Today I'll be comparing the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE450 to the 2019 BMW X5 xDrive 40i in seven different categories in which points can be assigned from one to ten. To see the final winner of this comparison test, click on the video here.
Let's start with value. The GLE450 is the second highest of the three trims that the GLE comes in, and you could drive off the lot in one for $61,150. For that price, the exterior comes with 19-inch five spoke wheels, power folding and auto-dimming mirrors that also illuminate the Mercedes-Benz logo on the ground as you walk up to the car, and LED headlights, tail-lamps, and daytime running lights. Other exterior features include rain-sensing wipers, an alarm system, and remote start via a smartphone app. The interior has a multitude of luxury features including Linden wood trim, a Nappa leather steering wheel, heated front seats with a driver memory function, a power tilt/telescoping steering wheel, and dual-zone climate control. Though the steering wheel is leather, the interior is made from MB-Tex, which is a quasi-leather surface that isn’t quite cloth but definitely isn’t genuine leather. To me, this is unacceptable on a $60,000 car, when I evaluate Elantras for $30,000 with leather. I know that Benz would need to use higher quality leather than an Elantra, but I was surprised to see that leather was part of a package and not standard equipment, as I believe it should be. The rear of the vehicle has a power operated lift-gate with the ability to swipe a foot under the bumper should your hands be too full to pull open the latch. The rear seats fold in a 40/20/40 split, which allows for a wide variety of luggage and equipment to fit in the rear of the vehicle, while still retaining seating for the kids. The key can be used to unlock and start the car without ever removing it from your pocket, and it also has a button to close all windows after the driver has exited the vehicle. The final features of the interior that aren’t involved with the infotainment system are the power sunroof and brake hold feature for stop and go traffic. The Mercedes has a beautiful, giant 12.3-inch screen for the infotainment system that is flush with an identical 12.3-inch screen for the gauge cluster. Mercedes’ infotainment software is called MB User Experience, or MBUX for short. It has navigation, steering wheel mounted controls, Bluetooth, HD radio, Apple CarPlay and Android auto. MBUX also has over-the-air software updates like a Tesla does. Notably absent is SiriusXM satellite radio, which is nearly standard across the industry by now. The Mercedes has a pretty advanced voice recognition software that is queued when the driver says, ‘Hey Mercedes’ and it can respond to phrases like “I’m cold” by increasing the temperature of the cabin. The Benz also has three years of MeConnect, which is an app that allows you to start, lock, trace the GLE, and locate where you park all from an app on your phone or tablet. The final luxuries that round out the cabin are the auto-dimming rear view mirror and five USB-C ports in the cabin. That’s a lot of ports for sure, but for those of you unfamiliar with the tech lingo, USB-C ports are only used by a select few devices, and the Apple iPhone and most Android cellphones would need an adapter to connect to the ports, which I find extremely irritating and irrational. Besides that, and the missing leather, I think that the GLE450 is outfitted well and the interior has an opulent feel that I’ve come to expect from late model Mercedes Benz vehicles.
Let’s look at the value proposition from the 2019 BMW X5. The naming disaster that is the BMW X5 xDrive40i starts at $60,700, undercutting the GLE450 by about $500. It has the same size alloy wheels at 19 inches, and it has LED headlights, tail-lamps and fog-lights like the Benz. Also like the other SUV it has heated, power folding exterior mirrors to avoid the feared parallel parking scrape, and rain-sensing windshield wipers. On the interior, things don’t vary much either. The seats are heated, powered and memory for the driver, the rear seats fold 40/20/40, it has wood-grain in the dash, and again, this $60,000 SUV is missing genuine leather. Instead it has SensaTec upholstery, which, like the GLE, looks good and does a decent job looking like real leather. The BMW uses a HiFi 10-speaker audio system unit. The steering wheel has leather and functions for the infotainment system, which consists of two 12.3-inch screens like in the Mercedes. Instead of being one giant head unit like in that car, however, one is reserved for the gauge cluster and is separate from the one on the center console, more like a traditional dashboard. iDrive is the name of the infotainment system, but the BMW also supports Apple CarPlay but not Android Auto. The X5 has ConnectedDrive services, like the Mercedes, where you can start your car and see vital information from your smart phone. Navigation is part of iDrive, as is Bluetooth, HD radio, voice recognition and a touch-pad controller. The Germans must think that USB-C is the new USB, as the X5 comes with these types of USB as well, but I did find one normal USB under the center console. As a value proposition, both of these vehicles come with nearly identical features for a nearly identical price. For the same money, you could have a better optioned sedan from the same companies, but I will give the GLE450 a seven out of ten and the X5 40i a seven point two out of ten in the value segment, purely for the $500 savings.
