You've got to try and get your heads round this, but the Mercedes-Benz ML SUV has been facelifted and turned, on the face of it, into an entirely new model - the GLE. This is because Merc's new naming convention dictates that all of its SUVs carry the letter G in their name somewhere, in homage to the Geländewagen. Bigger news for the GLE is that the first plug-in hybrid SUV from Mercedes is included in the range, while the artist formerly known as the Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG becomes the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic... and gets 585hp into the bargain.
Exterior
The ML was Mercedes' best-selling SUV so the major change is to the badging, with the rest of the car receiving mild styling updates. At the front, the GLE benefits from a new radiator grille with the horizontal twin silver bars running from the central three-pointed star, revised bumpers and headlamps, different front wings and a bonnet featuring two power domes. The 'eyebrow' daytime running lights of the current Mercedes range are adopted and the headlights can be specified as full LED affairs. For the rear, the C-pillar remains similar to that found on the ML, to provide some stylistic continuity, while the GLE gets LED tail lamps, integrated exhausts in the lower section of the bumper and a chrome body protector. New light-alloy wheels are the finishing touch for the regular GLE.
The Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S gets some of its own, bespoke styling updates too, such as the 'A-wing' aperture in the front bumper, discreet AMG badging on the twin grille louvres, flared wheel arches, 20-inch AMG multispoke alloys (21s optional) and a black diffuser in the rear bumper.
Interior
New colours and trim finishes are the order of the day here, with the key update being a larger, seven-inch media display in the dash that is partially integrated into the console; this can be optionally upgraded to an eight-inch set-up with Comand Online. There's a simply huge roster of electronic gadgetry that is both standard and optional fit, from fuel-saving devices (Eco start/stop) through Distronic Plus cruise control and parking aids, to a wealth of active and passive safety systems; GLE drivers will not be left wanting for toys.
Trim levels will include AMG Line, which adds all the styling of the Affalterbach model to the inside and outside of a regular GLE, while the Merc-AMG 63 S gets a suitably sporty cabin, with nappa leather seats, AMG badges, a three-spoke AMG Performance wheel with paddleshifts and extra dials for the keen driver. The speedometer also reads to 320km/h...
Mechanicals
Let's start with the basics and work up to the new boy from there, eh? Across the EU6-compliant engine range, Mercedes is claiming fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been cut by 17 per cent, with the bulk of the work being done by two familiar diesels. The 2.1-litre, four-cylinder motor makes 204hp/500Nm in the GLE 250 d and 250 d 4Matic models, with economy and emissions of 52.3/49.5mpg and 140g/km/149g/km (depending on whether you specify all-wheel drive or not, depending on market). A 3.0-litre V6 can be found in the GLE 350 d, where it delivers 258hp, 620Nm, 44.1mpg and 169g/km.
The Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4matic's monstrous 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 leaps to 585hp at 5,500rpm, with a faintly stupid amount of torque backing it up - 760Nm is made from 1,750- to 5,250rpm. Mercedes-AMG says the chassis has been 'completely revised to deliver even better driving dynamics and agility'; while the throttle response and transmission shift times have been sharpened up too. The GLE 63 S can apparently return 23.9mpg combined economy and 278g/km CO2, but you don't care about that, do you? It does 0-100km/h in just 4.2 seconds and is limited to 250km/h flat out, although an AMG Driver's package sees this increase to 280km/h.
So, here we go. The GLE 500 e 4Matic plug-in hybrid combines a 333hp/480Nm V6 petrol engine with an electric motor - integrated into the 7G-Tronic Plus automatic transmission - with 116hp and 340Nm. The combined maximum system outputs in hybrid running come to 442hp and 650Nm, allowing the GLE 500 e to return 85.6mpg and just 78g/km CO2. It can drive in all-electric mode up to 130km/h and travel 30km without resorting to petrol power.
Four usage modes are offered: Hybrid, which automatically switches between just petrol and/or the electric motor, depending on conditions; E-Mode, which locks the GLE in electric running; E-Save, that preserves the current state of charge of the lithium-ion battery; and Charge, which puts juice back to the battery while driving and when stationary. Mercedes says the recharging time using a home wallbox or public facility is around two hours.
Anything else?
There's more to the GLE range's armoury, including Dynamic Select, optional Airmatic air suspension, Active Curve System (for roll compensation during cornering) and Agility Control, but we'll tell you more when we drive it. Which, hopefully, will be very soon indeed.