Top Safety Pick +Top Safety Pick criteria

2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class

midsize luxury SUV / 4-door SUV

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention

2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class 4-door SUV
2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system
Superior
Optional system
Superior
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Optional system
Superior
Standard system
Basic

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Standard blind spot detection
  • Optional lane departure warning
  • Optional lane departure prevention

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4-door 4wd

The Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class was redesigned for the 2020 model year. Driver-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Mercedes-Benz.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTN1910
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 3
Footrest (cm) 15
Left toepan (cm) 15
Brake pedal (cm) 10
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 2
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 2
Upper dash (cm) 2
Lower instrument panel (cm) 2

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTN1910
Head
HIC-15 235
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 5
Maximum Nij 0.20
Chest maximum compression (mm) 28
Femur (kN)
Left 1.9
Right 1.3
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 3
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.42
Right 0.42
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.8
Right 3.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 133
Right 82

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4-door 4wd

The Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class was redesigned for the 2020 model year. Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Mercedes-Benz.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID VTP1920
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 8
Footrest (cm) 14
Right toepan (cm) 11
Center toepan (cm) 8
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 2
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 1
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 7
Upper dash (cm) 6
Right lower dash (cm) 6

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTP1920
Head
HIC-15 202
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.5
Extension bending moment (Nm) 12
Maximum Nij 0.27
Chest maximum compression (mm) 23
Femur (kN)
Left 1.6
Right 1.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 3
Right 5
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.47
Right 0.61
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 4.3
Right 3.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 59
Right 83

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTP1920
Head
HIC-15 102
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.5
Extension bending moment (Nm) 7
Maximum Nij 0.17
Chest maximum compression (mm) 24
Femur (kN)
Left 0.8
Right 0.3
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 1
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.26
Right 0.19
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.4
Right 1.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 36
Right 36

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4-door 4wd

The Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class was redesigned for the 2020 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Mercedes-Benz.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1913
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 1
Left (cm) 1
Center (cm) 2
Right (cm) 1
Brake pedal (cm) 2
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 0
Right (cm) 0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -4
Rearward (cm) -9
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1913
Head
HIC-15 158
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 15
Maximum Nij 0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm) 32
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.9
Femur force - right (kN) 0.5
Knee displacement - left (mm) 3
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1
Maximum tibia index - left 0.59
Maximum tibia index - right 0.46
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 52
Right 45

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4-door 4wd

The Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class was redesigned for the 2020 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Mercedes-Benz.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1915
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -21.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1915
Head HIC-15 37
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.8
Compression (kN) 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 25
Lateral force (kN) 0.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 36
Average deflection (mm) 32
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 4.27
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.50
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.0
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.8
Combined force (kN) 2.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.6
L-M moment (Nm) 72
A-P moment (Nm) 18

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1915
Head HIC-15 74
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 5
Lateral force (kN) 0.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 11
Average deflection (mm) 9
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 1.10
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.05
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.6
Combined force (kN) 1.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.6
L-M moment (Nm) 43
A-P moment (Nm) 20

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight4,779 lbs
Peak force24,944 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio5.22

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Power leather seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 29
Distance below top of head (mm) -18
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 12.8
Head contact time (ms) 64
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 3
Max neck tension (N) 391

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

  • GLE 350 trim equipped with Advanced Lighting package
  • GLE 450 trim equipped with Advanced Lighting package
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED projector
Curve-adaptive?Yes
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the left side of the road and fair on the right side. On curves, visibility was good in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good in all 4 tests.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and on the gradual left curve.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • GLE 350 trim equipped with Advanced Lighting package
  • GLE 450 trim equipped with Advanced Lighting package
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2020-23 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 85.6 m None
Straightaway left edge 63.0 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 88.6 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 66.5 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 69.2 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 60.7 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 155.0 m
Straightaway left edge 158.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 90.1 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 98.9 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 70.6 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 75.5 m

Trim level(s)

  • GLE 350 trim
  • GLE 450 trim
  • GLE 580 trim
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED reflector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the left side of the road and fair on the right side. On curves, visibility was fair in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual left curve, fair on both right curves and inadequate on the sharp left curve.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • GLE 350 trim
  • GLE 450 trim
  • GLE 580 trim
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2020-21 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 79.7 m None
Straightaway left edge 60.4 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 63.5 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 57.3 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 52.8 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 48.3 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 155.2 m
Straightaway left edge 133.6 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 75.0 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 75.5 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 57.7 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 53.4 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

Ratings are given for 2 different trim variations available on this vehicle.

System details

  • Standard Active Brake Assist

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2020-23 models

Superior
Superior
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 10 mph.
  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 14 mph.

System details

  • Optional Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function

Package name

  • Optional Driver Assistance

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2020-23 models

Superior
Superior
with optional equipment
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 21 mph.

About the original front crash prevention test

Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)

Ratings are given for 2 different systems available on this vehicle.

System details

  • optional Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to 2020-23 models of the following trim lines: GLE 350 trim equipped with Driver Assistance Package 2 package, GLE 450 trim equipped with Driver Assistance Package 2 package

Superior
Superior
with optional equipment

Crossing child

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 14 mph.

Crossing adult

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Parallel adult

  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 24 mph.
  • In the 37 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 33 mph. A warning was issued 2.1 seconds before impact.

System details

  • standard Active Brake Assist

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to all 2020-23 models

Basic
Basic

Crossing child

  • In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 10 mph.
  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 12 mph.

Crossing adult

  • In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 4 mph.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle failed to slow.

Parallel adult

  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle failed to slow.
  • In the 37 mph test, this vehicle failed to slow. A warning was issued 0 seconds before impact.

About the pedestrian front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2020-24 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimGLE 350
Seat type leather

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimGLE 350
Seat type leather
1 2 3
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 88
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 83
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 88
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 87
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation