2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE pricing is out: Here’s what it takes to get into one

Last week, we shared with you our

first-drive review of the all-new 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE crossover

, which we liked quite a lot. Now MBUSA has released

pricing details

, and it can be had for a bit less than the outgoing model.

A

GLE 350

(shown in the photo gallery above) has a starting MSRP of $54,695 including destination fee.

That’s $2,000 less than the outgoing

GLE 400

, which was the only non-AMG model for 2019. Its MSRP is $56,695 including destination.

That’s an apple to an orange, though, as the base

crossover

for 2020 has a four-cylinder engine that drives only the rear wheels, whereas the most basic GLE in model year 2019 could only be had with a bi-turbo V6 and all-wheel drive. Our Joel Stocksdale found the four-cylinder, making 255 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, to be “perfectly adequate” with good torque off the line and enough power to get you to speed on onramps. So if you want in on a ground-floor GLE,

Mercedes

has one for you.

Step up to AWD in the GLE 350, and MSRP is $57,195 with destination fee. That’s still with the four-cylinder. That’s 500 bucks more than the least-pricey 2019 model.

And in more of an apple-to-apple powertrain comparison over the outgoing model, the new GLE 450 with a smooth turbocharged inline-six making 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque (and with standard AWD) is priced at $62,145 with destination fee, an increase of $5,450 over the outgoing model. (The GLE 450 is shown in the gallery below.)

That does buy you quite a lot of nice things, however, including a 48-volt

hybrid

assist motor, a slick new nine-speed transmission, standard air suspension (with the option of the sophisticated E-Body Control system), and a gorgeous interior (it’s gorgeous in the GLE 350, too). You even get that nifty trick where the crossover shimmies its way out of a sand trap.

The GLE 350 in AWD form will be available along with the GLE 450 in spring 2019. The rear-wheel-drive version of the GLE 350 will be along a bit later, in summer.