When it comes to SUV’s competition, we all know two great competitors. Range Rover Sport 2018 and Mercedes Benz GLE 2018 are both worth a comparison review. Factually these both vehicles belong to different category, but due to their common use and much resemblance, we fit them into generalized Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) category. Speaking of the facts, a Crossover (CSUV) is a type of SUV which lacks some off-road capabilities but provides better driving comfort and superior fuel economy. On the other hand, a true SUV has all-wheel drive and more features to help it conquer off the road. But due to diversity in vehicles produced, both of these vehicles can be considered as SUV, leaving ‘’crossover’’ aside for a while.
DIMENSIONS
Range Rover sport has a length of 4879mm, width of 2073mm, height of 1811mm, ground clearance of 213mm and wheelbase at around 2923mm. Mercedes Benz GLE has a length of 4819mm, width of 1935mm, height of 1796mm, ground clearance of 201mm and wheelbase at around 2915mm. In every aspect Range knocks out the GLE with its bigger dimensions from outside. Let’s talk about how spacious these SUVs are from inside. Range has a front head room of 1002mm, front leg room of 1072mm, front shoulder room of 1549mm, rear head room of 992mm, rear leg room of 940mm and rear shoulder room of 1524mm. GLE has a front head room of 988mm, front leg room of 1024mm, front shoulder room of 1486mm, rear head room of 978mm, rear leg room of 975mm and rear shoulder room of 1483mm. The only thing which is more spacious in GLE than its competitor is rear leg room and it does not make much difference.
CARGO VOLUME
Cargo volume is of prime importance while choosing SUV, because SUVs are meant to offer a practically reasonable space for luggage. Comparing cargo space of SUVs is not easy and simple as that of a sedan. A few standards have been developed over the course of time to measure cargo space. Liters/VDA is volume capacity of cargo trunk which shows how many boxes (each of one liter) can fit into cargo space or trunk. Likewise, cubic feet (cu.ft) is also used to show cargo capacity as it shows the actual volume of cargo trunk by taking the dimensions in feet. Talking of Liters/VDA, Range has a cargo capacity of 780 liters with seats up and 1686 liters with seats down. GLE has 690 liters with seats up and 2010 liters with seats down. In cu.ft, Range has a cargo capacity of 24.8 cu.ft with seats up and 56.8 cu.ft with seats down. GLE has 38.2 cu.ft with seats up and 80.3 cu.ft with seats down. Both SUVs provide a decent space which can be utilized for many purposes.
ENGINE
Engine is considered as heart of the vehicle because much of the driving characteristics are based on engine’s power. Many vehicles come with same shape and dimensions yet with different engines due to varying power usage. Both SUVs have petrol and diesel variants with varying engine capacities. Petrol variant of Range comes in 2.0L and 5.0L capacity while petrol variant of GLE comes in 3.0L and 5.5L capacity. Diesel variant of Range comes in 2.0L and 4.4L capacity while as of GLE, it comes in 2.1L and 3.0L capacity. So, diesel variant in Range has maximum engine capacity and petrol variant in GLE has maximum engine capacity. Now let’s get down to the power and torque. A good engine not only needs bigger capacity but it should be engineered in such a way, so that it can produce good power and torque figures. Weakest max. power (HP/kW) produced by Range is 240/177 and by GLE is 204/150. Strongest max. power produced by Range is 575/423 and by GLE is 585/430. Lowest max torque (Nm/lb.ft) produced by Range is 400/295 and by GLE is 480/354. Highest max. torque produced by Range is 740/546 and by GLE is 760/561.
PERFORMANCE
Sometimes power and torque figures are confusing and buyer has to rely on other performance indicators. Two of them are top speed and acceleration. These two provide best insight on how well a vehicle performs. Top speed of the slowest variant in Range is 201km/h while in GLE its 210km/h. Top speed of the fastest variant in Range is 283km/h while in GLE its 280 km/h. 0-100 km/h acceleration time of slowest variant in Range is 8.3s while in GLE its 8.6s. Quickest acceleration time of Range is 4.5s and for GLE its 4.2s.
PRICE
Range is priced at 66,750 USD in USA, 64,000 EUR in Germany, 61,645 GBP in United Kingdom and 65,100 EUR in France. While GLE is priced at 52,200 USD in USA, 54,500 EUR in Germany, 51,290 GBP in United Kingdom, and 58,300 EUR in France.
VERDICT
Both the SUVs provide good overall packages in terms of everything needed. Range rover is longer wider and higher and has a bit more ground clearance. It comes with bigger basic luggage compartment (VDA). GLE comes with bigger luggage compartment (EPA) and lower base model price. Other many variables are here to play with them and choose the best variant according to need and use.