Mercedes GLE Coupe interior
The Mercedes GLE Coupe has a great infotainment system and its interior is wonderful to look at, even if some parts lower down feel a little cheap
Style
The Mercedes GLE Couple looks more interesting on the outside than most of its alternatives, and the wow-factor continues inside, where you’ll find sweeping lines, piano black trims and chrome accents. It looks much classier than what you get in an Audi Q8 or BMW X6, especially with the GLE Coupe’s standard 64-colour ambient lighting in full swing after dark.
The dashboard and front lower grab handles are all covered in convincingly soft leatherette, while the GLE Coupe’s seats get a fine Nappa leather as standard.
You also get a pair of 12-inch infotainment displays on the dashboard which form an almost seamless widescreen display. This layout looks fantastic and makes the GLE Coupe’s cabin feel much more futuristic than the rather conventional interiors in a BMW X6 and Porsche Cayenne Coupe.
However, if you prod dashboards, wiggle air vents and press buttons back-to-back in an X6, Q8 and Cayenne Coupe, you’ll notice that the Audi and Porsche feel a tad more solidly constructed.
The GLE Coupe’s interior has bags of wow factor and its infotainment is one of the best on sale. There’s the odd cheap plastic lower down inside mind you.
- Cash
- £71,488
- Monthly
- £838*
- Used
- £69,309
Infotainment
Every Mercedes GLE Coupe comes with Mercedes’s latest MBUX infotainment system. It consists of two 12-inch screens mounted side-by-side, seamlessly joining the central infotainment display on the left and the digital driver’s display on the right.
The right-hand screen is controlled using the right-hand set of buttons on the car’s multifunction steering wheel, while the left screen can be controlled using touch or a control pad and menu shortcut buttons on the centre console between the front passengers.
The screens themselves are colourful, crisp and bright enough to read in direct sunlight. The menus respond quickly to your inputs, but you get the sense it could do with fewer menu icons to make it easier to use. The iDrive system you get in the BMW X6 is just a little more intuitive.
That said, it’s still pretty easy to program the Mercedes GLE Coupe’s standard sat-nav system, either by using the on-screen keyboard or voice commands. It devises routes quickly, but you can’t view your route overlaid on high-resolution Google Maps imagery like in the Audi Q8.
Its directions are even easier to follow if you pay extra for the optional augmented-reality sat-nav system. This overlays bright blue arrows showing you which way to turn on video taken from a front-facing camera.
Also optional is smartphone mirroring for Apple and Android phones so you can use your phone’s navigation and music-streaming apps through the Mercedes GLE’s infotainment system. Unfortunately, these screen-mirroring features don’t quite fill the GLE’s widescreen displays like they do in the Audi Q8.
Lastly, upgraded Harman-Kardon and Burmester surround-sound systems are available, should you want to up your audio experience.
- Cash
- £71,488
- Monthly
- £838*
- Used
- £69,309
Build your own GLE Coupe on carwow
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*Please contact the dealer for a personalised quote, including terms and conditions. Quote is subject to dealer requirements, including status and availability. Illustrations are based on personal contract hire, 9 month upfront fee, 48 month term and 8000 miles annually, VAT included.