New Mercedes GLE will be unveiled in N.Y. after a trip up from Alabama

(March 27, 2015) Mercedes-Benz has thoroughly revised the GLE, its best-seller in the Mid-sized SUV segment. The highlights of the new GLE — the new name for the M-Class — include considerably more appealing front and tail ends and extensive measures which make new benchmarks with regard to emissions and drive system possible.

For the first time in its SUV history, Mercedes-Benz offers a plug-in hybrid model, the GLE550e 4MATIC, which combines maximum efficiency with outstanding performance. This multi-talent will even best the already low fuel consumption figures of the efficiency champion GLE300d with four-cylinder diesel engine, while delivering the performance of a V8 model.

The new GLE will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show after a copy is driven to New York from the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala., under the banner "Guarding the new Mercedes-Benz GLE."



The five-day road trip of some 1,615 miles — which is under way — will provide digital communicators with a first picture of the GLE ahead of the official presentation on April 1. As in the past years, opinion leaders and communicators from the social networks have set off on the five-day trip and will be recording their impressions in texts, images and videos. Anyone interested can follow the road trip under hashtag #mbrt15. The collective blog contributions are available at http://www.mb4.me/mbrt15.

This year's road trip centers on the growing SUV family from Mercedes-Benz. No other premium manufacturer offers such a diverse range from the compact to the luxury class. The international communicators will embark on the trip with the GLE and in various models of the G-Class and of the compact GLA.

Also on the trip will be the brand-new GLE Coupé, which is establishing a new category of vehicle within the Mercedes-Benz SUV family this year. An apt starting point for the road trip is the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa — the traditional production location for SUVs from Merce
des-Benz and the largest such plant worldwide.

Since 2014 the C-Class has also been in production here for the North American market.

For the fourth time, online journalists will be accompanying a new product on its way to its world premiere and reporting live on their impressions and experiences. The first Mercedes-Benz road trip took place in the spring of 2012 to mark the world premiere of the new A-Class, as the result of a joint idea developed by digital opinion leaders and the premium car brand.

The advantages of the new GLE include best on-road and off-road handling, outstanding spaciousness and high levels of active and passive safety. The high-performance SUV models, the Mercedes-AMG GLE63 4MATIC and the GLE63 S 4MATIC, celebrate their world premieres at the same time at the New York International Auto Show.

"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," is how Ola Källenius, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG characterizes the newest member of the Mercedes-Benz SUV family.

Outstanding safety and a high level of driving dynamics both on the road and in terrain are among the other strengths of the premium SUV. Furthermore, the GLE impresses with ground-breaking assistance systems and the innovative DYNAMIC SELECT dynamic handling control system, which offers extensive drive and off-road programs for even the base model.

In addition to the appealing design, the variable driving experience thanks to DYNAMIC SELECT and the assistance systems familiar from the E- and S-Class, the GLE impresses with an extensive engine line-up. Five equally efficient and powerful powertrain options with four, six or eight cylinders are available to choose from.

The special focus:

    The (201-hp) four-cylinder diesel model GLE300d offers superior performance with an all-time low fuel consumption for this class of vehicles. It is the world's first production full-size SUV with conventional drive.

    No less impressive is the first Mercedes-Benz SUV with plug-in hybrid technology. A system output of 436 hp in the GLE550e 4MATIC guarantees brilliant performance. With a power consumption of 16.7 kWh/100 km, the GLE 500 e 4MATIC is the benchmark in this market segment.

The new GLE550e 4MATIC with plug-in hybrid drive combines the power and refinement of a V8 engine with the fuel consumption of a three-liter car and the versatility of a premium SUV. The drive system components comprise a V6 direct-injection gasoline engine with 329 hp and a hybrid module with 114 hp of electric power.

The system peak torque is a massive 479 lbs-ft. In addition to impressive acceleration thanks to the boost function, the innovative system drive also offers all-electric driving at speeds up to 81 mph, optimized energy recovery thanks to the intelligent operating strategy and comfort functions such as pre-entry climate control in summer and winter.

A selector switch on the center console and the instrument cluster offer the driver a choice between four specific operating modes:

    HYBRID: the system controls automatically select the most sensible operating mode with combustion engine and/or electric motor for optimizing the overall energy balance
    E-MODE: all-electric driving
    E-SAVE: this mode preserves the current state of charge of the battery to be able to drive on all-electric power at a later time, for example in urban traffic
    CHARGE: battery is charged while driving and when the vehicle is stationary

The compact hybrid module is fully integrated into the seven-speed 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission. The electrical energy is stored in a lithium-ion battery with an energy content of 8.8 kWh, which can be recharged using public charging stations, the wallbox charger at home or on a conventional 220 volt power outlet. The charging time using the wallbox charger or the charging station is around two hours.