Used 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class Coupe AMG GLE 63 S 4MATIC Consumer Reviews
Nice Vehicle But Many Annoyances
The vehicle is fun to drive -- it accelerates fast, handles fast, steers and brakes well, gets reasonable gas mileage, and is quiet and comfortable inside. Unfortunately several design details are pure nonsense and detract from enjoyment of this vehicle: (1) The exhaust outside the car sounds absolutely horrible, like a diesel truck except it's not a diesel (but thankfully it IS quiet inside the vehicle); (2) the blind-spot detection system cuts off below 20 mph (WHY???), so it's useless when you are in a slow-moving traffic jam; (3) the lane-keeping system is overly sensitive and frequently "jerks" the wheel back, which is scary and almost caused an accident because it so surprised my son when he drove the vehicle; (4) the memory seats aren't linked to your key and don't automatically move to the proper position, so you have to hold the memory button down for 30 seconds every time you change drivers (WHY???); and (5) the navigation system is the worst we have ever encountered (we've had four cars before this). It's incredibly hard to enter information -- the voice control gets confused; writing with your finger is hard; and the wheel keeps jumping back and forth between lines and lists. For example, the voice system simply refuses to recognize me saying "Las Vegas" no matter how many times I say it or how clearly I enunciate it. Really. There are so few towns here, how does it get "Reno" when I said "Las Vegas"? Oh, and once you enter the address, it asks you to "continue" and you think the route guidance has started ... WRONG! You still have to press "Start" and many times I've lost all my work by forgetting this and clicking something else. In short, by the time you get the address entered, you've already arrived. The map also doesn't display your next turn or the distance to the turn until you're practically on it, when it's too late. Using an iPhone is MUCH easier. And yes, we've been back to Mercedes on these issues, and that's just the way it's designed.
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10 months into it and can’t be happier
17,000 Mile Update: Continues to be a very fun car, however I keep eating through tires every 6k miles on the rear, 8k-9k on the front. I can't keep my foot off the gas peddle. Keeping it very safe, but the experience is unmatched. Summer tires I have used the Pirelli P Zeros and Continental SportContact 5's. The Conti's are much more stickier than the Pirelli's. Both have the same 220 tread rating, so both have the short life of 5-7k depending on how well you drive the vehicle. The more you drive it like its intended to be driven, the quicker you will go through the tread. If you get more than that, you are using it wrong! Bought a set of 21" wheels off a GLE 43 on ebay. Be careful that you buy the right one that's compatible with the car and the right 21" wheel. There is two of them that work with the 63S. One is still the same 325 and 285 widths. The other 315 and 275 fits All Season and Winter Tires. I have all seasons now and just use those in Texas starting in November - March. The All Seasons have double the treadwear from the summer tires, so we'll see how it plays out over the next 6 months. 10,000 Mile Update: The car continues to be awesome. Just be ready to pay the price for tires every 10k-15k. It’s well worth it though. No other SUV can come close to the performance and handling. It continues to def physics and very safe. Also you need to buy winter wheels/tires for very cold climates. No snow tires for the 325’s on the rear. Original Review: I have been driving this vehicles for 6000 miles in the last 4 months. It's an amazing vehicle to get the family safely around town in safety, comfort, and style yet still adequate enough for long road trips. Trunk fits 2 large samsonite suitcases and two small suitcases with room to spare. The suitcase test was my final test since we travel a lot! I can't begin to explain how amazing the performance is on this vehicle. The Torque is amazing. Press on the gas and it goes at any RPM. Put it in Sports mode, and you can nimbly get around. Put it in Sport Plus mode and you can rock the house. It's especially fun going into tunnels and under bridges as you, BAP BAP and echo we get anyone driving and texting look up finally! It's a crazy vehicle, but amazingly safe with all the great features of Mercedes. Quality is second to none. I was shocked a vehicle out of Alabama would come out so well. Keep in mind the Engine is hand built by an individual in Affalterbach Germany and the Transmission also comes from Germany. 7 Speed is perfect for this engine, and I couldn't bare a 9-speed on this beautiful and sensual engine. My second row didn't come with Side Seat airbags for some reason. It wasn't a custom order, but I thought they all did. Look out for that if it's important to you and makes sense for your passengers' age. I'm fine without it because the kids will be in car seats for a few more years. Also, its a gas guzzler, but the Coasting feature will actually disengage the engine from the axle, so it's smooth sailing when you let go of the gas, and you make up for 2-3 miles per gallon easy.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value