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| The 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE, via allcarseveryday |
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| The 2019 BMW X5, via allcarseveryday |
The next part of the comparison will be the safety segment. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates both the 2019 X5 and 2019 GLE as a Top Safety Pick Plus, which is the highest rating possible. Obviously, the 2020 GLE is a different SUV than the 2019, but it’s a very safe bet to assume that Mercedes-Benz didn’t decrease the crash-worthiness of the model in the new generation. To differentiate between the two models in terms of points assigned, let’s check out the active safety technology that each model offers. The GLE450 has brake assist with forward collision mitigation, an attention assist feature, blind spot assist, parking assist, Pre-Safe and Car-to-X communication, which allows the Mercedes to communicate with other vehicles on the road with this technology. BMW has a similar pre-collision system called Active Protection, daytime pedestrian detection, frontal collision warning with city collision mitigation, lane departure warning, active blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert. Here, the BMW has more advanced safety features standard. Though Car-to-X communication is a brand-new technology and isn’t even available as part of an option on most other cars including the BMW, GLE buyers will have to pony up for a safety package to get some of the basic amenities that the BMW has, like lane departure warning. As such, I will give the GLE a six point five for missing industry standard features without a package and the BMW a seven for including those in its list of active safety features.
Next up, let’s look at the powertrain of each of these Germans. The 2020 GLE450 has a turbocharged 3.0-liter straight six under the hood, which is an upgrade over the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the GLE350. It makes 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque running through a nine-speed automatic with shift paddles. Engine Stop/Start is included on this six-cylinder. The 4Matic part of the name means that the Benz is all wheel drive, and—all in—the powertrain is good for a 5.5 second 0-60 sprint. The X5 also uses a turbo 3.0-liter straight six, in this guise making 335 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. Power is routed through an eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters and a launch control function. BMW speak for all wheel drive is the ‘x’ part of xDrive40i. Even with a power deficit, amazingly the BMW knocks a half second off the 0-60 of the Mercedes, flying to 60 miles per hour in five seconds flat. I’ll give the Benz a nine for its powertrain and performance and the BMW a nine point five for being the Hot Rod of SUVs.
Maybe the hottest trend in new vehicles is ever-increasing fuel economy, due to consumer demand and government mandates. The Mercedes-Benz gets 19 miles per gallon in the city and 24 on the highway for an EPA combined 22. The BMW tops the Mercedes at 20 in the city and 26 on the highway, despite the Mercedes having an identical displacement engine and one more forward gear for highway driving. Eight points for the GLE, nine points for the BMW.
Next, let’s move on to the styling of each vehicle. Mercedes-Benz is mid-transition into a slightly different styling language ever since the 2014 S-Class came out, and this is just now getting to the SUVs. Anyway, the new GLE looks very good and I like both the interior and exterior. I think the front end is a tad boring on video or in pictures, but in person the vehicle is stunning. The BMW is a more analytical design, but I like it as well, save the 110% size front grille. The rear of each vehicle is the better angle, and I think the GLE really takes the cake here. The X5 doesn’t have a bad look anywhere, but BMW styling has not evolved in forever and I think once you’ve seen one kidney grille and Hofmeister kink, you’ve seen them all. On the interiors, I don’t dislike the BMW, but I’ve always been a sweetheart for Mercedes-Benz interiors, and they just keep improving. I think the BMW interior looks relatively dated right off the bat, at least compared to the GLE which looks sleek, premium, and athletic. In this category, I’ll give the BMW a seven for styling and the Mercedes an eight.
Next, let’s check out how reliable these SUVs are. German vehicles aren’t exactly known for their reliability, but according to Consumer Reports the BMW scores better than the average vehicle in reliability, where the Mercedes-Benz scores average. I assign two points per car for each step up or down in these rankings, so the Benz gets a six for Average and the BMW gets an eight for better than average.
Our final category is family friendliness and usability. Both SUVS had easy ingress and egress, and I thought both front seats and back seats were nicely appointed. Cargo capacity with the seats in the rear folded is almost 80 cubic feet in the Mercedes and 72.3 cubes in the BMW. The BMW also has at least one regular USB port, which I like, and a 20-foot turning circle compared to a 39-foot turning circle in the GLE. The switchgear in the Mercedes felt somewhat subpar to me, as the buttons didn’t have a definitive bump stop, so they felt sort of cheap. The volume control in the GLE is also infuriating, because instead of just using a regular knob like every other car for sale today, instead there is a scroll wheel mounted low on the center console. It’s small, hard to use, and blocked by the touchpad for the infotainment system. However, the Mercedes has a slightly bigger fuel capacity at 22.5 gallons, but the BMW still has a longer driving range even with 21.9 gallons because of its better fuel economy. I’ll give the Mercedes a six point eight for the extra storage space and the BMW a seven point five for the USB ports and turning radius.
The final tally is fifty-one point three for the 2020 Mercedes Benz GLE450, and fifty-five point two points for the 2019 BMW X5 40i. Even though the BMW won this comparison with its relatively stellar MPG and reported reliability, I would have no qualms recommending either vehicle to a friend or family member. They’re both so good that your purchase decision could come down to personal gripes or which vehicle you think looks better. Oftentimes, I compare vehicles where there is a clear loser, or a car I just couldn't put my name behind, and this is not that comparison. That’s all for this week! Tune in shortly for more comparison videos!
