Mercedes-Benz GLE450 vs Bentley Flying Spur

What's the difference?

All told, the Mercedes-Benz GLE 2020 model is an improvement in many ways over its predecessor. It's safer, more high-tech, considerably more luxurious and practical inside, and offers better value, too.

But, in 300d guise at least, it's let down by a slightly underdone engine, and suspension that just doesn't do a good enough job on rougher roads. It's close, but not close enough to be best in class.

Maybe that'll be a different case for the higher-grade versions with the most high-tech engines and the tricky optional suspension... we'll have to wait and see.

The Bentley Flying Spur Speed is a whole lot of car, for a whole lot of money. Sure, I’d rather have a Ferrari or a Porsche with similar power (and the Panamera shares the same V8 and hybrid set up), but then if you’re in the market for a Bentley like this you already have a garage full of other options. And I can see why you’d add one of these to your collection. Because you can.

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

You can make your own mind up about the styling of the new GLE. It's certainly more aggressive than the model that came before it, and Benz claims that it's the most aerodynamic SUV in its class.

The models on test were all fitted with the AMG styling pack and the bigger 21-inch multi-spoke wheels, and from some angles it's a striking car. I particularly like the way the rear-end treatment has worked for the GLE: the triangulated tail-lights, the lower bumper and the rear glass all work together well.

In profile, the GLE is quite challenging to look at. The rounded window-line is a bit awkward, and somehow the wheels just don't fit with the bulky guards (though I do like the way the AMG 21s poke out a bit at the back).

The front sees the diamond-style treatment to the grille for the AMG Line versions, but there's a lot of black plastic on the bumper, and the headlight shape gives it a bit of a droopy-eyed look. Is it just me, or is it a bit of a Bassett Hound? 

It is a bigger car than before - 111mm longer (now 4930mm - and on an 80mm longer wheelbase, now 2995mm), and it's 15mm wider but 31mm lower - and it looks more substantial as a result. I'm just not sure it's pulling off its bulk as well as it could.

So the outside is pretty, er, interesting. We had comments from passersby to that effect, too, and in our comparison test it was the consensus of our team of experienced testers that the GLE had some challenging exterior design elements.

But inside is where the best bits hide, with a lot of luxury finishes, materials and technology giving the GLE some wow factor that its exterior design arguably misses out on.

Bentley seems to have spent the design budget on the Continental GT Speed, which was launched at the same time and gets the same new engine under its slightly sexier bonnet. The big move there has been going from Bentley’s traditional four headlight face to a smoother more modern one with just two lights, or eyes.

The Flying Spur, by comparison, sticks with the more traditional look, and four eyes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it looks nerdier. Indeed, it’s still an impressive and handsome beast and does a mighty fine job of making this much metal and mass look bold and desirable. 

Truly, vehicles this large tend to look lumpen and making one look as good this Flying Spur Speed does is an impressive feat. Look at the photos and be impressed.

The interior fit out and fittings are stunning, with Bentley boldly claiming it makes the best car cabins in the world. It’s not an outrageous claim, either.

The cabin presentation and pragmatism is excellent in the new-generation GLE. There was an existing version on site for us to compare, and to say it's like night-and-day would be generous to the old model.

A lot of that comes down to the MBUX twin 12.3-inch screens on top of the dash - one for all the driver instrumentation and controls, and the other for sat nav, media, car controls and other settings. They look great, and there are multiple ways to control them: the steering wheel controls, the touch pad between the front seats, the screen in the middle is touch-capacitive, and there's the much-bragged-about “Hey Mercedes” voice control system.

But it's more than just the screens: the finishes and materials used in the GLE are exceptional. The plastics are excellent, the brushed aluminium treatment that runs the width of the dash with ambient lighting, the surrounds on the vents (oh, so many vents!) - it all works so well together. But the open-pore wood finish is my favourite element, adding a touch of ruggedness that's also plush and luxurious.

The test cars all had the high-end leather treatment and optional bolster-heavy seats, and they're okay, but a little fiddly to adjust. I guess that's the beauty of driver profiles - the car will remember your favourite settings and make the adjustments as you get in or out by detecting the key.

