Thomas: This is new all-new Mercedes GLE, the newest generation of Mercedes full-size SUV, built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, together with the GLS that will then also feature the new stuff that this new generation introduces right now. You see, behind me is the designer Gorden Wagener and also the new Daimler CEO beginning of May 2019, Ola Kallenius, and they are also taking a look at their new vehicle but, for you, we’ll exclusively cover the exterior and the interior and what we can expect from driving this very vehicle. Here we can see that the GLE is in the AMG line with the diamond pin grille. That one is my favorite. Is it also yours? Also, the AMG line features more or bigger air intakes here in the lower part in this swing spoiler grille, with a contrast color, definitely a very strong appearance, even stronger than the one before, but you can also see they rather use an evolution of design. You can also see new accentuations on the front hood and the headlamps are also modernised with a new LED daytime running light signature, by the way, with 2 Cs you can say, and this should also represent the E-class because, as you might remember also from the Sedan C-class, it’s just one swing. The E-class has 2, like the GLE, and then the S-class and also then later the GLS will have 3 of those LED daytime running lights swings. So you can always see in which segment you are basically, no matter if SUV or Sedan, and also in the front, we have the sensors right here hidden behind the logo and, well, the inside is 2D but since they put the outside ring in a normal 3D scheme, it still appears three-dimensional, also an interesting solution, and, by the way, those ones here, the optional multi-beam LED, 650 metres of range in the high beam, but also depending on the country, we have recently also heard that depending on regulations in the country, for example, in the US, some of those light systems are also reduced in the range. Well, I think there should be also an effort to harmonize those stuff worldwide. I think that’s always a lot of complication then with each regulation, but surely looks fancy here in the highest trim. 4 meters 92 or 16 foot 1 is the total length of this new generation and that’s about 10 centimeters longer, so just a little bit, and 8 centimetres of that went into the wheelbase. So the wheelbase is a little bit longer so we can expect more interior space. We will find out very soon. This one here, also, in the contrast with a black mirror caps and the black frames in the AMG line with a night package and white exterior color. You can see, at the side, there is just one slight dropping line used. They are rather conservative in the design layout just to add this sporty AMG line in this case then, but the overall layout is not too far away from the previous generation, and they also kept here, in the rear, this split in the C pillar with the rear window, and then the rear window will form one glass unit with the rest rear of the vehicle, and I think it’s very strange. I mean, it’s a big vehicle but, I think, from the other SUVs, also the competitors, recently we’ve shown you the BMW X5, you can check out the full review also linked in the video description, this one here looks small from the outside, or what do you think? Rims are available from 18 to 22 inch. Those ones are here are the biggest ones, AMG 22 inch rims, really massive, and you can see that here, in the AMG line, also the wheel arches are painted in vehicle colour. However, I more prefer the crossover look that you can really see it’s still an SUV just with the black plastic fenders. Which one do you prefer? The rear is indeed the one that has changed most and I think this looks more elegant now with those horizontally drawn tail lamps. Also, a little bit sharp right here in the design. This is GLE 450. Soon we’ll tell you more about the engines, and you can see we do not lose too much room on the inside here. That’s very interesting. In lower part, we got fake exhausts because they are really purely fake. There’s nothing. The real exhaust is just right underneath the vehicle. So, looking at the engine right here, this is the 450 6-cylinder with 367 horsepower output, also with the 48 volt motor. So, it’s a mild hybrid system with a so-called EQ boost. 5.7 seconds to 100 kilometers an hour or 62 miles an hour. Then they also already announced a 350 and that’s in the 4-cylinder with 300 horsepower petrol, and there will later also be a V8 petrol as well as a plug-in hybrid, so, a real plug-in hybrid, not as the mild hybrid here is, but this one will probably be the most, you know, the biggest seller, or maybe also because of the Chinese market, even the small petrol engine, and there will also be 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder diesels. Interesting, and, by the way, with the carbon fiber, it obviously stiffens here the front part and still very light. Now, let’s get inside. See it right here. So, we have leatherette at the inside of the doors, also the classic Mercedes electric controls for the seat, also with memory functions, then the optional Burmester sound system for the 3D surround sound. We can also open the tailgate from right here and also the towing hook, and this really leaves some room for bigger bottles. That’s really cool. So, here it is. New interior, you can see a horizontal layout with those 2 12.3 inch screens already from here, soon also from a rear perspective. Then the steering wheel with those new controls for the Distronic, the