Used Mercedes GLE 2015-2019 reliability

Many GLEs will come with an air suspension system that can suffer expensive problems. These are relatively few and far between, thankfully, but if you’re looking at a car with the system fitted, it pays to make sure it rides smoothly, with no untoward harshness over bumps, and that you can feel the ride comfort change noticeably while you’re on the move when you switch between Comfort and Sport modes.

Also be wary of any suspension-related warning messages on the dashboard, such as ‘Please wait, car is rising’, which might come up when you start the car. These could point to leaks, which will take a bit of time to sort and could lead to a costly burnt-out compressor.

Other than that, we haven’t heard of any major issues to be concerned about with the GLE, but these are complicated cars, so you’ll want to check that all the electrics function, the sat-nav does its job properly and there are no concerning warning lights on the dashboard.

It also pays to inspect the underside of your prospective purchase, to look for signs of off-road use such as scrapes or old mud. If it has such signs, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but be aware of the potential for damaged components; you might want to get the underside professionally inspected before signing on the dotted line.

Reliability rating 92.8%

The GLE finished third out of 11 cars in the luxury SUV class in our most recent What Car? Reliability Survey. It isn't the most spacious SUV, but it's proving pretty reliable, with only 7% of cars suffering a fault. All issues were resolved at no cost to the owners, and all cars remained driveable and were repaired in less than a week. The bodywork and engine electrics were the only areas of concern.

Mercedes as a brand finished in 23rd place out of 32 manufacturers in the same survey.