There's also excellent storage throughout - the door pockets in all four doors are huge, there are cupholders front and rear, and loose item storage is decent, too. Plus there are heaps of USB-C (fast charging) ports up front and in the back.

Speaking of the back, the cars at launch all had the seven-seat package, which might appeal to you, or not. It's more than just a couple of seats in the back row, because it includes electric seat adjustment for the second row, with slide and recline functions allowing you to prioritise second- or third-row space.

The space in the second-row with the seats set as far back as they can go is excellent. There's heaps of room for someone my height (182cm) to sit behind a similar sized driver with ample knee room, headroom and shoulder room. You'll be able to fit three adults across the back, or if you have kids, there are three top-tether points and outboard ISOFIX child-seat anchors, too. No child seat restraints in the third row, though.

Whether you choose the five-seat or seven-seat option, the boot space remains the same at 825 litres with five seats in play. All models have an electric tailgate, too.

And if you're curious about the third row, it should be fine for anyone shorter than 175cm for shorter drives. It's not super spacious back there, and should be considered a 5+2 option. Really need a seven-seat Merc? You could get a GLS if you can afford it, or go for a V-Class luxury van. Go on. Do it!

I’m not going to pretend that I had my laptop out taking notes while we were hitting 200km/h down the back straight at Magarigawa, but at more sane speeds there’s no doubt the rear seats of this car would be a very relaxing, plush, cosseting and pleasant smelling place to sit and work.

That’s at least partly what the Flying Spur Speed is for, a limousine for those who don’t like, or perhaps can’t quite afford, a Rolls-Royce, but still want great British solidity, class and that sense of obscene wealth, probably inherited.

The bonus of the Flying Spur is that it’s also a lovely place to be should you choose either of the front seats, with hugely comfortable seats that are more like couches, endless adjustability and many soothing massage settings for your heated and ventilated pews.

The spinning central 12.3-inch display remains the highlight, offering you a modern touch screen, which can disappear to reveal either three classic analogue dials or a plan piece of dashboard, if you prefer a “digital detox”.

Is “value” even a word that people use when they can afford to shop for a Bentley that costs $581,900, and will not be their only car? At very least, it’s a term that means something different to the people who breathe that kind of rarefied air.

The kind who have memberships to the exclusive Magarigawa Club where the Flying Spur Speed was launched. When just being a member costs a rumoured $1 million a year (and there’s a waiting list to get in), then half that much for a car probably isn’t so much.

The Flying Spur Speed comes with everything you would expect from a Bentley, incredible levels of comfort, a modern hybrid system that allows you to pretend you’re an eco-warrior while driving through the zero-emission zones of big cities like London and plenty of space and shiny things to look at.

The stereo is a Naim for Bentley audio system "arguably the finest in-car hi-fi available in any production car", while you also score a panoramic sunroof and mood lighting and even lovely deep-pile mats in the footwells. Ahh.

Sure, you could buy Ferraris and Lamborghinis for that kind of money, but they don’t have comfortable back seats like this Bentley, for those days when you really need to get to the chopper (parked on your personal helipad) in a hurry.

Powering the Mercedes-Benz GLE is a selection of engines, with petrol and diesel offered.

The entry-level power plant is the 300d, which uses a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with 180kW of power (at 4200rpm) and 500Nm of torque (from 1600-2400rpm). It has a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive as standard.

The range-topping diesel is a thumper. It's the 400d, which runs a 2.9-litre turbo-diesel six-cylinder with 243kW of power (at 4000rpm) and 700Nm of torque (from 1200-3000rpm). It also has a nine-speed auto and AWD standard.

The sole petrol model at launch is the 450, which employs a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine with 270kW of power (at 5500rpm) and 500Nm (at 1600-4500rpm). It uses a nine-speed automatic transmission with AWD, but this version is the only one with mild-hybrid tech, using 48-volt EQ Boost tech to help add 16kW and 250Nm for short stints of added performance (0-100km/h in just 5.7 seconds, apparently), and allowing the engine to shut off under light throttle or lift-off situations.

