Mercedes-Benz GLE review: a genuine Land Cruiser alternative, at a genuine premium
4/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Choose the GLE over a Land Cruiser if the family's driving is 95% tarmac and the priority is cabin refinement, adaptive air suspension comfort and third-row usability over outright desert toughness. Choose the Land Cruiser instead if resale certainty and mechanical simplicity matter more than badge and ride quality.
Pros
- 3.0-litre inline-six mild-hybrid is smooth and genuinely quick
- Optional air suspension transforms ride quality on rough secondary roads
- Usable third row and standard all-wheel drive for beach and light desert outings
- Cabin refinement well ahead of a Land Cruiser or Patrol
Cons
- Costs meaningfully more to buy and service than the traditional GCC full-size SUV
- Air suspension is an expensive repair once the warranty ends
- Resale value on the GCC used market trails a Land Cruiser by a wide margin
- Fuel consumption is substantial once air conditioning works hard against summer heat
The GLE450's 3.0-litre inline-six mild-hybrid pulls with genuine urgency and none of the coarseness a turbo V6 introduces in hotter climates, and the optional E-Active Body Control air suspension — expensive but transformative — irons out Bahrain's rougher secondary roads in a way no Land Cruiser leaf-and-coil setup can match. This is the GLE's real selling point over the traditional GCC full-size SUV default.
Seven seats, used properly
The optional third row is usable by adults for short trips, which is more than can be said for most crossover-based seven-seaters, and the standard 4MATIC all-wheel drive gives enough traction for a beach outing or light desert track without the low-range gearing a Land Cruiser carries for the trips most GLE owners never take.
Where the trade-off bites
None of this comes cheap: the GLE costs meaningfully more to buy and to service than a Land Cruiser, the air suspension is an expensive repair once warranty ends, and resale value on the GCC used market does not hold up the way a Toyota's does. Buyers choosing the GLE are explicitly trading resale certainty for cabin refinement and comfort, and should go in understanding that trade.
Fuel consumption in mixed Bahrain driving with the air conditioning working hard against summer heat is substantial for a road-biased SUV, in line with what the segment and the six-cylinder engine's output suggest.