BMW IX vs Mercedes-Benz GLE300

What's the difference?

If anyone was worried that it would be too late to get a decent bit of value out of an entry-level iX, there's reassuring news.

With more power, range and features added to the model and the cost remaining close to its former sticker price, the iX has held up well despite now existing in a more competitive environment.

Whether you like Coupe SUVs or not is an entirely subjective matter, but there’s no denying the GLE 53 is a tech and spec showcase – some of the best Mercedes has to offer. If you can get past its relatively enormous dimensions and naturally compromised visibility – it’s even a hoot to drive.

The significant proportion of GLE consumers who are picking one of these over the regular version will be pleased with its many improvements. We’ll know more about how its price and specification lines up against primary rivals closer to its Australian launch date, so stay tuned.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel and meals provided.

The iX was a bit divisive upon its original launch, because it was one of the early adopters of BMW’s current ‘big grille’ era.

The good news for the iX is that many have adjusted their expectations on that front and it now feels pretty well at home in the brand’s line-up.

The addition of the 'Iconic Glow' grille surround might be a step too far for some, but overall the iX has aged well and its exterior design hasn’t changed much because of that.

The adaptive LED headlights have new DRL elements, and the M Sport pack is now standard, but if you were only casually familiar with the iX you’d have to be looking closely to spot the update.

The new colour palette for the iX also includes the pictured 'Arctic Race Blue metallic', though I’m personally a fan of the iX in all black, giving it a more monolithic look.

Inside, it’s a similar story - what was once perhaps ahead of its time is now the expectation in an electric SUV. Minimalism in terms of physical controls, but plenty of space.

Helping the feeling of spaciousness is the now-standard panoramic sunroof, though a lack of physical shade is one of the iX’s few interior let-downs. Instead, it can electrochromatically ‘shade’, which still lets in plenty of light.

At night, ambient lighting joins the glow of the iX’s rather large 14.9-inch multimedia touchscreen and 12.3-inch driver display.

The GLE Coupe has improved so much in its looks it’s easy to see when it came to the second-generation GLE underpinnings, Benz had it planned from the beginning.

It looks mean, especially the 53 with its giant toothy grille. The stance is low and wide for an SUV, and I’m especially a fan of the much more resolved rear end.

It’s less bulbous and frumpy, more slick and menacing, rounded out nicely by the flick of a lip spoiler jutting out the rear.

You might think proportionally, the very idea of a coupe SUV is silly, and there’s no denying that, but then, you and I might not be the target audience.

That audience is someone looking for an avant-garde take on what a sports car actually looks like. They will be pleased – I’d say its even more resolved than BMW’s X Coupes and a little less science-fiction than Audi’s Q8. The incoming Coupe version of the Porsche Cayenne will be a real challenger.

The presence the GLE Coupe exudes extends to the inside, where there’s plenty of Mercedes wow factor. Level what you might at the brand’s use of silver fittings and flat dual-screen set-up, there’s no denying Benz offers an interior entirely unlike its competition.

The GLE has one of the best of the recent Benz interiors, too. I love the way the big dual-screen set-up is framed in a 'leather'-clad bay of vents.

I also like the real wood trim on our test car which runs across the dash and flows into the doors, and of course the wholly unnecessary vent-overload (becoming a Benz signature) pride of place in the centre of the dash.

It’s complemented by the tape-deck style silver switches for the climate controls which protrudes underneath.

The materials are great, with Artico trim running down the centre console, and across each doorcard. Almost every surface you’ll reasonably come into contact with is soft, and the commitment to real metals and wood is admirable.

Other highlights include the comfortable seats (with heating which extends into the armrests!) and AMG wheel which is flashy and aggressive, well suited to such a gratuitous vehicle.

The space on offer in both rows of the iX is a huge plus, and it might even be enough to make you look past some of the small downsides to the electric Bimmer’s interior.

The iX’s clever two-level central console has the phone charger pad and drinks holders down out of the way and means you can put distractions (phone) and your tall bottles out of the way. There's a slot above for your phone to sit upright with a gap under for charging, too.