If you plan to tow, there's a factory-fit tow pack available that allows 750kg unbraked and 3500kg braked towing across all grades. This pack is the one from the factory - remember that - and it costs $1900. If you instead fit one as an aftermarket fit, the figures are 750kg/2700kg respectively.

If you’re going to put the word “Speed” in the title of your car, you really can’t mess about when it comes to the powerplant, and Bentley also has a proud history of making hugely powerful V12 engines to live up to. That’s a history that has now ended, with the announcement that the new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 in this Flying Spur Speed will be the one and only in all Bentleys, henceforth, including the Continental and the Bentayga SUV.

Bentley’s W12 engine is, sadly, no more, which might well make some older Flying Spurs quite collectable.

The V8 will come in different flavours, of course, and it’s also a hybrid, as is the modern way. Bentley calls the 140kW electric motor attached to the engine an “e-machine”.

Using that machine, the Speed can whisk you around in silent, EV-only mode for up to 81km. With such a stupendous sounding V8 on offer, it’s hard to see why you’d bother, but it’s an option, and the hybrid system is cleverly set up so that the harder you drive, the quicker the battery recharges, so effectively you’d almost never have to actually plug this PHEV in.

With the engine and e-machine combined, you’re looking at a staggering 575kW and 1000Nm, enough to propel all 2646kg of this Flying Spur Speed to 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds.

It might not sound quite as orchestrally moving as the big, sassy W12, but it’s still a hell of a replacement, as it is, in fact, “the most powerful Bentley engine ever”. That will do nicely.

Fuel consumption varies between the models, as you'd expect.

The 300d is the most frugal of the mix, with an official combined cycle fuel use claim of 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres. The 400d, with its bigger six-cylinder diesel, is said to use 7.7L/100km. The 450 petrol model has the highest claimed fuel use, at 9.1L/100km, and that's despite the fact it's the only version of this trio to bring electrification into the mix with the EQ Boost 48-volt mild hybrid system.

On test at the launch of the GLE we saw a displayed return of 9.4L/100km for the 300d model, but there was a fair bit of country road and highway driving in the mix.

All versions of the GLE are fitted with an 85-litre fuel tank.

So, if you were very careful to use your 81km of EV-only range, as often as possible, and you drove very slowly and treated the accelerator pedal with great care, you might, possibly, achieve the Flying Spur Speed’s claimed fuel-economy of 10.7 litres per 100km. 

That’s the great thing about hybrids like this, they are theoretical fuel misers of the highest order. But if you aren’t careful and you care more about enjoying that twin-turbo V8 engine you’ve paid so much money for, you’re never, ever going to get it under 15L/100km, and you’ll quite likely exceed 20L/100km, as we did, with ease, by driving it around a track all day.

Theoretically, again, this Bentley will emit just 33 grams of CO2 per kilometre. 

The launch drive was limited to the 300d variant, though I did get a chance to sample the version with air suspension, as well as the model with the standard steel suspension.

Now, before we get too nerdy, this is an important element for a luxury SUV. Ride comfort is arguably as vital as effortless power. And, sadly for the GLE, neither model sets any benchmarks for suspension control and comfort.

The steel-sprung model doesn't have adaptive suspension at all, meaning that it can be bouncy, wobbly, unsettled and stiff all at the same time. The country road I sampled it on showed that the standard suspension offered up a quite nervous experience, never feeling as settled as a luxury SUV really ought to.

The air suspension version is definitely better, but still not as good as a BMW X5, Audi Q7 or VW Touareg. It lacks the body control and comfort that a true luxury SUV ought to offer.

Now, that might matter to you, or it might not. You might think the look of the car - with 20s, 21s or 22s filling the guards - is more important than how it deals with lumps and bumps. But it's our job to tell you how the land lies, and the GLE simply can't match the better SUVs in this segment as a driver's tool.

There is another level of suspension which the CarsGuide team (myself included) hasn't yet had the chance to sample - the E-Active Body Control system, which includes curve-tilting so it can make the car feel level through corners, and a system that'll scan the road ahead to predict bumps and lumps and prime the suspension to deal with it. That system is $13,000... and, while I haven't sampled it yet, it's my hope that it makes all the difference to the GLE.

