Mercedes GLE Coupe Review & Prices

Owning the Mercedes GLE Coupe is a bit like owning a fountain pen. There are cheaper and more practical pens available, but you’re happy to go for the one that helps you stand out from the crowd, even if it’s more awkward and costs more

That said, the coupe SUV contingent is becoming quite a crowd itself these days – the GLE Coupe has the Audi Q8, BMW X6 and Porsche Cayenne Coupe to try and tempt buyers away from. 

You wouldn’t confuse it for these alternatives, mind. The front is similar to the standard GLE with its distinct grille with horizontal slats and large Mercedes badge, but the Coupe’s thinner headlights, swooping roofline, wider stance and shorter length between its wheels set it apart. 

Inside, things haven’t changed as much, although the GLE’s interior is lovely to look at regardless. You’re faced by a huge wall of glass housing two screens, while ambient lighting and lashings of leather surfaces and chrome trim helps create a classy look and feel, even if a Q8’s dashboard feels slightly sturdier. 

Mercedes’ infotainment system is visually stunning and easy to navigate via touch, voice or using a touchpad and menu shortcut buttons between the front seats. Adding a destination on the sat-nav is simple, and so too is adding waypoints, although you’ll ultimately prefer using the navigation apps on your smartphone via the GLE Coupe’s standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The driver gets a hugely adjustable driving position and two tall adults in the front seats won’t have any complaints about space. In the back, there’s very good knee room for a couple more adults, although those over six-foot will find their head brushing the ceiling – the price you pay for those sleeker looks over the standard GLE. The Coupe’s boot, though, is slightly larger, although also shallower in shape, so less practical with it.  

The GLE Coupe is large car and feels it in town, especially given its sloping rear roofline and thick rear pillars can get in the way when parking. Still, its steering is light at low speeds and a host of sensors and cameras bring confidence and standard air suspension does a decent job of keeping bumps to a minimum. 

On country roads, the GLE Coupe’s wider stance helps it feel sharper and more upright through corners than the standard GLE, although never as agile as a Porsche Cayenne Coupe, even in its most aggressive driving modes. It does excel on the motorway, though, where it’s extremely planted, quiet and comfortable.

The Mercedes GLE Coupe is good to drive, then, comfortable, full of great tech and has a stunning interior. You’ll just need to be taken by its looks and accept that they mean it has less rear space and a more awkward boot than the car on which it’s based.

Why not head over to our Mercedes deals page to make sure you’re getting the very best prices, and see if you can save money on a new Mercedes GLE Coupe. Get used deals on Mercedes models through carwow as well, and if you want to change your car, use the sell my car tool to get the best price, with our trusted dealers bidding on your car.

The Mercedes GLE Coupe has strong engines, is comfy to drive and wonderfully quiet. It isn’t as sporty to drive as it looks, though, and there are no sensible petrol options

Eventually, there will be five different engines to choose from. The range starts with the 350de plug-in diesel-electric hybrid, which with its 62-mile EV range and low CO2 emissions is perfect for company car buyers or those who drive mainly in town. 

You can charge is up to 80% in just 20 minutes with a fast charger, or fully charge it in 30 minutes. Used correctly, you could easily commute every day on electricity alone, leaving the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine to help on those longer journeys at the weekend.

Most, though, will be better off with one of the two 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder diesels, the 350d and 400d, both of which are extremely strong yet impressively smooth and quiet. They’re also pretty fuel-efficient despite their power, thanks to clever 48-volt energy-recouping technology, with 40mpg possible if driven sensibly. 

At the top of the range will sit two petrol AMG performance models – the 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo AMG 53 and 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 AMG 63 – which we’ll review separately. However, it’d be nice to see a cheaper sensible petrol option further down the range for those who don’t want a diesel.

The GLE Coupe is large car and feels it in town, especially given its sloping rear roofline and thick rear pillars can get in the way when parking. Still, its steering is light at low speeds and a whole host of sensors and cameras bring confidence and standard air suspension does a decent job of keeping bumps to a minimum. 

On country roads, the GLE Coupe’s wider stance helps it feel sharper and more upright through corners than the standard GLE, although never as agile as a Porsche Cayenne Coupe, even in its most aggressive driving modes. 

It does excel on the motorway, though, where it’s extremely planted, quiet and comfortable.

