Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe (2015 – 2019) Review

The Mercedes GLE Coupe’s purpose was clear from the outset – it looked to take on and beat the BMW X6. As the name suggests, it has a sloping rear roof, which helps the appearance, if not rear headroom. However, it is decent to drive and the AMG models are entertainingly rapid. Read on for our full Mercedes GLE Coupe review.

If you want a big SUV but without the boxy looks, the Mercedes GLE Coupe could be the answer

With its swoopy profile, it certainly stands out. This is no shy and retiring wallflower 4x4. Instead it’s a bold and aggressive car, with bulging wheelarches and huge alloy wheels.

As with the BMW X6, it’s not a car that’s universally popular. Don't expect to be let out of many junctions into traffic. That said, it does stand out, so if you want to make a statement, this makes a fine used buy.

Under the metal, this Mercedes GLE Coupe is based on the Mercedes ML – which itself was revised and renamed the Mercedes GLE. The old Mercedes ML was hardly renowned for its handling prowess, but the Mercedes GLE Coupe delivers improvements in this area.

That said, it never feels particularly agile. This is a big car at close to five metres long and, although it handles well in corners, you’re always aware of its sheer bulk. Performance is strong, though, and the mainstay of the range is the 350d, which has huge reserves of torque, with 620Nm on tap.

The interior is impressive, with the premium feel we’ve come to expect from a modern Mercedes. The sloping roofline does mean rear headroom is a bit compromised, but only taller passengers will really notice. 

If you’re in the market for an alternative to the BMW X6, then the Mercedes GLE Coupe tickes the box, with its aggressive flair and grace. However, a Range Rover Sport is more practical and a Porsche Cayenne is just better to drive.

Fancy a new Mercedes GLE? Read our review here.

Despite its swoopy profile, the Mercedes GLE Coupe is still an SUV with a spacious cabin that has enough room for five adults.

The rear is slightly compromised by the sloping roof, but that’s only really an issue for six-footers – and how often do you have adult passengers in the back? If you carry them regularly, a Range Rover Sport is a better bet.

The driving position is excellent, with lots of adjustment in the steering column and seat, so you’ll get comfortable whatever your size.

The 650-litre boot is only around 40 litres less than on a standard Mercedes GLE, and the rear seats fold down to create a big load area.

However, the standard boot is deep enough for everyday use, although the sheer height of the Mercedes GLE Coupe means it can be hard to lift heavy items, like pushchairs, into it.

Only some of the rather dated stereo buttons and and air-conditioning controls let the Mercedes GLE Coupe down and are at odds with the rest of the modern interior.

Otherwise, it’s an appealing, well finished cabin.

The high-quality interior has a solid feel to it and is dominated by a high-mounted eight-inch colour screen that’s controlled via a hefty metal-rimmed dial on the centre console.

The infotainment system isn’t the most modern-looking, but it’s fairly intuitive and the navigation is quick to route.

Around £25,000 is starting money for the Mercedes GLE Coupe 350d, for an eight-year-old car with 75,000 miles on the clock.

Look for something newer and with fewer miles, and you’ll pay up to £35,000 for a six-year-old example that has covered 40,000 miles.

Turn your attention to the AMG versions, and a Mercedes GLE Coupe 43 AMG with 35,000 miles that is six years old will require a spend of around £39,000.

The firebreathing Mercedes GLE Coupe 63 AMG is going to cost from £45,000 for a car of similar age and mileage.

When it comes to fuel economy, the 350d is the only relatively sensible choice in the range, as it claimed 39.2mpg officially. However, you can expect to see around 12mpg less than that, according to our Real MPG data.

As for the AMG models, the Mercedes GLE Coupe 43 AMG gives a real-world 28mpg, but the Mercedes GLE Coupe 63 AMG sees only 16mpg in normal driving.

The AMG models are also heavy carbon dioxide emitters, recording 215g/km and 278g/km respectively. That means road tax of £190 for cars put on the road after 1 April 2017.

Cars registered before that date will pay a much more substantial £415 for the Mercedes GLE Coupe 43 AMG and £735 for the Mercedes GLE Coupe 63 AMG every year.

