big suv the turning circle is slightly better than the bend luke x5 and audi q7 one thing that's not quite so good though are the blind spots so yeah you sit up high but you've got a thick pillar there the view at the back isn't brilliant either so can can make it a little bit more tricky to get this big thing into a space thankfully you can of course use the parking assistant systems such as the sensors and the reversing camera i love a reversing camera but looking out that way isn't so good right at least the steering is super light that really really helps and so you can quite easily just move backwards and forwards until you eventually get it right but that wasn't too bad at all it's doable anyway let's see what this thing is like on the motorway as you can imagine this jelly is pretty good over long distances the seats are sort of firm but they support you well which is great and it's generally quiet apart from on some surfaces the tires do make a little bit of a noise this four cylinder two liter diesel engine is okay but let's say you suddenly need to overtake 50 gearbox actually kicked down really nicely this nine speed auto and i'm a 70. now this two liter diesel actually has plenty of pulling power if you ask me the only thing is is that it gets a little bit noisy when you're revving it out i would spend the extra and get the three liter six cylinder it's just smoother and actually in terms of economy you're gonna get about the same so this is doing 30 miles per gallon and i think that bigger engine will too because it's just going to be less stressed although this isn't a car that really makes you the driver feel stressed which is good finally let's try this big suv on a twisty road the first thing i'm going to do is put it into sports mode which stiffens up the air suspension adds a bit of weight to the steering it kind of holds on alright obviously you've got four wheel drive to help accelerate your i have a corn if it's slippy that's good it's not the sharpest thing in the world but you don't expect it from a mercedes suv it's more than adequate though what do you want to do told you it always chimes in just drive shut up can you say that again please shut up go away cancel be gone so there was my final verdict on the mercedes gle should you avoid it should you consider it should you shortlist it or should you just go right ahead and buy it well i reckon you should shortlist the mercedes jeerly now i wouldn't pick it if i want to use seven seats all the time but if you only want them occasionally or use it mainly as a five-seater version it's a really nice luxurious suv do you agree with my verdict let me know in the comments section also please subscribe to this channel for more videos and if you click on the deals box to the right you can see how much you can save on a new car at carl wow or click on the video windows below to watch another of my videos\n"