Mercedes GLE Plug-in Hybrid Review

Practicality and boot space

The GLE is Mercedes’ fourth-largest SUV it makes, and if that means nothing to you then we don’t blame you. In simpler terms, it’s a large family SUV and is of similar size to a BMW X5 with plenty of space inside for four people (five at a push) and a very large boot. Back seat passengers have loads of room to stretch out even with tall people in the front, and there are plenty of cubbies to store items. Room is a little tight in the middle seat for adults but for short trips it should be fine, and there’s lots of headroom in the standard GLE – although this comes at a slight premium in the Coupe model thanks to its lower roofline, but it’s not too bad. Mercedes has tucked the battery pack under the boot floor meaning there’s slightly less overall space compared to petrol and diesel GLEs, but it’s a small price to pay. What’s less impressive is the battery pack’s positioning means the plug-in GLE loses the option to have two boot-mounted seats to make it a seven-seat SUV. The Volvo XC90 Recharge has seven seats regardless of whether you choose petrol, diesel or PHEV.

Tech

It’s a Mercedes so there’s plenty of flashy technology as standard, but to make it really special you’re going to have to fork out for the top models. The entry-level AMG Line model comes with everything you’d really need and gets two 12.3-inch screens (one for the dials and the other for the infotainment) which are highly configurable and have a billion different features, ambient lighting with a rather incredible 64 different shades of colour, LED headlights with high beam assist, puddle lights that display the Mercedes three-pointed star logo and wireless phone charging. As you move up the range a whole host of lovely (but not really necessary) features are added including sat-nav with augmented reality, air suspension and a high-end Burmester stereo system.

Safety 

The GLE is one very safe large SUV. It received a full five-star safety rating from independent crash safety testers EuroNCAP with a very high 91% score for adult occupant protection and 90% for child occupant protection. When it comes to protecting vulnerable road users (such as pedestrians) and safety assist systems, the big Benz gets a 78% for each, which is very good. Even the basic AMG Line gets blind spot assist, active brake assist, lane keep assist, traffic sign assist and to make parking that little bit safer there’s active parking assist, which steers the car into spaces. Top spec AMG Line Premium Plus adds adaptive cruise control.  

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