Mercedes GL e and GLC perfectly since both our two row crossovers that have been recently redesigned

What's going on YouTubeWhen a brand has two products that are fairly close to each other in terms of price size and performanceIt's only natural to wonder which is the best overall optionthat scenario describes the Mercedes GL e andGLC perfectly since both our two row crossovers that have been recently redesigned or refreshed and thepricing overlaps a lotSo which Mercedes crossover is the better choice for you and your family? Let's go ahead and find outSo like always the first thing on the agenda is the pricing and equipment of these twoObviously the GLE is a higher end productSo if you are choosing between the two you get to pick a highly option GLC or a lightly option GLEThat's exactly how these testers are arrangedSo with our GLC 300 we have nearly every possible option checked offTotalling up to nearly 20 grand and equipment and ballooning the total price tag to just a touch under sixty four thousand dollarsFor the GLE we have the 450 version lightly optioned with less than four thousand dollars of extrasThat means the total price is almost exactly the same as our GLC at sixty four thousand nine hundred dollarsSo starting things off with the exterior designs as siblings to each other There are more common design characteristics.  Then there are radical differencesThe GLE of course was fully redesigned this year with the latest Mercedes design languagefeaturing a more muscular fascia and fully modern lightingThe GLC was just refreshed this year to introduce a lot of the same design elements from its Big BrotherSo besides for the fact that it has the sporty AMG line appearance elements, you'll see that it looks a lot alike up frontHowever the similarity start to fade with the rest of the designs since the GLE is about 10 inches larger than the CAnd it has a more substantial looking design that makes that size difference even more pronouncedBut as far as actual scorable features they are once again on equal footingNow moving beyond the appearances to the featuresboth models haveNice-looking 20-inch contrast alloys as well as mirrors better power folding auto dimming and have blind spot indicators built-inNow as far as the other safety systemsThis is an interesting point to considerBecause at this price point the GLC has the drivers assistance package with absolutely every safety system availableBut with the GLE it would need to be added for an additional 20 to 50Finally the last thing to mention on the outside is that the GLE out tows the C by a significant margin3500 versus seventy seven hundred pounds, soThat's it for the exterior, so now let's go ahead and check out the more important cabinsNow moving on into the interiors obviously both have smart entry with the newest Mercedes ki fatherBut as soon as you open the doors, you'll see that unlike the outside.  The interiors are significantly differentThe GLC has the c-class interior layoutComplete with saddle Brown real leather seating and open for walnut wood trimOur GLE however has to make do with black mb-tex synthetic leather for this equivalently priced exampleAs far as the seats themselves both have 16 ways of power adjustment 3 personal memory and heating thoughThey are missing ventilationOnce inside both have incredibly rich looking cabins.  So starting off with the gles materialIt has a soft touch dashboard on the upper parts and in the middle, it has real great lend ashwoodAll the lower areas are nicely padded and there is leather trimming on the handle where your knee might touchThe GLC has a similar caliber of material but unlike the GLE this price point gets the leatherettedashboard and upper door trimThe C also has more generous use of wood since the entire center console is covered in it instead of the gloss piano blackSo at this price point the GLC will take the materials pointNow starting them both up we have to talk about the gauges and the general screen situationBoth for the first time have fully reconfigurable twelve point three inch gauges running the newest mb UX softwareHowever, that doesn't tell the whole storyThe GLE actually offers significantly more designs colors and layout options than in the CIt also connects directly to the main twelve point three inch display compared to the GLC is separated ten point three inch screenHeading back to the steering wheels.  They are essentially the same with leather aluminum power adjustment and both lacking heatingNow for the next important item, we have interior storage where surprisingly both have pretty much the same amountThe center consoles and front storage bins are roughly the same size and both also have wireless phone chargerThey additionally share shifter designsBut only the GLC has a 360-degree camera system at this middle sixties price pointContinuing the string of similarities they both come with five hundred ninety watt 13 speaker Berman terse ouncesAnd lastly at this price point the GLC gives you a panel moonroof instead of a regular sized oneAll right now moving on to the rear areasThis is where the GLE starts to really shot as a larger vehicle quite simply is going to have more spaceHowever in the back the loaded GLC will come with more amenities to make up for that like heated rear seats and rear climate controlsThough it is missing charging USB portsOpening up the hands-free tailgate reveals.  The expected fact that the GLE is largerWhile Mercedes hasn't made these specific numbers available.  It is very obviously larger with both the seats up and down andAdditionally the GLE has an available third row and a spare tireBut that's enough of the inside.  So now let's take these out on the roadOf all the things thus far the power trains are the biggest point of difference herethe GLC 300 goes the traditional route with a turbo 4-cylinder making255 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torqueBut this GLE 450 has a 6 cylinder with what Mercedes calls EQ boost mild hybrid systemIt makes substantially more power and torque362 horsepower and369 pounds of torqueYeah, you're definitely gonna have no trouble at all just getting up to speed that was 60 a real fast thereYeah by the seat of my pants it's every bit as fast as the q5 which itself isWe have one of the fastest things a Germans generally speaking here areQuite a bit faster than the Japanese competition which tends to be like sevenSeconds or so where this is under six secondsYeahYeah, you'll definitely be able to get up to highway speed very easilyfive and a half seconds is very fast forYou know some it's a big crossoverAs far as the rides while it is true that both are comfortable the g le takes things to another levelBeing one of the most comfortable riding crossovers we've ever driven now just sitting here in traffic here for a little bitI do want to talk about the comfort of this vehicle as wellObviously this car is not geared towards performance.  This is just a regularVehicle and it is extremely comfortable in this cabinLike this is probably one of the smoothest riding cars I've ever been in period like I agree with thatI mean the powertrain is exceptionally smooth and then the writingdynamics like the suspension is tuned so smoothly when you hit a bump you do not even tell at all and it's also extremelyQuiet inside the cabin that being said it is tuned more towards luxury Advantage ELCWhich is why it's little brother has the better feeling steering setup.  I feel that it feelsYou're pretty sedan, like actually ita lot of crossovers seem to compromise driving dynamicsVersus their sedan siblings, you know and this actually feels a very very similar to the c-class and I don't feel like you're sacrificingMuch in terms of the way that it dries versus a sedanThe other important aspect of a luxury vehicle is overall quiet and refinement, which is once again in the gles favourit is truly one of the quietest vehicles in the entire industry and theImperceptible auto start-stop system is one of the best we've ever experienced now, of courseBeing the mild hybrid.  We do have advanced auto start-stopso one of the things that it can do is it actually power it off even before I came to a stop kind of asA coasting type of deal like we've seen in outiesAnd then it starts outUnbelievably smoothly and quickly.  It's an instantaneous and you really just cannot feel it at allI mean that right there no lag whatsoeverAlright restart there was really niceVery smooth, very quiet and refinedYeah, definitely Mercedes has one of the best auto start/stop systemsI know we said it in the actually the all-new GLE reviewI thought I honestly hold that as the best auto starts system in any vehicle and this really isn't much worse than thatRight.  This is of course a traditional engine.  That was the mild hybrid.  So it wasAble to actually turn offEven just coming to a stopBut as far as traditional auto start/stop systems go this is as smooth as it getsFinally, it's worth remembering that the mild hybrid system is not designed to really benefit fuel economySo the GLC will definitely be the better choice in that regard.  SoThere you have it Mercedes 2 best selling vehicles end up finishing neck-and-neckThe important takeaway of this comparison is not that one is better than the otherbut instead that the winner is really based on wherever you put your priorities afully loaded GLC is going to give you more of goodies to enjoy but for sheer size and driving abilities aBasic GLE 450 would be the better way to goAnyways,