The storage bin under the armrest also has plenty of space as well as a little shelf for smaller items you don't want to go hunting for, but the iX’s control panel and dial are still reflective and, at certain times of the day, this means distracting light getting in your eyes. 

Speaking of distracting, I have found BMW’s multimedia software to be less intuitive and more complicated with each major update, and ‘OS 8.5’ is no different. At this point, using the brand’s touchscreen feels like operating an iPad on the move, with dozens of menu tiles to sort through.

But back to the physical space that is the iX’s interior - the big EV makes a lot of sense as a family car, especially if your kids are old enough to appreciate (and keep clean) the fit and finish.

Not only does the drive have a nicely adjustable and comfortable sports seat thanks to the M Sport pack, there's also heating and a massage function.

The front passenger gets the same, and the second row is borderline palatial. There's heaps of kneeroom, headroom, and even space under the front seats at their lowest setting to slot your feet.

The four-zone climate controls mean arguments are avoided, there is of course a central armrest, though even with it folded up and a person in the centre there's enough room in the back to be comfortable. 

Behind that, the iX’s 500 litres of boot space could probably be expanded but at the expense of rear legroom, so it's acceptable. There is space under the floor for cables, but no space saver spare, just a repair kit.

There's a switch that allows you to fold the seats down from the tailgate, but you can also manually fold the middle seat for a 40/20/40 split rather than the more expected 60/40.

Naturally, the entire idea of shaving a solid bit of roof off of an SUV is going to compromise the amount of ‘practicality’ you get from such a large footprint.

Those compromises are not only there, but they are quite obvious. The sheer height of the GLE makes peering over the edge of the bonnet difficult for parking, and the sloped roofline causes the A-pillar to eat quite a bit of your field of vision.

As you might imagine, it’s genuinely difficult to see much out of the back of the GLE Coupe. I caught myself continually adjusting the rear vision mirror – as though somehow it would grant me more vision out of the letterbox rear window.

While front passengers get away with plenty of room, rear passengers are a little harder done by. This is again, largely due to the roof pillar, which eats into headroom and gives the cabin a claustrophobic feel.

Thankfully, legroom is fantastic (largely due to that massive GLE platform), the trim is all just as good as it is in the front seats, and the back of the centre console gets its own set of climate controls, adjustable air vents and USB-C power outlets.

I’d hardly say there’s an abundance of bottle holders for occupants, but there are a few. They aren’t big or packaged in ideal locations, but you’ll be able to get away with four 300ml containers in the front and four in the rear.

The boot has been re-worked from the GLE Coupe’s predecessor, there’s five extra litres on tap, for a total of 655 litres (VDA) – so it’s far from useless, but still down significantly from the full size GLE which has a massive 825L of space.

Benz has made the boot more useful, too, lowering the sill by 60mm for easier access.

There’s no dancing around the fact that the GLE Coupe is a niche, gratuitous product, targeted at a well-off consumer.

We don’t know what the pricing will be for the Australian range yet – and we won’t for a few months. But what we do know is Mercedes-Benz will only bring two highly specified variants to our market for the launch.

Those two will be the AMG-tuned GLE 53 which we were able to test at the launch, and a slightly lesser specified GLE 450.

Expect tall pricing, north of the wagon bodied GLE 450 ($111,341) for the 450 Coupe and outgoing GLE 43 Coupe ($145,829) for the GLE 53 Coupe.

The GLE Coupe will go into battle against the new BMW X6 (from $121,900) and Porsche Cayenne (from $116,600) and Audi Q8 ($128,900)

Standard features, as with the rest of the second-generation GLE range will be pretty good. We don’t know exactly what Australian-specified vehicles will get, but the GLE 53 as tested in Europe came with an extensive list of items.

You can expect all variants to get 20- to 22-inch alloys, electric tailgates, LED headlights, and Benz’ signature ‘Artico’ faux leather interior trim. The 53 also had a swish fully RGB adjustable interior ambient lighting suite and real wood in the dash. Very nice.

All GLE Coupes will have the impressive MBUX (I’m told it’s said “em bee you ex”, not “em bucks”) digital dash and multimedia suite, consisting of two 12.3-inch screens, one a digital dash, the other a multimedia screen.

