On August 7, 2019, the Auto Nation Group premiered the new Mercedes-Benz GLE 300d 4MATIC to their media guests and some eager customers at their Mercedes-Benz showroom along EDSA in Greenhills, San Juan.
ANG Assistant Vice President for PR Communications, Joseph Anthony Ayllon, opened the event with the proud and successful history of Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicles (SUVs). “After more than two decades since founding the premium SUV segment and selling more than 5 million SUVs globally, Mercedes-Benz has made a strong mark in the SUV community”, said Ayllon. “Mercedes-Benz SUVs serve a purpose that is beyond utilitarian. They were designed and built to reflect strength and confidence – the same attributes of people who have gone through triumph and defeat, whose character has been fortified by life’s experiences.”
“From the time we introduced the GLE in 2005, it has been regarded as an icon of confidence among our discerning customers, who want a premium SUV that offers no compromise”, said ANG Chief Operating Officer (COO) Francis Jonathan Ang. “It has drawn both aspiration and inspiration from people who are the CEOs of their lives, and those who live for life’s adventures. The new GLE is the result of generations of design and engineering, a powerful promise of trust and capability, with a strength of character that can only come from Mercedes-Benz and this holds true for our entire SUV line-up. Our SUVs are a major structural pillar in the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio, and greatly contribute to the growth of Mercedes-Benz globally.”
And the promise of adventure is what the new GLE is all about with its wealth of innovations. The active suspension system E-Active Body Control is a world first while the driving assistance systems take another step forward with Active Stop-and-Go Assist. The exterior design of the new GLE not only exudes presence and power, but also sets a new standard for aerodynamics in the SUV segment. The new 4MATIC engine ensures great agility on the road and superior performance off the beaten track.
Inside, both driver and passengers will find the new GLE even more spacious and comfortable, while the cockpit features a wide digital screen enhanced with a full-color head-up display for a more convenient experience with the MBUX infotainment system. “The GLE exhibits iconic Mercedes-Benz design while remaining true to its character as an off-road SUV”, said Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer at Daimler AG. “With its design idiom, it perfectly embodies our design philosophy of sensual purity, thus representing modern luxury. The interior derives its fascination from the contrast between the luxurious and elegant design and the digital high-tech of our MBUX system.”
The new GLE is powered by an inline 4-cylinder Turbo Diesel engine that produces 245 horsepower and 500 Newton-meters of torque. Equipped with the 9G TRONIC 9-speed automatic transmission and 4MATIC All-Wheel Drive system, the GLE makes driving to the most difficult terrain a breeze. A first in Mercedes-Benz in the Philippines, the new GLE is equipped with EQ Boost, a mild hybrid feature wherein energy recovered from braking and systematic engine shut offs delivers a boost of energy when needed or when eliminating turbo lag.
This new premium SUV continues the luxurious, elegant ambiance of a Mercedes-Benz luxury saloon and the robust, progressive features of an SUV. Its redesigned cockpit is highlighted by its sporty, stylish cockpit embedded in a striking dashboard design capped by 64-colored premium ambient lighting to set the driving and riding mood. It sports a longer wheelbase than its predecessor, creating significantly more space, especially for passengers in the rear, where it offers more legroom and headroom. It also comes with third-row seats—a first in the Mercedes-Benz SUV line-up. Rear seats can be electronically adjusted and folded to accommodate longer items and luggage. As an added convenience feature, the GLE’s power lift gate can be opened with a kicking motion underneath the bumper beneath the lift gate.
The new GLE sports the latest generation of the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) with two 12.3-inch touchscreens arranged side-by-side for an impressive wide-screen look – a highlight of the comprehensive touch control concept that combines the functionalities of the touchscreen, a central console touchpad, and touch-control buttons on the steering wheel for less driver distraction and stress. A highly intelligent virtual assistant is activated by pressing a button in the steering wheel or by simply saying, “Hey Mercedes” from anywhere in the cabin. It caters to voice commands to attend to infotainment functions such as destination input, phone call, music selection, climate control, and ambient lighting. MBUX comes with a natural speech recognition program that helps it to recognize and understand nearly all sentences from the fields of multimedia and vehicle operation. The infotainment system also offers seamless Apple Carplay smartphone integration for a more hands-free driving experience.
Ang ended his remarks by saying, “For us at Auto Nation Group and all our dealers, we are guided by the task we inherited from Gottlieb Daimler that can be summed up in these words: “The best or nothing.”
