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2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE400 vs 2018 Mercedes-Benz S300

What's the difference?

VS
Mercedes-Benz GLE400
Mercedes-Benz GLE400

$67,800 - $99,800

2020 price

Mercedes-Benz S300
Mercedes-Benz S300

2018 price

Summary

2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE400
2018 Mercedes-Benz S300
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Diesel Turbo 4, 2.0L

Fuel Type
Diesel

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Fuel Efficiency
6.9L/100km (combined)

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Seating
5

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Dislikes
  • Unpleasant ride
  • Four-cylinder diesel performance
  • Challenging styling

  • Some terseness from run-flat tyres
  • Controls could be simpler
  • Non L models not that spacious in the back
2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE400 Summary

This is the first real Mercedes-Benz GLE. It's the second version of the SUV, but the last one was really just a big update of the old ML, and it never really soared to the heights it could have as a result of that.

But this new version - the 2020 GLE - is exactly that. It's new.

The exterior is new. The engines are new. The underpinnings are new. The interior - yep, you guessed it - new.

The big question is, though, is the GLE a competitor now? Can it stand up against the BMW X5, Maserati Levante, Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Sport, Volvo XC90 and even the VW Touareg?

Let's find out.

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2018 Mercedes-Benz S300 Summary

Imagine a car that can pretty much drive itself, if you let it. And it’ll do that while you get a massage, pump some Beyonce, and enjoy the fragrance of a field full of flowers… And then, it can teach you to do stretches and exercises in the driver’s seat.

It may sound like fictional fiction, but it’s factual fact. And it’s the Mercedes-Benz S-Class 2018 model, which has taken the so-called ‘wellbeing’ of the driver to a new level.

The facelifted model has seen plenty of styling changes and some tech upgrades, and while making the flagship car in a particular brand’s line-up is often a task fraught with issues, the German company’s big, expensive, luxurious, limousine is undoubtedly a more thoughtful car for 2018.

But just remember, its predecessor was considered - at least for a little while - as the best car in the world by some automotive journalists. 

Now Mercedes-Benz has updated it, and it reckons it’s better than before, bringing a bunch of new technology, new engines, a reworked model range and, perhaps not essentially, but still pleasantly, lower pricing.

Read on to see how Beyonce factors into the equation.

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Deep dive comparison

2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE400 2018 Mercedes-Benz S300

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