Is the Mercedes Benz GLE450e the BEST LUXURY PLUG IN HYBRID?
For 2024 the Mercedes GLE has undergone a midcycle refresh and one of the biggest changes is the addition of a plug-in hybrid powertrain it’s known as the GLE 450e and it’s what we going to take a look at on the latest Novak report Review whereas the Mercedes EQ fully electric series of vehicles run on entirely unique platform designs intended for full electrification the GLE 450 plugin hybrid shares the same platform package and offering structure as the GLE 450 formatic so if you like the look of the GL SUV but want an
Electrified powertrain this would be a more appealing Choice compared to the eqe SUV which is size to match the GLE but Bears little resemblance in its exterior design as the 450e is part of a midcycle refresh also included our significant upgraded standard features over the previous generation this includes a new multi-function steering
Wheel generation with capacitive controls the second generation of the mbux infotainment interface and updated burmaster surround sound system with Dolby Atmos sound personalization and music streaming and more powering this GLE 450e is of course a plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines a 2 L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and it’s 248 horsepower with an
Electric motor that is connected to a 23 .3 KW hour battery and combined you’re looking at an output of 381 horsepower and 479 lb feet of torque plug-in hybrids of course have the capacity to drive prolong stretches on EV only that is why you have to plug it in the
Battery is larger again this 23.3 KW hour battery that is larger than most plug-in hybrid batteries so therefore you’re going to have a larger EV only range it is posted to be 77 km according to Mercedes which is 48 Mi uh that is on the upper end of range compared to all
The other plug-in hybrids out there normally you’re looking at 25 30 mil 40 50 km this of course gets into a range where now you start to think it is quite possible and quite likely that you’re going to be doing just about all your driving on EV only so long as you commit
To always keeping it charged with respect to charging this GLE 450e using a level two charging system a home charger you’ll get from empty to full and just under 3 hours or 3 hours it says just under three uh not many phvs offer DC fast charging because again you
Don’t typically need it if you’re only going to get 40 50 kilm uh you know 25 30 mil of EV only range when you get to a vehicle like this it does start to make sense and this is one of a few phbs that does offer DC fast charging others
More commonly known The Outlander phv has always had it uh the Range Rover phv has DC fast charging and now we have this GLE 450e they say it’ll get you from empty to 80% in 20 minutes empty to full in about 30 minutes and you know
Whether you will want to or not in Canada actually the DC fast charging capability here is an option it’s a $650 option um I mean on a $90,000 base car it’s probably not a big deal as far as I could tell it’s standard in the US I
Tried to spec this out on the US site and I couldn’t see where there was an option to add the DC so maybe it’s already standard if somebody has one you can correct me if I’m wrong uh but would you want to I mean do you want to pay
For the option even though it’s not all that expensive you know you don’t even with this kind of range how often are you going to stop for 20 or 30 minutes just to get another you know 70 80 kilometers which it won’t be that much if you’re driving highways since again
You’re going to probably only get you know maybe 50 or 60 km giving highway speeds so it really becomes uh a question whether it’s something that will happen a lot I mean if you’re stopping for lunch you’re going to be stopped for half an hour anyway by all
Means and if there’s a DC charging Outlet available you get up to 60 Kow I believe on this year with the charging so go for it but is it something you’ll really consistently do it’s hard to say overall this is a pretty compelling offering for Mercedes with this GLE I
Mean you’ve got the plug-in hybrid and you have everything that the GLE has always been even with the mid upgrades you’ve got a pretty enticing luxurious comfortable offering but as to whether the phv is right it really becomes a question of how committed you are to using the electric only feature phvs
Make sense if you are a daily driver your your daily commuting range is within that and you’re committed to charging up every night that way you don’t worry about the gas tank but not all pH buyers uh are committed to doing that type of thing it’s always a bit of
A heads scratch or why you wouldn’t be but if you’re not going to be committed to always charging if you’re not going to be committed to maximizing your EV only then you’ve got things to consider you’ve got a heavier vehicle so when you’re driving it with a gas sort of a
Hybrid system you’re going to get less fuel economy because you’re carrying a battery around and you’ve got two parallel Drive systems there’s more mechanically that could go wrong why would you want to do that if you’re not committing to it and if you you know if you really want electrification and you
Just can’t seem to convince yourself that the you know EV only range is enough well give it a try because you know this may be nice but you know the the eqe SUV is getting into some pretty serious EV only range so you know it really becomes a question is you know
How committed you are to using the phev as it is meant to be as to whether or not this is the right choice for you overall I said it’s a great vehicle but whether it’s the great vehicle with this powertrain is a question that you have
To ask yourself and to that end I’m going to put together another video which will be online pretty soon that it’s actually going to take the time to compare this GL450 a pH with the eqe and the full uh EV system so that maybe you
Want to go a little more deeper into the comparison what’s better what’s worse what are the pros and cons well I’ll have that for you online as soon as I can and once it’s up I will put the link attach it back into this so you’ll be
Able to get to it once you’ve watched this video plug-in hybrids have both their fans and their critics and with regard to the Mercedes-Benz GL 450e I think this offers something for both sides of the draw the added EV range compared to most of the PHS on the road today makes
The argument in favor of PHS and the ability to drive almost exclusively on battery more compelling but the added weight from the larger battery would be something to point out as a criticism especially for those who don’t make a point of regularly charging overnight but what is undisputable is that this
2024 GLE 450e is everything one expects a Mercedes to be and that alone is deserving of a fair amount of Praise if you enjoyed this review be sure to like it leave me a comment and share it with others if you’re not subscribed to the Novak report on
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Is the Mercedes Benz GLE450e the BEST LUXURY PLUG IN HYBRID? Join me on the latest Novak Report review as I take a look at this mid-cycle refresh of the GLE, which now features a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Find out if it lives up to its luxury reputation and if it’s the best choice in the hybrid market. Don’t forget to subscribe for more car reviews and updates!
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