Auto Express – August 20, 2019

76 SpecialIssue

MercedesGLE 300 d

4MATICAMGLine 7-seat

Price:£57,380

Engine:2.0-litre4cyldiesel,242bhp

0-60mph:7.4seconds

Testeconomy:31.9mpg/7.0mpl

CO 2 :162g/kmAnnualroadtax:£465

VolvoXC90 B5 (D)

AWDInscription

Price:£56,985

Engine:2.0-litre4cyldieselMHEV,232bhp

0-60mph:8.0seconds

Testeconomy:33.4mpg/7.3mpl

CO 2 :154/kmAnnualroadtax:£465

Who needs an MPVwhen large premium

SUVscan carryseven?We pit the refreshed

Mercedes GLE againstVolvo’supdatedXC90

Pictures: Otis Clay

MERCEDEShasrevampeditslargeGLE

SUV.Itspredecessorwasgettingona

bit,butthisisanall-newcarsoitshould

standabetterchanceofstealingcustomers

fromkeyluxuryrivals,suchasVolvo.

TheGLEnowcomeswiththeoptionof

sevenseats,whichmeansithasahugely

talented(andnewlyupdated)rivaltoface:

theVolvoXC90B5(D).Thisversionofthe

excellentScandinavianSUVisn’ttoo

differentfromthemodelitreplaces(the

D5),butitnowfeaturesmild-hybrid

technology,whichisdesignedtoboost

efficiency.Herewe’llfindoutifthisnew

enginetechcansecureawinfortheXC90,

orifthenewGLE’ssmartercabin,withits

up-to-datein-cartechandenginerange,

canlaunchtheMercedesintothelead.

To appealtobuyersinthispricerange,

theGLEandXC90havetobringtogether

afewdifferentcoreaspects.Theyneed

tobespaciousandluxurious,offergood

performanceandalsoreturndecent

economyinordertojustifytheirdiesel

powertrainsinaclimatewherebuyers

areturningawayfromthisfuel.

Seventhheaven

ROADTESTS MercedesGLEvsVolvoXC90

“Bothmodelsusefour-cylinderdieselengines.Whilethere

aresix-cylinderunitsavailableintheMercedesGLEline-up,

theVolvo’sofferingisfour-cylinderonly.However,thereis

aplug-inpetrol-hybridXC90,calledtheT8TwinEngine.”

Testers’ notes

Sean CarsonChiefreviewer