The flashy setup also supports Apple CarPlay and Android auto as well as the usual connectivity via Bluetooth and packs several USB C outlets alongside Aux and USB 2.0. Our test 53 had a head-up display, too.

Mercedes’ built-in assistant (summoned by uttering 'Hey Mercedes') has perhaps the best native voice recognition on the market in terms of its accuracy and what it can do.

You can do things like adjust air conditioning, open the sunroof shade (oh yes, the GLE comes with a panoramic sunroof, too), and even find your specific music tracks via internet radio.

Then there’s the built in nav suite which is also one of the better ones on the market, featuring some very cool innovations.

The system will switch to the forward-facing camera when approaching an intersection and show you where to exit using augmented reality. Neat.

The 53’s system is also uniquely adjustable with AMG-specific themes and modes for the dash cluster, setting it apart from the lesser GLE 450 when it arrives.

It’s safe to assume there will be an extensive options list, including the 'E-Active Body Control' system (a $13,000 option on the wagon version) which uses cameras to detect road quality and optimize the air suspension system to suit. It also leans into corners. We’re keen to test it when it becomes available on the GLE 450.

The iX has, as the xDrive part of its name would suggest, a dual-motor electric set-up with all-wheel drive. 

Power and torque now total 300kW and 700Nm for the system in the xDrive45 M Sport, up from the 240kW and 630Nm on offer in the outgoing xDrive40.

BMW says the iX is now good to hit 100km/h from a standstill in 5.1 seconds, with its claimed top speed a nice, rounded 200km/h.

Australia will only get one engine in the GLE Coupe – a 3.0-litre 48-volt mild-hybrid in-line six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol.

There will be two states of tune. The 450 will be able to make use of 270kW/500Nm, while the AMG-spec GLE 53 we were able to drive at the launch has more power still (thanks to extra hybrid augmentation on the turbo) for a total of 320kW/520Nm.

For a quick comparison, the single-variant Q8 produces 250kW/500Nm from a twin-turbo V6, while the equivalent X6 – the M40i packs a 3.0-litre twin-turbo in-line six to make 250kW/450Nm.

The GLE 53 has a nine-speed auto transmission which is specially tuned by AMG to go with the expanded list of available drive modes. All Australian GLE Coupes will be all-wheel drive via a permanently active '4Matic+' system.

The iX’s 94.8kWh battery allows a range up to 522km, but relatively low efficiency because of the size and weight.

Its 20kWh/100km is on the higher side of power use for cars around this size and this is part of the reason its huge battery capacity results in a fairly average driving range.

Maximum power input for DC fast charging is, however, up from 150kW to 175kW with the update, which is good news for those long drives.

The claimed combined cycle fuel consumption figure for the GLE 53 Coupe is 9.3L/100km, and while that’s not bad for something this heavy – keep in mind it’s an NEDC figure and not the widely-used WLTP figure so it could be a bit different by the time the GLE Coupe launches here.

Regardless, the fuel consumption is helped along by the abundance of ratios in the transmission and 48-volt mild-hybrid additions which help to remove inefficiencies from the drivetrain.

Our sweet but brief drive route in the Austrian Alps was not a fair reflection of fuel consumption, so we don’t have a real-world figure for you yet.

Expect the GLE 53 to require premium 98 RON unleaded petrol to fill its 65-litre fuel tank.

The BMW iX was a relatively early entry into the catalogue of electric cars I’ve driven and because of that it had a couple of (in hindsight) unfair criticisms levelled at it.

For a start, it felt heavier than expected and its ride quality didn’t feel up to BMW’s standards - both things that plenty of electric SUVs have struggled with since.

But its drivetrain, design, and interior all impressed, aside from perhaps some of the aforementioned interior reflections.

Now years on, and the iX has aged well.

Some of the mechanicals and suspension also copped a tweak along with the entry iX now being a more powerful ‘45’. The result is a big electric SUV that holds up better than I remember.

‘Smooth’ is the key word that comes to mind in regards to a lot of the iX’s characteristics. While it’s still not perfect and feels heavy, the iX rides well in comparison to many SUVs on the market, including some of its close rivals.

