Compare the2023 Audi Q7VS 2023 Mercedes GLE

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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Both the Q7 and GLE have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q7 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The GLE’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Q7 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The GLE doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Q7 offers an optional backup collision prevention system 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q7. But it costs extra on the GLE.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Q7 Prestige 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 Q7’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLE.

Both the Q7 and the GLE have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 and available around view monitors.

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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi Q7 is safer than the Mercedes GLE:

	Q7	GLE
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Abdominal Force	128 lbs.	151 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	557 lbs.	615 lbs.

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

Warranty

The Q7’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the GLE’s (12 vs. 5 years).

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 Q7’s reliability 33 points higher than the GLE.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 18 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Q7 gets better mileage than the GLE:

			MPG
Q7
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	19 city/25 hwy
		3.0 turbo V6 Hybrid	18 city/22 hwy
GLE
	AWD	4.0 turbo V8 Hybrid	16 city/21 hwy

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q7’s brake rotors are larger than those on the GLE:

	Q7	GLE
Front Rotors	14.8 inches	13 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	13 inches

The Q7’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 Q7 stops much shorter than the GLE:

	Q7	GLE
70 to 0 MPH	160 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	130 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Q7’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GLE (285/45R20 vs. 275/45R21).

The Q7 Prestige’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the GLE 450’s optional 40 series tires.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the Q7 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The GLE doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Q7 Prestige handles at .86 G’s, while the GLE 450 pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Q7 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the GLE 350 4MATIC (26.4 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Q7 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the GLE (8.3 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Q7 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Q7 w/Air Suspension’s minimum ground clearance is .5 inch higher than on the GLE Airmatic (9.7 vs. 9.2 inches).

Passenger Space

The Q7 has 1.4 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front shoulder room and .2 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLE.

The front step up height for the Q7 is 1.4 inches lower than the GLE (18.6” vs. 20”). The Q7’s rear step up height is 1.3 inches lower than the GLE’s (18.7” vs. 20”).

Servicing Ease

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Mercedes. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 16% lower rating, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

Ergonomics

Laser headlights, optional on the Q7 Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the GLE’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

Consumer Reports rated the Q7’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the GLE’s headlights, which were rated “Poor.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q7 Prestige offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The GLE doesn’t offer headlight washers.

A manual rear sunshade and rear side window sunshades are optional in the Q7 (except Premium) to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The GLE doesn’t offer a rear sunshade.

The Q7 55 TFSI Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The GLE’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Q7 owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Q7 with a number “5” insurance rate while the GLE is rated higher at a number “8” rate.

The Q7 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Q7 will retain 47.36% to 48.47% 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 Q7 is less expensive to operate than the GLE because typical repairs cost much less on the Q7 than the GLE, including $495 less for a water pump, $62 less for front brake pads, $95 less for a fuel pump and $633 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Audi Q7 will be $741 to $13805 less than for the Mercedes GLE.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi Q7, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes GLE isn't recommended.

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its August 2019 issue and they ranked the Audi Q7 Prestige higher than the Mercedes GLE 450.