In comparison, the 350d model’s £385 yearly road tax bills seems paltry.

Servicing will be cheapest for the diesel, too, while it will cost a good deal more to keep the tyres and brakes in order on AMG models.

The AMG models will cost you plenty when it comes to insurance, too, as they sit in groups 48 to 50 (out of 50). The 350d resides a little lower down the scale in groups 45 to 46.

Given the Mercedes GLE Coupe is based on the old Mercedes ML, you’d be forgiven for having concerns over the handling.

But it received a complete overhaul, including – crucially – a new steering system. As a result, it’s a completely different animal and far more confidence-inspiring in corners.

The steering is nicely weighted and responsive for a big car, yet the Mercedes GLE Coupe rarely feels nimble.

It’s an SUV that’s great for covering big motorway miles, but is far from ideal for negotiating country lanes. It does actually corner well, but you never forget that this is a car that’s two metres wide and weighs 2.2 tonnes. 

The upside is that it rides particularly impressively, even when fitted with the 21-inch standard alloys. That’s down to the self-levelling air-suspension and active damping, which comes as standard.

It means the Mercedes GLE Coupe is quiet over bumps, and deals well with poorly surfaced roads.

The Mercedes GLE Coupe makes most sense with the 350d diesel engine.

Despite the name, it actually uses a 3.0-litre V6 unit, which is turbocharged to provide 258PS. It may be the entry-level model in the range, but it offers more than enough performance, helped in no small part by the mammoth 620Nm of torque which is available from just 1600rpm.

This means it pulls like a train and you’ll never be left wanting for pace.

It’s not quite as quick as the 35d engine in the BMW X6, with the Mercedes GLE Coupe taking 7.0 seconds to get from 0-62mph compared to 6.7 seconds for the former. But in everyday driving, it feels just as potent.

The Mercedes GLE Coupe benefits from the company’s superb nine-speed automatic gearbox. It may seem overly complex to have so many ratios, but the 9G-TRONIC box delivers seamless shifts, and kicks down quickly to make overtaking effortless.

Add in four-wheel drive and traction is impressive given all the torque available, even in the wet.

Aside from the diesel, there’s also an AMG model, powered by a 3.0-litre V6 petrol with 367PS, while the outright performance variant is the mammoth AMG 63 S which has a 5.5-litre V8 engine producing 585PS and delivering a 0-62mph time of just 4.2 seconds.

Like the Mercedes GLE it shares so much with, the Mercedes GLE Coupe comes with seven airbags as standard. It also has ABS brakes, ESP traction and stability control, as well as automatic emergency braking.

Other safety kit includes a pop-up bonnet to help protect pedestrians, a tyre pressure monitoring system, Attention Assist fatigue warning, blind spot assist, Crosswind Assist and Curve Dynamic Assist to help keep the car on course through bends.

Mercedes also provides Isofix rear child seat mounts for the two outer rear chairs.

It may be a fairly glamorous high-performance SUV, but the Mercedes GLE Coupe can still haul a braked trailer of up to 3500kg, which puts it on a par with a Land Rover Discovery.

With an unbraked trailer, you can pull a maximum of 750kg.

The Mercedes GLE Coupe AMG gets 21-inch alloy wheels, AMG body styling, a nine-speed automatic gearbox, blind spot assist, crosswind assist, AirMatic air suspension with sport and comfort driving modes, and self-levelling functions.

There is also keyless go, a powered tailgate, reversing camera, LED daytime running lights and headlights, ambient lighting, leather sports seats, leather steering wheel with multifunction controls, climate control, an eight-inch TFT display with navigation, DAB and touchpad, rear privacy glass, Bluetooth, auto lights and wipers plus traffic sign recognition.

The Mercedes GLE Coupe Designo Line version adds a panoramic electric sunroof, active park assist with 360-degree camera, illuminated running boards, Harman Kardon surround sound, front seats with heating, cooling and massage function, heated rear seats, leather upholstery and temperature-controlled cup holders.