Perhaps key to this is the fact its standard 21-inch wheels leave plenty of tyre to help the suspension soak up sharp edges on bumps, while we’re sure BMW’s handling engineers have learned more about getting the best out of a big, heavy electric vehicle in the last couple of years.

Road noise is well-muted as a result, and the shape of the iX doesn’t seem to lend itself to excessive wind noise. Even when you’re getting rather quick.

Despite being a 2525kg beast, its 5.1-second sprint to 100km/h is in the muscle car realm - the last of Holden’s V8 Commodores would do about that, for reference.

Its acceleration is also nicely progressive, rather than giving you an almighty but unnecessary jolt of torque right as you put your foot down. But once there’s traction and you’re rolling, the xDrive45 is impressive.

Meanwhile, its cornering and braking still reveal the heft behind the iX, it’s not something you can chuck around like a go-kart, but that’s also not really its area.

Anyone familiar with BMW’s steering characteristics will find the slightly higher force required for its weight (and thickness of the steering wheel rim) standard, though it’s still unnecessarily on the heavier side.

The resurgence of the in-line six engine is a glorious thing, and it makes the GLE 53 quite a fun, if chunky, unit to drive.

Acceleration is urgent thanks to the pre-spooled first-stage turbo, and the transmission flicks through the gears like there’s nothing to it.

It’s perhaps not as 'smart' on the downshifts as competitor transmissions from Audi or Porsche, although Mercedes was keen to point out this will get better over time as the car’s computer 'learns' your driving characteristics.

Thankfully though, unless you’re in 'Eco' mode, the GLE 53 does a great job of letting you ride each gear out, giving you that signature in-line six sensation of an entire revolution range of relatively even torque distribution – a characteristic which Mercedes has gone to pains to perfect on a turbocharged engine.

This has the result of letting you bask in the sound for precious extra seconds.

While not as furious as preceding V8s – it is distinct. It’s refined and rich, although more subdued than you might have come to expect from vehicles wearing the Affalterbach badge.

I’m a fan. It’s an engine befitting a more refined sports machine than a garish statement.

The AMG suspension tune was great, too, keeping the massive Coupe truly under control in the corners, while soaking up bumps (which we’ll admit, there were few of on Austria’s immaculate roads).

It was interesting to read colleague Matt Campbell found the standard suspension less than impressive on the regular SUV-shaped variants, so we’ll see what the more basic set-up on the 450 is like at the Coupe’s launch.

I have no complaints about the steering, which proved to be responsive, smooth and accurate, while not erring too far on the heavy side, even in 'Sport' or 'Sport+' mode.

My main complaints lie with outward visibility and the sheer size of the GLE’s body. There were some nerve-wracking moments piloting it at speed around narrow streets with tall snow embankments encroaching.

And no matter how much I adjusted my seat and mirrors, the view out the back was particularly compromised.

We don’t know exactly how Australian cars will be specified yet, but expect the two GLE Coupes to come with flagship active features like high-speed auto emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning with lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, rear and front cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, 360 degree parking sensors and cameras, fully auto LED headlights, semi-autonomous parking, and driver attention alert.

The GLE has nine airbags and dual ISOFIX child seat mounting points in the outer rear seats.

Regular wagon bodied GLE class vehicles have maximum five-star ANCAP safety ratings as of 2019, and we’ll update you when we hear more about the Coupe variants.

BMW offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with an eight-year/160,000km warranty on the battery.

BMW servicing takes place as needed rather than on a schedule, meaning you’ll be alerted via the car or app when a service is required in the near future.

For the iX a six-year all-inclusive service pack costs $3475, regardless of how many km you drive.

BMW has 54 servicing dealers listed in Australia, with each capital city covered and many more locations in the eastern states.

Mercedes continues with its three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty which is frustratingly standard across European premium car manufacturers in Australia– particularly its primary competitors, Audi and BMW. We doubt this will change any time soon.

Like VW Group competitors, though, Mercedes is now bundling in service costs in packages which can be tacked on to finance. The GLE requires servicing once a year or every 15,000km – we’ll update you on the cost of the packages closer to the Coupe’s local launch.