Compare the2024 Toyota Land CruiserVS 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 Land Cruiser 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 Toyota Land Cruiser 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 Land Cruiser has a standard Parking Support Brake 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.

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

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Land Cruiser 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.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Land Cruiser for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the GLE.

There are over 3 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Land Cruiser’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. With 7 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Toyota higher than Mercedes.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 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 2024 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in overall reliability. Mercedes is ranked 29th.

The Land Cruiser’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 71 more horsepower (326 vs. 255) and 170 lbs.-ft. more torque (465 vs. 295) than the GLE 350’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The Land Cruiser’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 96 lbs.-ft. more torque (465 vs. 369) than the GLE 450’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the Land Cruiser gets better mileage than the GLE running its gasoline engine:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Land Cruiser uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLE requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

For better stopping power the Land Cruiser’s standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the GLE:

The Land Cruiser’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 Land Cruiser stops much shorter than the GLE:

The Toyota Land Cruiser’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 Land Cruiser has a standard 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 Land Cruiser (except 1958) has an active front sway bar, which helps keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnects 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.

For greater off-road capability the Land Cruiser has a greater minimum ground clearance than the GLE (8 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Land Cruiser to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the Land Cruiser is quieter than the GLE 450 (30 vs. 38 dB).

The Land Cruiser has a much larger cargo volume than the GLE with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 33.3 cubic feet).

The Land Cruiser’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The GLE’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

A Trailer Sway Control (TSC) is standard on the Land Cruiser, using the Enhanced Vehicle 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 Land Cruiser 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.

The Land Cruiser has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the GLE.