2024 Mercedes and AMG GLE Coupe and SUV get new tech

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For once, the automotive spies got it right. Pretty much everything about the facelifted 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE and Mercedes-AMG SUV and Coupe is as predicted. Indeed, save for a boost in torque for the GLE 53 and a few details regarding a new “transparent hood,” Motor1, CarBuzz, et al got it pretty much right.

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So, as they intuited, the front fascia is slightly modified with new daytime running lights and the rear bumper gets a similar streamlining, albeit with rear taillights that remind one of Audi’s. As expected, the infotainment system is still displayed on two 12.3-inch touchscreens rather than the giant “hyperscreen” seen on some of Merc’s recent electric sedans, and Mercedes makes much of the fact that the climate-control system vents are now chrome-over -real-metal rather than piano-blacked plastic.

Nevertheless, the specifics are fairly impressive. The standard audio system is a top-quality Burmester system, complete with 13 speakers, 13 separate amplifier channels, and a total of 590 watts of surround-sound power. The aforementioned infotainment runs on the very latest MBUX software. USB ports now can generate up to 100 watts, enough to feed the most power-hungry of accessories. The “Hey, Mercedes” digital assistant has been updated — for one thing, you don’t always have to say “Hey, Mercedes” — but I’m not sure that Benz really wants to describe the enhanced system as its new “increasingly sharp voice assistant.”

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Further updates are that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are finally available wirelessly and there are three display styles (classic, sporty, discreet) and four modes that include navigation, assistance, service, and a much-revised off-road display.

Said off-road display includes a way-nifty function Mercedes calls its “transparent engine hood” function. Using the sensors in the Parking Package and a 360-degree camera, the display creates an image of the terrain below and through the hood, Mercedes saying its primary function is to enable the driver to better recognize obstacles in his or her path while off- roading. Personally, I think Mercedes’ contention that it can also offer a bird’s-eye view while riding over steep ramps and approaching curbs is going to be of much more benefit to the GLE’s likely clientele.

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Both the GLE’s powertrains are electrified, the 2.0-liter turbocharged four and the 3.0L turbo inline-six featuring 48-volt “mild” hybridization through an integrated-starter-generator. The four is good for 255 horsepower, while the high-tech six spins out 375 hp. That’s enough to accelerate the 2024 GLE 350 4Matic to 100 kilometers an hour in a creditable 7.1 seconds, while the GLE 450 sneaks in under the six-second mark (5.6s).

Mercedes-AMG versions of the mid-sized SUV, of course, are quicker yet again. In the GLE 53 4Matic+, the 3.0-liter gains an electric supercharger as well as a larger turbo, rendering a healthy 429 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. That’s good enough for the SUV version of the GLE 53 to light up the lights after a fairly scintillating 5.0 seconds. Interestingly, the supposedly sportier “coupe” version takes 0.3 seconds longer, despite what one presumes is a more streamlined profile.

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The Mac Daddy of GLEs, however, remains the “63.” Complete with bellowing, twice-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8, it too now features mild hybridization and presumably better fuel economy. Nevertheless, there’s 603 horsepower underfoot, as well as an incredible 627 pound-feet of torque. This time the Coupe edges out a small margin over the SUV, with a 3.8-second sprint to 100 klicks, 0.1s ahead of the SUV. As to the whys and wherefores of that seemingly incongruous reversal, that will have to wait until our test drive, because I have no answer.

As with other AMGs, the ESP system has been reconfigured for sportier performance; an electronically controlled rear differential limits slip; and the AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel-drive system allows a wider range of torque distribution. And, as one would suspect, damping for the electronically-controlled suspension has been re-calibrated so all that power is at least partially tamed. The revised active roll-stabilization system — standard on the 63; optional on the lesser version — keeps cornering flatter at high speeds without compromising the ride, because its two electromechanical actuators work separately from the shock absorbers.

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Mercedes also says both models — SUV and Coupe — are packed with more luxury goodies. For instance, the GLE 53 SUV now comes standard with the panoramic sunroof, heated front seats, and smartphone integration. Also making the grade are the switchable AMG Performance exhaust system, the Burmester sound system, the 360-degree Parking Pilot, the Keyless-Go Package and Blind Spot Assist.

And, to use Mercedes’ words, the GLE 53 4Matic+ Coupe is even more lavish, “climate control for the front seats, the MBUX Augmented Reality function and MULTIBEAM LED headlamps included in the standard specification.” The same applies to the GLE 63 SUV version, but the “63” Coupe also snags the Air-Balance Package, the multi-contour front seats, and the head-up display.

As for pricing, Mercedes Canada will only say that the MSRP will be available closer to the market launch, which, it says, will be late in the second quarter of 2023.