Compare the2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee LVS 2023 Mercedes GLE

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Mercedes GLE doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 Grand Cherokee L 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 Jeep Grand Cherokee L has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The GLE doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Grand Cherokee L has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The GLE doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Grand Cherokee L has standard ParkSense Rear Park Assist with Stop that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The GLE doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The GLE doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Grand Cherokee L’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 Grand Cherokee L 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, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Grand Cherokee L its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 36 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GLE has not been fully tested, yet.

Jeep’s powertrain warranty covers the Grand Cherokee L 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.

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance on the Grand Cherokee L for 3 years and unlimited miles. Jeep will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the GLE.

There are over 6 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Grand Cherokee L’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep above average in initial quality. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

As tested in Motor Trend the Jeep Grand Cherokee L V6 is faster than the GLE 350 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee L 3.6 DOHC V6 4x4 gets better fuel mileage than the GLE 580 4.0 turbo V8 Hybrid (18 city/25 hwy vs. 16 city/21 hwy).

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Grand Cherokee L V8’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 Jeep Grand Cherokee L uses regular unleaded gasoline (mid-grade octane recommended with the 5.7 V8 engine for maximum performance). The GLE requires premium, which can cost on average about 31.4 cents more per gallon.

The Grand Cherokee L 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.

For better stopping power the Grand Cherokee L’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the GLE:

The Grand Cherokee L’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 Grand Cherokee L stops shorter than the GLE:

For better traction, the Grand Cherokee L has larger standard tires than the GLE (265/60R18 vs. 255/50R19).

The Grand Cherokee L 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.

The Grand Cherokee L offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the GLE; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Grand Cherokee L’s wheelbase is 3.8 inches longer than on the GLE (121.7 inches vs. 117.9 inches).

The Grand Cherokee L’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50% to 50%) than the GLE’s (53.5% to 46.5%). This gives the Grand Cherokee L more stable handling and braking.

The Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 handles at .82 G’s, while the GLE 350 4MATIC pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the GLE 350 4MATIC (27.3 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Grand Cherokee L’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the GLE’s (38.4 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee L Laredo/Limited has a greater minimum ground clearance than the GLE (8.5 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee L to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s minimum ground clearance is 1.7 inches higher than on the GLE Airmatic (10.9 vs. 9.2 inches).

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Grand Cherokee L has an electronically controlled liquid-filled main engine mount. A computer-controlled electric current in the liquid changes its viscosity, allowing the mount to dampen the engine completely at all RPMs. The GLE uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

The front grille of the Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Cherokee L 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.

The Grand Cherokee L has 1 inch more front legroom and .3 inches more rear headroom than the GLE.

The Grand Cherokee L’s cargo area provides more volume than the GLE.

Both the Grand Cherokee L and the GLE offer second row automatic folding seats. The Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s third row seats also fold up or down at the press of a button. The GLE doesn’t offer automatic folding third row seats.

The Grand Cherokee L 4WD with optional equipment 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 Grand Cherokee L can be unhitched and driven around locally. The GLE can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Trailer Sway Control is standard on the Grand Cherokee L, using the Electronic Stability Control 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.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Cherokee L’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the GLE’s headlights, which were rated “Poor.”

Optional air conditioned front and second row seats keep the Grand Cherokee L’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The GLE doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Mercedes GLE by almost four to one during 2022.