Mercedes GLE 350de Coupé, the revolutionary PHEV diesel suv

The debut of the second generation of the Mercedes GLE SUV coupe impacts the market with a novelty - that of the long-distance plug-in hybrid coupled with an efficient turbodiesel engine - which could revise the programs of many manufacturers, 'fascinated' by the technology of all electric more than their customers are demonstrating.

Completely redesigned taking into account the latest stylistic dictates of the Three-Pointed Star, GLE Coupé highlights a more dynamic and more elegant exterior design, in which the Mercedes' suv's muscularity (too excessive in some variants) is mitigated by the dynamism of a coupe silhouette.

The proportions change and the aerodynamics care also changes, which drops the Cx by 9% to a value of 0.32. Needless to speak of the passenger compartment, which brings together all the experience made with the latest models in the context of the Mercedes-Benz User Experience and the raising of perceived quality. However, as we anticipated, it is under the long bonnet that hides the most important novelty, a technological 'gamble' that has all the potential to become the reference of the sector - as in 1978 it became the adoption in production, for the first time, the ABS just on a Mercedes - and to oblige to rethink the strategies of electrification of the suvs and the other high-end models. Customers in almost all European markets continue to ask for diesel and the combination found in the GLE 350de - ie a 4-cylinder turbodiesel and an electrical section with a total power of 320 Hp and a total torque of 700 Nm - is really up measure 'for what could be the most profitable evolution of the market. Thanks to a 31.2 kWh battery (which therefore has acceptable dimensions) the GLE 350de can travel in 100% electric mode for 100 km and allows a record-breaking homologation: 1.1 liters of diesel per 100 km (it was the dream of Ferdinand Piech) with CO2 emissions of 30 g / km. Recharging takes place, since it is a plug-in, a 20-30 minutes or through dynamic energy recovery.