Mercedes-Benz kickstarted 2020 with the launch of the GLE SUV. Today, it has added two more variants to the GLE. The petrol-powered Mercedes-Benz GLE 450, priced at Rs 88.80 lakh and the diesel-powered GLE 400d priced at Rs 89.90 lakh. All prices are ex-showroom, India.
The new GLE 450 is a top-spec petrol variant that is powered by a 3.0-litre inline-six cylinder petrol engine producing 362 bhp and 50.98 kgm of peak torque. An additional 21 bhp and 25.49 kgm of torque is available on-demand, thanks to Mercedes’ 48V mild-hybrid EQ boost system. This gives the GLE 450 a 0-100 kph sprint time of 5.7 seconds. The GLE 400d on the other hand makes 325 bhp and 71.38 kgm of peak torque from a 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel. This one matches the GLE 450’s 0-100 kph sprint time of 5.7 seconds. Both the engines will send power to all the four-wheels with the help of a 9-speed auto ‘box.
The major difference between the GLE 400d hip-hop edition and these new variants, is that the hip-hop edition was brought in as a CBU, while the GLE 400d and GLE 450 are assembled locally. On the features front, you do miss out on a few key features like the active-body control suspension, heads-up display, Burmester sound system and 9 airbags. That said, the GLE still gets a panoramic sunroof, 360-degree parking camera, 20-inch alloys, blind spot-monitoring and much more.
We do miss the ability to bounce the GLE on command, but with the new prices, the GLE competes much more favourably with its competition.