adaptive cruise control, and also those touch buttons here for left and right thumb to control the right or the left display. Since you have the Distronic here, the separate column here is also removed. Just have the electric steering wheel control right there and the new seats right there. This is an optional animal skin layout. Don’t have so much information there yet but we are sure will also be article options or full leatherette or also some dynamic options if you want to go for another surface, and also different seat forms available. So, let’s get inside, see how that one plays out, because they actually promise that the A pillar is actually a little bit slimmer, so they have a little bit more room in the front right there, and let’s see. We move the seat a little bit to the front right there and the interior really feels huge. So, again, here, the steering column control, and when I’m sitting, yes, with 1 meters 86 or 6 foot 1, we have the panoramic roof installed, there’s a little bit headroom left. If you want more headroom left, if you’re taller than me, then probably you could also leave out that panoramic roof, but, of course, you have this high upright seating position. However, this front dashboard is quite huge, and due to the sporty design in the front, you can see that the visibility to the front is limited. It’s the same they did with the GLC. So, the GLK before was actually with a better visibility to the front. Here, the same happened. So, I think the visibility to the front has really decreased. That’s one negative aspect about it, but it is surely cleaner in layout and you can always see this hole right there. This is for the head-up display, which is also available, which then projects everything in the front of you. So, you can see the interior overview. Everything is very cleanly organized even with the leatherette cover with a soft touch, really cool, and then that’s 2 12.3 inch screens, and they are indeed standard here and it’s good that they make something standard like this, not that you have, like, again, 3 different screen sizes or something. You can already see, by the way, there’s a proximity sensor for the touchpad, for the lower touchpad, both, and for the screen right here. So, before you actually touch anything, something is highlighted, and there’s another special function we’re going in depth very soon. First of all, let’s continue with the interior overview here. You can also get wood trim, for example, with a matte wood trim, this one here the sporty aluminium style. Here, they do not use the round Mercedes vents. They want to be more rectangular to have a strong design also on the interior. Then the steering wheel you can see here, with the thumb, you can control the right infotainment system, but it is also a touchscreen now. This one is really helpful to have multiple usages and you can also use the lower touchpad, so it’s basically redundant. You can pick how you want to control the infotainment system and that’s, of course, then really helpful to get, you know, the stuff you really like. Very big map here as well, crystal-clear display, I like that, and the smartphone connection will be available with bluetooth but also with the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. So, with the left thumb then here, you can control the left screen right there. You can, for example, also change the styles. Put the steering wheel a little bit more inward. So, for example, understated. It is a very, you know, basic clean setup. Can we see that whole car from…? Yeah. Okay. Great. We can see it. Go back again or like a sporty gauge, like this, has the sporty AMG style, and then you can also have, for example, navigation info just in the middle of your display right there, yeah, when the route is being picked, for example. Well, in this new steering wheel, you set the gears here at the right side and then let us move in the lower part in the middle console. You have 2 panic handles here with ambient light as well. Really interesting, maybe for off-road use. Then, in the front here, well, this glossy black, especially on motor shows, it does collect a lot of fingerprints, you can slide it forward. Interesting opening mechanism they found here, at least metal node right there. Inductive charging pad for a smartphone, 2 USB-C devices, 12 volt power supply, and adaptive cup holders and, yes, they can again be cooled or heated very nice. The climate control is still manual, also thought about a nice clicking sound, also the vent strength, for example. It’s good to have it’s still manual that you can, for example, do it while driving in an easy way. This touchpad here, again, is another possibility. You can also zoom in and out, like, with this pinch gesture, and then you can also activate the camera system from here. Other buttons right here, for example, for the suspension since you can get different suspension. You have a standard suspension, you have an air suspension where you can lift the car up and down which we have here, and then there’s a completely new suspension I will soon tell you more about. Finally, we can open this middle part. We have USB-C support. Maybe the second one wouldn’t be bad there either. Then again, good build quality everywhere where we can see it. This new MBUX system, by the way, also features introduced with the A class with the new voice control. Hey, Mercedes. Set temperature to 22 degrees. Car: Temperature is 22 degrees. Thomas: Navigate to the next Mercedes dealer. Car: No results were found. What can