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Driver Power Award 2025: Mercedes GLE

The Mercedes GLE is the winner of the 2025 Auto Express Driver Power Award

Driver Power Award 2025: Mercedes GLE

Chosen not by us but by you, the large and luxurious Mercedes GLE has been rated the best car to own in this year’s Driver Power customer satisfaction survey.

It topped half of the 10 main categories and reached the podium places in several others, while it was the elegant interior and exterior design that impressed owners the most.

The model is offered with petrol, hybrid and diesel engines, making it one of the very few cars on sale available with the latter fuel type. Our case study, Norman Eaton, loves the smooth and prodigious power delivery from 
his GLE 450 d’s 3.0-litre diesel. He even returns 40mpg on the motorway, where the GLE thrives given its cushioned ride, slushy nine-speed automatic gearbox and fine sound deadening.

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On the inside, owners love the Merc’s superb quality, with plush leather, wood veneer and metal wrapping almost everything you touch. Even in its most basic form, the GLE is fully loaded with equipment and luxurious materials, negating the need for buyers to climb up the range and spend more. All cars get dual-screen displays as standard, with owners – including Norman – saying they like the GLE’s balance of digital and physical controls.

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It’s not often a premium car does well in Driver Power – having spent extra, customers usually expect a lot more from a car with a posh badge – but in this case, the GLE has fulfilled buyers’ expectations commendably, even managing to wiggle its way onto the podium for the value section – no mean feat for a car starting from almost £80,000.

Configure your perfect Mercedes GLE through our Find A Car service now. Alternatively, check out the best deals out there on a new Mercedes GLE from stock or top prices on used Mercedes GLE models...

See all the winners...

Click on the gallery below to see all the winners of our 2025 New Car Awards...

You can find all the information on our New Car Awards 2025 winners and the reasons why we chose them on the pages below. Just follow the links to read more…

New Car Awards 2025: the winners

Special edition of Auto Express

Auto Express Issue 1,889

For the full New Car Awards experience, make sure you pick up a copy of our special 2025 New Car Awards collectors' edition of the Auto Express magazine, which is available in shops now.

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Great leasing deals on a Mercedes GLE and rivals

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Consumer reporter

Tom is Auto Express' Consumer reporter, meaning he spends his time investigating the stories that matter to all motorists - enthusiasts or otherwise. An ex-BBC journalist and Multimedia Journalism graduate, Tom previously wrote for partner sites Carbuyer and DrivingElectric and you may also spot him throwing away his dignity by filming videos for the Auto Express social media channels.

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