So, what about the other driving elements? Well the steering is light and accurate, and decently responsive at low speeds or highway pace, and you're never left guessing as to what'll happen.

The engine, too, is decent - a 2.0-litre with 180kW and 500Nm is nothing to be sneezed at - but in a vehicle this large, with a kerb weight of 2165kg, and with a nine-speed automatic taking care of forward progress, it can be a busy engine.

That's because the transmission will shuffle between ratios when you encounter a hill as it doesn't quite have the grunt to simply stick in a gear and tug you along. It's not that big of a deal, and the transmission is smooth enough and pretty hard to catch out, but it is a little less effortless than a six-cylinder would no doubt be.

All in all, I was left wanting more from the drive experience. Maybe the higher-grade models with the highest-grade suspension will prove a better flag waver for the new-generation GLE.

Any car with a whopping 575kW and 1000Nm is going to be interesting, even invigorating to drive, but you’d have to say the smaller and lighter it is, the more excitement, and even fear, you’re going to be faced with.

In the case of the Bentley Flying Spur Speed, you’re talking about an enormous, and enormously luxurious and comfortable, sedan that’s designed to carry more than two people, and weighs a hefty 2646kg.

It’s a limousine powered by a rocket, as I said earlier, but looking at the size, and pondering the weight of it, you really don’t expect too much in the way of thrills. Effortless performance, sure, titanic overtaking thrust, perhaps, but then you read the fine print and note that this Flying Spur Speed can hit 100km/h in 3.5 seconds.

That’s seriously fast in anything, but in a car this big, and filled with as much luxury as a mid-sized super yacht, it feels other worldly. 

Hammering the big Speed around a tight, intense race track feels strange at first and then strangely comfortable. Even sitting in the back wasn’t so much frightening as amusing, as the big Bentley simply slopes through any challenge you throw at it.

Sure, I’d like it to be louder, and you do miss the sound of the old 12-cylinder engine (and Bentley fans in particularly might find its absence upsetting), but the V8 is still throaty enough to please your ears, and it’s important to consider that it’s actually more powerful than the old W12, which is no mean feat.

Compared to the shorter, sharper Continental GT Speed we drove on the same day, the Flying Spur does have a bit more body roll, a bit more pitch and dive under braking from 200km/h, or when accelerating ballistically out of slow corners, but it’s still stupendously impressive for what it is.

And that is a luxury limousine that can turn itself into a race track weapon if you, and your three passengers, want it to. 

The Flying Spur Speed comes with 10 airbags and it has not been crash tested. Bentley also has its own 'Safeguard' suite of technologies including auto emergency braking, 'Swerve Assist' and 'Turn Assist'. 

Other tech includes 'Predictive Adaptive Cruise Assist with Lane Guidance', lane departure warning, emergency assist, remote park assist and 3D surround-view monitor.

Mercedes-Benz stands by its three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty plan, stating at the launch it has no plans to extend it to match what most of the mainstream brands now offer (five years). But it's not alone in the luxury segment in that regard.

The big point the company's local reps made was that they're trying to lower the cost of ownership for customers through servicing packages. You can pre-pay them, or you can pay as you go (PAYG).

The GLE requires maintenance every 12 months or 25,000km. The pre-pay option is $2700 for the first three years/75,000km of maintenance or, if you decide to PAYG, the costs are $850, $1200 and $1250 (totalling $3300 over the same period). It makes sense to pre-pay then, and you can bundle the cost into your finance, too, so you'll notice it less.

There is three years roadside assist included at no cost if you buy the car brand new, as it coincides with the warranty period.

The Bentley Continental GT Speed comes with a five-year, all-inclusive servicing plan as standard.

That sounds good, but stunningly, Bentley still only offers a three-year manufacturer warranty, albeit one with no mileage limitations. That's way below industry standard these days.

The battery that forms part of the hybrid system is, however, warrantied for eight years, or 160,000km.