I do for you? Navigate to Stade de France. Car: Please say the destination. Thomas: Paris, Stade de France. Car: Can you say that again please? Thomas: Doesn’t know that stadium. Let’s say Saint Denis. Car: You can enter a destination by saying an address, a point of interest or the name of a contact. Car: Additionally, you can navigate to one of your saved addresses. What is your destination? Thomas: Berlin. Car: I am starting route guidance to Platz des 18. März, Berlin. Thomas: Okay. Yeah. You know, it’s a good system for setting the temperature and quite often it also works for the navigation, but you see maybe not always for all destinations. Let’s see where that’s set now. We’re in Paris of course. Well, that takes some time to process now. It might have also to do with the GPS connection. Yeah. Here we go. Here we go. Come on. Come on. Come on. So, passing Cologne and, yeah. Actually, the car wants to drive to Berlin but not to the Stade de France, the stadium here in Paris, and, for a special function, we are also joined by the product developer here of the infotainment system, Volker Entenmann, because there is also new feature which can differentiate with the camera between driver and co-driver. How does it work? Volker: Yeah. We call it the system interior assistant and interior system with a camera which is installed in the roof of the car and the system can distinguish between driver and co-driver operation. So, you see here, as soon as I approach the screen, I get a highlight of the icons, and when I activate comfort, you see that my seat, the passenger seat, is now automatically highlighted, and if you do the same from your perspective, then you get a highlight of the driver seat. So, it supports and selects… Thomas: Maybe you select again that we can… Volker: Yeah, and we can also demonstrate that it works with the touchpad. So, when I have my hand close to the touchpad, also here, it is recognized that it’s me, and when you do the same, then it’s you again. So, this is a one key feature this passenger versus driver distinction, and even more, we also have a favorite function. So, you have here your favorites and you see here this V-Pose and you can assign different functions for the driver, so now you have activated the ambient light. When I’m doing the very same pose [gesture], I can directly access the seat menu. So, this is very flexible. You can actually assign any function, a vehicle function or a telephone number to directly start a call or a navigation destination to directly start a navigation. So, this is a core feature, and, beyond, we have light functions which unfortunately cannot be demonstrated here because they only work when it’s dark outside, but you can do a vertical up and down underneath the mirror to activate your reading light, again, based on passenger versus driver distinction, and when the seat is not occupied and you reach out for this seat or reach out for the glovebox at night, you automatically get a searchlight here on this side. Thomas: So, you can truly have some interesting games then, driver versus co-driver, to fight for the functions of this infotainment system. Thank you so much. Volker: You’re welcome. Thomas: So, the panoramic roof is really large, extremely large. Here, we can see how we can open it, and, wow, the mechanism is super smooth. So, it doesn’t open too wide in the length but it’s actually, here in the width, is very wide, really interesting, and there’s also, of course, if you live in the hotter climate and still want to have it, there’s a shade available that comes right there, a black shade. Still, it will be hotter than if you just pick the plain roof, that’s for sure. It really takes ages because it’s going all over the vehicle. So, let’s get in the rear, and the interesting thing is here you can now move this, the rear bench, 10 centimeter forward, there we go, or backward, and the overall increase of legroom, if you compare it to the previous generation, increase of 7 centimeters in length, and when I sit here, this is massive, wow, and if you compare that to the BMW X5, this is a massive advantage here in this case for the GLE. You can also, let’s see, control the back part here and even the headrest electronically. Interesting. So, we can more be in this lying back position or a little bit more upright. The only thing I feel which could not be is that good on the long term run, well, the bench, you see, it leans a little bit backward. So, that’s not that good for the lower pelvis and, on the other hand, it increases the headroom a little bit. So, I still have some headroom – again, 1 meters 86 or 6 foot 1 – but with the panoramic roof, it always reduce the headroom a little bit. So, would be probably a little bit better without it. So, yeah, I think that the rear seating comfort in the X5 was a little bit better, but the legroom here, that one, is definitely better with a GLE. Well, why can’t we have it both? I don’t know, and ISOFIX on the outside of the seats. Then we have here some storage room, also cupholders can flip out. There is, of course, a middle tunnel since this one is all-wheel drive. A standard setup is 50/50 but also with a variable all-wheel drive, but the torque and…, you know, more front, more back. You can put your feet here but looks a little bit awkward. You can sit here, theoretically, as an adult. Headroom-wise, yes, but the rear here with the, you know, the armrest is a little bit hard, and you also have a separate climate control here for the rear, USB-C slot, and a 230 volt