New Mercedes GLE SUV REVEALED - new engines and new 7-seat option

The new Mercedes GLE SUV will arrive in the UK in early 2019

The 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE has been revealed with an evolutionary design, more room, the option of seven seats and a new range of engines. On sale in the UK early 2019.

It’s turned ‘New Mercedes SUV’ month, with the long-awaited arrival of the Mercedes EQC electric SUV and now this, the new Mercedes GLE. And it’s properly new Mercedes GLE.

Unlike the current GLE – which was just a re-badged Mercedes ML as Mercedes revamped its nomenclature – this is a properly new GLE, and it aims to take the fight not just to its German competition – the Audi Q7 and BMW X5 – but also to the Volvo XC90 and Lexus RX L with a seven-seat option.

The new GLE is still instantly recognisable as such – this is MB evolution – with a back end which looks nothing more than tweaked and a front with an in yer face grille and LED lights.

But this GLE gets an extra 80mm in the wheelbase (3″ or so) and 33mm extra headroom (1.3″) to make travel in the back far more accommodating and comfortable. It also means, for the first time, you can spec a GLE with seven seats.

The 2019 Mercedes GLE gets a typically ‘New’ Mercedes Interior

Inside, the dash is very much new Mercedes, with a pair of 12.3″ screens spanning the instrument and infotainment area, with nice leathers and wood and metal trims to create a typically upmarket Mercedes interior.

Technology abounds with Active Distance Assist Distronic, Active Brake Assist, Active Stop and Go and much more, as well as E-Active Body Control suspension which promises to make the new GLE both more comfortable and nicer to drive, and 4MATIC all-wheel drive which can send all the power to either axle if required.

Mercedes’ Ola Källenius said:

The new GLE is not only more comfortable than ever before on the road, but also shows its superior off-road character off the beaten track. This alone shows our determination to reinforce our claim to leadership in the SUV segment
Significantly more space in the interior, the new control concept, considerably extended and refined assistance systems, the best aerodynamics in the segment, a completely new range of engines and numerous other innovations emphatically underline this

When the new GLE arrives in the UK early in 2019, it will come in only AMG-Line trim ( we Brits like pseudo performance looks) and a single petrol and diesel engine option – the 326bhp GLE 4MATIC with 48v technology, and the Mercedes GLE 300d with a 2.0 litre diesel and nine-speed auto.

But they will be joined by a 350 de diesel plug-in and the 350 d and 400 d six-pot diesels (and a proper AMG version) in due course.