Mercedes has culled the M-Class badge from its lineup, for the first time since it introduced its big SUV way back in 1997. The replacement is the GLE – which follows Mercedes' new model naming rules which says all its 4x4 models must carry the G badge, in honour of the original 1970s G-Wagen.
This new GLE is really a very thorough update of the M-Class though, and you’d have to be something of a Mercedea anorak to spot the differences on the outside. There are new lights and a new grille, new bumpers and a new interior which has a different centre console with a bigger, prouder screen and new dials.
There are more significant changes on the engine front. The old M-Class was one of the first big SUVs to switch to four-cylinder diesel power with the ML250 CDI model. That has now become the GLE 250d and the good news for Irish buyers is that it has trimmed its Co2 emissions to 140g/km, which places this big 4x4 into Band B2 for motor tax.
There is an even lower emissions model now too. Following Volvo's lead with the XC90 T8 Twin engine, the GLE can also be had as GLE 500-e 4MATIC. It uses a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine with 333hp, aided by an electric motor that contributes an additional 116hp. Combined, the system has 650Nm of torque, which should make life interesting at traffic lights. As it's a plugin hybrid, it's capable of travelling for around 30km on just the batteries, and has claimed overall efficiency figures of just 78g/km of Co2 and 85.6mpg.
All versions of the new GLE will get Mercedes’ new nine-speed 9G-TRONIC automatic gearbox (which we tried last year on the updated CLS coupe – it’s nice) which contributes to an improvement in the fuel consumption of the core 3.0-litre V6 diesel GLE 350d model to 44mpg overall.
There's also a range-topping 585hp GLE 63 AMG model, but if you have to ask how high the Co2 emissions are on that one, you probably can't afford to tax it (they're 275g/km by the way).
"State-of-the-art and efficient drive technology, combined with superior ride quality and the versatility and robustness typical for SUVs — the new GLE has all the ingredients to continue the success story of our best-seller," said Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz Cars.