The Mercedes GLE Coupe will seat a couple of kids in the back no problem and its boot is a good size. It’s also quite shallow, though, and tall adults will find headroom a little tight

Every Mercedes GLE Coupe comes with electric front seats and the steering wheel adjusts for height and reach, so you’ll be able to find a comfortable driving position easily. 

You’ll find there’s ample head and legroom in the front of the Mercedes GLE Coupe. The same goes for the row behind in terms of knee room, where tall adults will find the front seats are nowhere near there legs. However, tall adults will find their heads brush the ceiling and three adults side-by-side is a bit of a squeeze.

Of course, two or three kids will be much better off, and Isofix points are standard on the outside rear seats.

It’s all good news when it comes to storage space. Both of the GLE Coupe’s front door bins easily take a large water bottle, while beneath a sliding cover in front of the infotainment system’s control pad you’ll find two decent cup holders and a further small cubby for keys or a phone.

Then, beneath the central armrest that pops open at the push of a button, you’ll find a wide, deep cubby. The GLE Coupe’s glovebox is also a decent size, but if you pick the optional built-in air freshener a perfume dispenser occupies quite a bit of space.

Finally, both rear door bins are also a good size, while there are a couple of sturdy pockets on the front seats backs for storing slimmer items. There’s also a pair of USB C ports between the front seats and a folding rear armrest with two built-in cupholders.

The Mercedes GLE has 655 litres of boot space which is slightly more than you get in an Audi Q8 (605 litres), BMW X6 (580 litres) and Porsche Cayenne Coupe (625 litres).

It’ll easily swallow two large suitcases, a couple of pushchairs or a set of golf clubs. It also has no loading lip, is a good square shape and comes with hooks and nets that make securing smaller items a doddle. There’s also a little extra space under the boot floor for hiding away a few soft bags.

The only real issue is the GLE Coupe’s sloping rear roofline, which might look great, but does eat into the boot’s height. That means loading taller items inside is more of a struggle than in the standard GLE.

The Mercedes GLE Coupe has a great infotainment system and its interior is wonderful to look at, even if some parts lower down feel a little cheap

The Mercedes GLE Couple looks more interesting on the outside than most of its alternatives, and the wow-factor continues inside, where you’ll find sweeping lines, piano black trims and chrome accents. It looks much classier than what you get in an Audi Q8 or BMW X6, especially with the GLE Coupe’s standard 64-colour ambient lighting in full swing after dark.

The dashboard and front lower grab handles are all covered in convincingly soft leatherette, while the GLE Coupe’s seats get a fine Nappa leather as standard. 

You also get a pair of 12-inch infotainment displays on the dashboard which form an almost seamless widescreen display. This layout looks fantastic and makes the GLE Coupe’s cabin feel much more futuristic than the rather conventional interiors in a BMW X6 and Porsche Cayenne Coupe.

However, if you prod dashboards, wiggle air vents and press buttons back-to-back in an X6, Q8 and Cayenne Coupe, you’ll notice that the Audi and Porsche feel a tad more solidly constructed.

Every Mercedes GLE Coupe comes with Mercedes’s latest MBUX infotainment system. It consists of two 12-inch screens mounted side-by-side, seamlessly joining the central infotainment display on the left and the digital driver’s display on the right.

The right-hand screen is controlled using the right-hand set of buttons on the car’s multifunction steering wheel, while the left screen can be controlled using touch or a control pad and menu shortcut buttons on the centre console between the front passengers.

The screens themselves are colourful, crisp and bright enough to read in direct sunlight. The menus respond quickly to your inputs, but you get the sense it could do with fewer menu icons to make it easier to use. The iDrive system you get in the BMW X6 is just a little more intuitive.

That said, it’s still pretty easy to program the Mercedes GLE Coupe’s standard sat-nav system, either by using the on-screen keyboard or voice commands. It devises routes quickly, but you can’t view your route overlaid on high-resolution Google Maps imagery like in the Audi Q8.

Its directions are even easier to follow if you pay extra for the optional augmented-reality sat-nav system. This overlays bright blue arrows showing you which way to turn on video taken from a front-facing camera.

Also optional is smartphone mirroring for Apple and Android phones so you can use your phone’s navigation and music-streaming apps through the Mercedes GLE’s infotainment system. Unfortunately, these screen-mirroring features don’t quite fill the GLE’s widescreen displays like they do in the Audi Q8.

Lastly, upgraded Harman-Kardon and Burmester surround-sound systems are available, should you want to up your audio experience.