socket maybe for recharging your laptop. Well, and then even more interesting is also that you can also flip those seats electronically. Here we go. This is, for example, when I do it from here, and then they raise up because there will also be a 7-seater version available. It’s not with this very vehicle, but if you have the 7-seater, this would be the way you enter the third seating row. Of course this will only be used, you know, for smaller people or children. I hope they think about ISOFIX in the rear then for the sixth and seventh seat. Then it would make sense. Other than that, the real 7-seater car will, of course, be the GLS which will be basically a longer new GLE then. Then, you will also be able to better use the third seating row. So, now, the trunk area. 825 until 2055, the liter capacity. You can see very well usable also in the width. Check here. This is pretty interesting because you can store the floor cover here. That’s nicely done. You can optionally also fit the replacement tire, and here, for example, is also available that you can split the trunk here, for example, if you have a dog, also this is also possible, but, again, you can also remove it. Then we can also flip the seats from here. Let’s go, yeah, forward like this and then you have the electric seating fold. Pretty handy that comes, of course, and then you have a fold flat area of the whole trunk. Really nice, and the good thing is you can even raise them again just here from the rear. By the way, just read here. Let’s see. This one here is to fold out the electric towing hook. Really cool. So, the useful feature where you can also hide it again there and not that you have an additional length, all the way standard. There it is and gone again, and let’s close the hatch, electric hatch right here. See the safety. Yeah. That’s way to go. That’s how it’s done. So, Mercedes can really do that very well. It always closes and opens, but, at the same time, it is so safe that it won’t hurt anyone. And I wanted to talk to you about the suspension next to the base suspension and the air suspension. There’s the new e-active body control and, by that, they can control each single damper on every wheel, and so they can, for example, also make an end tire tilt control that the car stays upright, even leans inside the corner. This isn’t further development of existing suspensions they had, but this one here, completely new, especially for a good use when you combine it. Then it’s said also be combinable with the air suspension and also with the off-road package. This car will feature an off-road package, even an off-road gear reduction and a rear differential lock, and if you then, also, combine it with the e-active body control, there will be a function that when you’re, for example, stuck off-road or, like in the sand, the car can basically whip out the sand, you know, like, go up and down a little bit, like those, you know, special hydraulic cars that can go up and down. Pretty interesting. So, totally new possibilities they give with this new suspension, and also let’s talk about assistance systems because the Distronic Plus is now also available with new traffic jam assistance that will go on to 60 kilometers an hour so that you can basically relax then, also a partly autonomous function, and there’s also the new function that when the car sees a traffic jam ahead, you cannot only see it, you know, you cannot see it visual yet but maybe the map data and the traffic live information tell you, the car is automatically reduced to 100 kilometers or 60 miles an hour. Yeah. That’s something for the German motorway if people drive 180 or something, but it’s definitely a very clever feature. Now to our conclusion for today with the all-new Mercedes GLE. Well, design-wise, I have to say it is one of my favorites among the full-size SUV. What about you? Tell me your comments about that. The AMG line here, of course, sporty. I think I would more prefer it in a rather elegant way with chrome around the windows and also the plastic wheel arch just to make it really off-roadish. Mercedes also claims to have still a real off-roader with a off-road gear reduction, for example, and also this new e-active body control is supposed to add more off-road feature that you can basically never get stuck anywhere. Well, of course you need the right tires for that too. On the interior, we see the new digitalization with those widescreen setup. Pretty clean and impressive, the looks, for sure, and also still, you know, with a manual temperature control, I like that because we’ve seen that the MBUX voice activation is among the best in the market at the moment, but still not everything is realized in every language. It’s also a very complicated process. Also, the interior processing quality, the build quality, on a very high level. With the rear bench, that is moveable, adds more flexibility, large trunk, and a lot of legroom on the rear seats. That’s special for this vehicle, however, I was not that satisfied that the rear bench was falling backwards basically. Then, they go also the 7-seater function that will be available and the GLS, well, basically, we expect the very same car, just a little bit longer, and with a real usable third seating row that you can also have adults on the third seating row than in the GLS. So far, there’s the all-new GLE and, of course, we’re looking forward to driving it, especially with this new suspension. Let’s see more about that on a later stage, and looking forward to your feedback here on Autogefuhl.
