2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class: First Drive

What it is: 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class, five-passenger luxury midsize SUV

Price Range: $51,100 base for the GLE350 rear-wheel-drive, up to $107,100 for the GL63 AMG S.

Competitors: Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5, Audi Q5

Alternatives: Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, Tesla Model X

Pros: Off-road option makes the GLE surprisingly impressive and the plug-in hybrid doesn’t leave you wondering if the squirrels under your hood died.

Cons: The plug-in hybrid version will only be available in states that have adopted California’s zero emissions requirements and prices could get high for all the bells and whistles.

Would I Buy it with My Own Money: If I needed that much room and could get the hybrid credits in my state, sure. Plus—it’s got a Papal pedigree.

You may remember the boxy M-Class as one of the first luxury SUVs to hit the market back in 1997. Both auto journalists and consumers alike found themselves a bit confused, with reactions ranging from “That’s not a Mercedes-Benz!” to “Why would anyone want a luxury SUV?”

Funny how naive the past can be. We now have SUVs that are like rolling living rooms with full home-entertainment centers. Luxury SUVs have come such a long way that even the pope rides around in one—a modified Mercedes-Benz ML, in fact.

Papal vehicular preferences aside, the Mercedes-Benz GLE is the third (and re-named) generation of the supremely popular Mercedes ML SUV. The line’s popularity is a fact that Mercedes-Benz likes to tout from the pulpit, selling well over 1.6 million worldwide to date, and more than 130,000 expected this year.

Along with a new naming convention (all Mercedes SUVs are now G-something), the GLE gets a new set of looks—a softened, more rounded front and rear end, an upgraded interior that includes Mercedes’ suite of tech options, and an all new plug-in hybrid version—Mercedes’ first SUV to boast that. Five different versions of the GLE will be available in the U.S., including the gasoline GLE350 and GLE400, the diesel GLE300d, the plug-in hybrid GLE550e, and the sporty GLE63 AMG. An additional GLE Coupe model designed to go up against the likes of the BMW X6 will also be available by the end of the year.

Unfortunately for us, we only got to spend a short (albeit, rather interesting) time with the new GLE400 and the GLE550e in the Swiss Alps. The base model GLE350 comes with a 302-horsepower V-6 engine putting out 273 lb-ft of torque while the beefier GLE400 gets a twin-turbo V-6 engine that puts out 329 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque.  The GLE63 AMG and the GLE63 AMG S both get AMG-tuned twin-turbo V-8s with 550 hp and 577 hp, respectively, and 516 lb-ft and 561 lb-ft of torque. All the models in the GLE line get Mercedes-Benz’s 7-speed automatic transmission. The GLE350 will offer a rear-wheel drive option along with the all-wheel drive version, while the rest of the line from the GLE400 up will only be available in all-wheel drive and will have an optional—and impressive—off-road package.

That package, combined with the optional air suspension, takes the nearly 5,400-lb vehicle across surprisingly challenging terrain and through water as much as 23 inches deep. If you ever worry about descending an icy driveway or road in the winter, hill descent assist can hold your speed at a set limit and ease you down. Worried about rolling over in a steep ditch? Don’t fear. The GLE off-road package can handle an incredibly steep angle without getting unsettled. The most impressive part however, is that from the outside you’d never suspect that the new GLE could do any of it–and yet it handles it with grace, style and comfort.

Combine off-road capabilities with the new hybrid plug-in powertrain and you have a stealth SUV, the kind of vehicle that sneaks up and takes you by surprise. The hybrid plug-in GLE500e we drove to the off-road track was unobtrusive and quiet as we headed up a fog-shrouded valley outside of Kitzbühel, Austria, an area of the Alps known for its rugged terrain and fantastic skiing. The GLE550e uses the same technology that was employed on the S550 plug-in hybrid we drove last year, and it’s so good, neither passenger nor driver really notice it. Like the S550 plug-in hybrid, the GLE550e gets a set of power modes: Hybrid mode allows you to use a mix of electric and gasoline, E-Mode is pure electric, E-Save holds the battery at its charge level until the driver is ready to use it, and Charge uses a combination of regenerative braking and the gasoline engine to help recharge the battery.

E-Mode can be used up to 81 mph, and the battery will take you 18.6 miles in pure electric mode. In E-Mode, Hybrid, and Charge, the throttle response is softer and slower compared to normal driving in any of the other gasoline modes. The battery pack can be recharged at home on a conventional 220-volt power outlet through the charging port in the back bumper of the SUV. At a charging station you can charge the battery to full in about 2 hours.

The GLE550e is powered by the same V-6 twin-turbo engine you’ll find in the gasoline versions of the SUV, but in the plug-in hybrid form it is paired with an electric motor. The gasoline engine still puts out 329 hp while the 85-kW electric motor puts out 114 hp for a combined 436 hp and 479 lb ft of torque. All that power makes acceleration surprisingly lively for the big and heavy SUV and transitions between modes are smooth and quiet. Drive the GLE550e with a lead foot (like I did) and it will behave just like its gasoline-powered brethren. Drive it with conservation in mind and you’ll spare some carbon emissions and save some gas money.

There is some bad news for this plug-in hybrid, however—it will only be available in the ten Zero Emissions Vehicle states like California and New York (amongst others). The new GLE is just hitting showrooms, with prices that, following Mercedes’ recent trends, have risen a bit from its predecessor. The base model GLE350 starts at $51,100, rising to $64,600 for the GLE400. And the AMG editions have their own orbit, with the base GLE63 AMG stickered at $99,950 and the GLE63 S AMG starting at $107,100.