Compare the2024 Jeep Grand CherokeeVS 2024 Mercedes GLE

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 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 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Grand Cherokee 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 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’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 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.

Jeep’s powertrain warranty covers the Grand Cherokee 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 for 2 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 2 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’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.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Jeep vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Jeep 3 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

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

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the GLE running its gasoline engine:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Jeep Grand Cherokee uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended on Grand Cherokee 4xe for maximum performance). The GLE requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Grand Cherokee 4xe’s standard fuel tank has 1.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLE 450e’s standard fuel tank (19 vs. 17.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Grand Cherokee 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.

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

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

The Grand Cherokee’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 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 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.

The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The GLE doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the GLE 350 (27.7 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Grand Cherokee’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the GLE’s (38 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee has a greater minimum ground clearance than the GLE (8.4 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Air Suspension’s minimum ground clearance is 1.7 inches higher than on the GLE Airmatic (10.9 vs. 9.2 inches).

The Jeep Grand Cherokee may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 700 pounds less than the Mercedes GLE.

The front grille of the Grand Cherokee 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 offers available 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 has 1 inch more front legroom and 2.5 inches more rear headroom than the GLE.

The Grand Cherokee has a much larger cargo volume than the GLE with its rear seat up (37.7 vs. 33.3 cubic feet).

The Grand Cherokee 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 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, 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 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’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the GLE’s headlights, which were rated “Poor.”

Optional air conditioned front and rear seats keep the Grand Cherokee’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 Grand Cherokee is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The GLE doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Insurance will cost less for the Grand Cherokee owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Grand Cherokee will cost $1460 to $8175 less than the GLE over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Jeep Grand Cherokee will be $21111 to $29017 less than for the Mercedes GLE.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Mercedes GLE by over four to one during 2023.