The is now officially on sale in Australia, joining the smaller existing GLA and GLC SUVs in offering a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain.
An updated GLE was announced for Australia earlier this year, bringing a revised exterior and a model lineup starting with a six-cylinder turbo-diesel wagon variant, while petrol-powered AMG versions in both SUV and Coupe guises are set to arrive early next year.
Joining the updated large luxury SUV range, the five-seat GLE450e PHEV will be offered in both SUV and Coupe body styles, priced from $156,900 and $160,900 before on-road costs, respectively.
This compares to $142,300 before on-roads for the turbo-diesel GLE350d already in local showrooms, which like the PHEV is imported to Australia from the US.
The 450e PHEV costs marginally more than the outgoing BMW X5 xDrive50e M Sport PHEV, which was priced at $153,600 plus ORCs. Prices for its replacement – the first PHEV variant the new-generation X5 due to arrive here in November – are yet to be announced.
However, the Mercedes-Benz does undercut the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid (PHEV), which starts at $164,800 plus ORCs as an SUV and $171,400 plus ORCs in Coupe form.
PHEV sales in Australia have increased by 124.2 per cent so far this year to September, and accounted for 9.3 per cent of all new vehicles sold last month.
The GLE450e PHEV is powered by a 240kW 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder petrol engine and a 135kW electric motor, with combined outputs of 320kW and 680Nm fed to all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission.
Both body styles of the GLE450e claim the same 0-100km/h time of 5.6 seconds, bettering the turbo-diesel’s time by 0.6 seconds.
A 25.7kWh lithium-ion battery provides electric power at speeds of up to 140km/h, delivering a claimed electric-only driving range of 87km for the SUV and 91km for the swoopier-roofed Coupe, despite the latter running larger 21-inch wheels compared with the SUV’s 20-inch wheels.
Unusually, DC fast-charging capability can be added as an $1100 option, allowing a 10–80 per cent recharge in 29 minutes. AC charging at 11kW sees a 100 per cent charge from flat in two hours and 45 minutes.
Mercedes-Benz Australia hasn’t provided local fuel consumption figures, but the 450e sold in the US and UK has a combined economy claim of 88.3mpg, which equates to 3.2L/100km, and combined energy consumption of 21.6kWh/100km.
For comparison, Australia’s current GLE350d diesel has a combined fuel consumption figure of 8.2L/100km, with the UK model rated as marginally more efficient at 7.5L/100km, potentially due to different equipment levels.
In UK versions of the GLE, the PHEV’s cargo area is reduced from the diesel’s 630 litres to 485L.
Australian models come with LED headlights and tail-lights, and an illuminated grille with a Mercedes-Benz star logo. An AMG Line exterior package is standard, including AMG alloy wheel designs, body-coloured wheel-arch surrounds, a diamond-pattern grille, side skirts, and a diffuser-style rear bumper.
The standard Night Package brings black finishes to the wheels, grille crossbar, window surrounds, mirror caps and roof rails, as well as privacy glass for the rear windows.
An optional exterior Comfort Package costs $2300 and adds power-closing doors, surround lighting, and animated vehicle projection.
Inside, the seats are trimmed in artificial leather, with the Coupe offering AMG Line sports seats as standard, adding microfibre inserts. Both versions have heated front seats.
The driver benefits from a standard head-up display (HUD), with Burmester surround sound also standfard in the 450e PHEV.
The cabin is dominated by three 12.3-inch digital displays under a single piece of glass, running the latest operating system, which includes artificial intelligence (AI) and connection to the Mercedes-Benz cloud for access to continuous updates.
An interior Comfort Package, offered for $5600, brings multi-contour seats and heating packages for front passengers, plus a heated steering wheel and automatic climate control.
Among its advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are Lane Change Assist and Steering Assist, with a 360-degree camera also standard as part of the Parking Assist autonomous parking system.
There’s also an optional towing package, priced at $3000 and offered in conjunction with air suspension – a further $3800 – enabling a 3500kg braked towing capacity, matching the diesel powertrain when fitted with the same package.
The GLE accounted for 8.4 per cent of the 15,832 sales notched up by Mercedes-Benz Cars in Australia between January and September 2026, with 1325 examples of the large SUV sold across both body styles.
In addition to the X6, the BMW X5 recorded almost double the GLE’s sales in the same period with 2498 sold, making it also more popular than the Cayenne (1623 including SUV and Coupe) and the Lexus RX (1609), but not the segment-leading Land Rover Defender which has found 3098 new homes this year.
