Compare the2023 Chevrolet BlazerVS 2022 Mercedes GLE

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the Chevrolet Blazer are height-adjustable, and the rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Mercedes GLE doesn’t offer comfort guides on its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Blazer are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLE doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Blazer’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLE.

Both the Blazer and the GLE have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Chevrolet Blazer is safer than the Mercedes GLE:

	Blazer	GLE
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	22%	24%
Neck Stress	178 lbs.	208 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Chevrolet Blazer is safer than the Mercedes GLE:

	Blazer	GLE
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	673 lbs.	677 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

Chevrolet’s powertrain warranty covers the Blazer 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLE. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the GLE ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Blazer’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the GLE’s (6 vs. 5 years).

There are almost 8 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Blazer’s warranty.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Blazer’s reliability 70 points higher than the GLE.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Blazer second among midsize suvs in their 2021 Initial Quality Study. The GLE isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet above average in initial quality. With 42 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet above average in long-term dependability. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Chevrolet 3 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

Engine

The Blazer’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 53 more horsepower (308 vs. 255) than the GLE 350’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Chevrolet Blazer V6 is faster than the GLE 350 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

	Blazer	GLE
Zero to 60 MPH	6.1 sec	7.6 sec
Quarter Mile	14.7 sec	15.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	95.5 MPH	87.5 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Blazer gets better mileage than the GLE:

			MPG
Blazer
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
GLE
	RWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/27 hwy
	AWD	3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Hybrid	21 city/25 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/26 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Blazer’s fuel efficiency. The GLE doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Chevrolet Blazer uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine for maximum performance). The GLE requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Blazer has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The GLE doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Chevrolet Blazer higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Mercedes GLE (5 to 6). This means the Blazer produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLE every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Blazer stops much shorter than the GLE:

	Blazer	GLE
70 to 0 MPH	165 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	130 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Chevrolet Blazer’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Mercedes GLE only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Blazer has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The GLE doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Blazer RS 4x4 handles at .87 G’s, while the GLE 450 pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Blazer RS 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the GLE 350 4MATIC (27.1 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Blazer’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the GLE’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

Chassis

The Chevrolet Blazer may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 700 pounds less than the Mercedes GLE.

The front grille of the Blazer uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The GLE doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Blazer uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The GLE doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Blazer has .7 inches more front legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLE.

The front step up height for the Blazer is 1.6 inches lower than the GLE (18.4” vs. 20”). The Blazer’s rear step up height is 1 inches lower than the GLE’s (19” vs. 20”).

Towing

The Blazer can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Blazer can be unhitched and driven around locally. The GLE can’t be towed flat on the ground.

A Trailer Sway Control is standard on the Blazer, using the StabiliTrak® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. A trailer sway program costs extra on the GLE.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Blazer LT/RS/Premier’s available exterior PIN entry system. The GLE doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Mercedes-Benz Emergency Call can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Blazer has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLE only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

Consumer Reports rated the Blazer’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the GLE’s headlights, which were rated “Poor.”

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Blazer owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Blazer will cost $2100 to $7490 less than the GLE over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Blazer is less expensive to operate than the GLE because typical repairs cost much less on the Blazer than the GLE, including $407 less for a water pump, $260 less for a muffler, $54 less for front brake pads, $305 less for a starter, $282 less for fuel injection, $50 less for a fuel pump, $289 less for front struts and $73 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Chevrolet Blazer will be $24758 to $33342 less than for the Mercedes GLE.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Chevrolet Blazer, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes GLE isn't recommended.

The Chevrolet Blazer outsold the Mercedes GLE by 16% during the 2021 model year.

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