Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2023 Mercedes GLE

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

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle 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 middle 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 Acadia 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 Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The GLE doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Acadia’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 Acadia 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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

	Acadia	GLE
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	24%
Neck Stress	191 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 GMC Acadia is safer than the Mercedes GLE:

	Acadia	GLE
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	243 lbs.	287 lbs.

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

Warranty

GMC’s powertrain warranty covers the Acadia 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 Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the GLE’s (6 vs. 5 years).

There are over 4 times as many GMC dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’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 Acadia’s reliability 21 points higher than the GLE.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Acadia third among upper midsize suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The GLE isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC above average in initial quality. With 27 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 GMC vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes With 3 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks GMC higher than Mercedes.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks GMC 3 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Acadia
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/27 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
GLE
	RWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/25 hwy
	AWD	3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Hybrid	20 city/25 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/24 hwy
		4.0 turbo V8 Hybrid	16 city/21 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’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 GMC Acadia uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine for maximum performance). The GLE requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Acadia 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 GMC Acadia higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Mercedes GLE (5 to 6). This means the Acadia produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLE every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs standard on the GLE 350 are solid, not vented.

The Acadia stops shorter than the GLE:

	Acadia	GLE
70 to 0 MPH	173 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	130 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The GMC Acadia’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 Acadia 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 Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the GLE 450 pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the GLE 350 4MATIC (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

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

Chassis

The GMC Acadia may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 750 pounds less than the Mercedes GLE.

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. 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 Acadia 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 Acadia has .7 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front shoulder room and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLE.

The front step up height for the Acadia is 2 inches lower than the GLE (18” vs. 20”). The Acadia’s rear step up height is 1 inches lower than the GLE’s (19” vs. 20”).

Cargo Capacity

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the GLE.

	Acadia	GLE
Third Seat Folded	41.7 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	33.3 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79 cubic feet	74.9 cubic feet

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’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 Acadia 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.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Acadia owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Acadia will cost $2515 to $7950 less than the GLE over a five-year period.

The Acadia will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Acadia will retain 47.29% to 50.03% of its original price after five years, while the GLE only retains 42.92% to 45.8%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the GLE because typical repairs cost much less on the Acadia 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, $51 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 GMC Acadia will be $25384 to $41211 less than for the Mercedes GLE.

Recommendations

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