Redesigned 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE a Top Safety Pick Plus for Seventh Year
When the Mercedes-Benz GLE was introduced for the 2015 model year, it was basically a refreshed version of the M-Class with a new name. For 2020, the GLE got a full redesign and retained the model’s stellar safety ratings for a seventh consecutive year (five as the GLE-Class, two as the M-Class). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named it a Top Safety Pick Plus, the agency’s highest designation.
Related: Here’s Our Full Preview of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class
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The GLE earned top scores in all of the agency’s evaluations of crashworthiness: driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints. The SUV’s two automatic emergency braking systems — a basic one is standard, with a more-advance one optional — both earned a top rating, but IIHS cautions that neither system performed flawlessly.
The agency reported that the standard system reduced the vehicle’s impact speed by about 10 mph in the 12-mph test and by about 14 mph in the 25-mph test. The optional system, which is part of the Driver Assistance 2 Package, avoided a collision in the 12-mph test and reduced the vehicle’s impact speed by about 21 mph in the 25-mph test. Both performances, however, were sufficient to earn IIHS’ top superior rating (out of none, basic, advanced or superior).
In terms of headlights, the GLE’s safety rating gets a bit cloudier. Only models equipped with the optional curve-adaptive LED projector headlights with high-beam assist qualify for the Top Safety Pick Plus award, and those models also must have been built after July 2019 to qualify. (You can find the build date by month on a sticker in the vehicle’s doorjamb.) The GLE’s base headlights earn an acceptable rating, precluding the Plus designation.
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In terms of the GLE’s competitors, the 2019 BMW X5 is also a Top Safety Pick Plus model — although again, the award only applies to models with uplevel headlights. Another competitor, the 2019 Lexus RX, received top scores in five of IIHS’ crashworthiness tests, but it has yet to undergo the agency’s tough new passenger-side small overlap front test, so it is not yet eligible for either IIHS award. The RX’s headlights also earned only marginal and acceptable ratings, so it could achieve at best a Top Safety Pick (no “Plus”), barring an update to the headlights.
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