PARIS MOTOR SHOW: New Mercedes-Benz GLE to offer ‘jumping suspension’

An innovative new off-road solution developed by Mercedes-Benz could put an end to tricky 4WD recoveries.

A function of the 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE’s new electronic active body control (E-ABC) system, Free Ride Assistant effectively bounces the vehicle out of trouble, should it become bogged in deep sand or mud.

Showcased at the official launch of the new 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE at the Paris motor show yesterday, the system is fully networked with the car, combining the vehicle’s air suspension and hydraulic damping to control each wheel separately.

SUV development director Dr Andreas Zygan said Mercedes engineers found the creative application for the system during development of the new GLE, which arrives in Australia around next April.

They recognised the possibility to use the car’s dynamic active body control system to combine an up and down movement with small forwards and backwards motions to ‘jump’ the vehicle out of trouble.

“It’s something during our test drives in sand, it was an option,” he said. “Therefore we try, we do some software issues and it works and we said let’s do something professional for our customers. This could be helpful to get out of a critical issue.”

The system is intuitive enough to enable drivers to operate each wheel separately through the GLE’s touch-screen. While this may conjure up visions of low-riders with hydraulic suspension, Mercedes-Benz says safety concerns have ensured that the Free Ride Assistant will only work at low speed in off-road mode with the doors closed.

Peter Heveling, Mercedes-Benz SUV product manager, said the technology would give the Mercedes-Benz GLE a competitive advantage against the newly launched BMW X5.

“The X5 we expected that they would improve their suspension system, so they also have now front air suspension which they didn’t have before and they started with an off-road package for the first time,” he said.

“In order to be different to them, we developed the E-ABC because this is a completely new system which is one level higher than the BMW X5 already has now.”

In addition to supporting the GLE in off-road situations, Mercedes-Benz says the new E-ABC system will enhance the on-road driving characteristics of the GLE, delivering a smoother ride.

Expect to see Free Ride Assistant to be rolled out on future Mercedes-Benz SUVs in due course.

Like the fourth-generation BMW X5, which beats the new GLE to Australia next month, the big new Mercedes SUV will come with the option of seven seats for the first time.

Unlike the X5, the GLE has never offered a third-row option – not since it was called the M-Class, anyway.

That’s now changed and Mercedes-Benz Australia has confirmed Aussie customers will have access to seven-seat versions of the bigger SUV, but a spokesperson explained that it's not yet settled whether it will be standard or an extra-cost option.

"It's under consideration," said the spokesperson. "Seven seats are very important and we've seen that with GLS, so to be able to offer seven seats in an SUV smaller than the GLS would be appealing."

Showcasing the new GLE at the Paris motor show, Mercedes-Benz Cars marketing and sales chief Britta Seeger told gathered media the new model is important to family buyers.

"That’s strong motivation for us to make the GLE even better. Families will enjoy the additional space; business people will be happy about the improved connectivity and fans of the outdoors will love its new driving capabilities," she said.

When the new GLE arrives next year, it will initially launch with both four-cylinder and six-cylinder diesel engines.

Among the new Mercedes-Benz GLE’s list of available features will be a body language reader that Mercedes says is more than a gesture control.

If the car senses a driver lean across to the passenger seat for something, it will automatically switch on the lights to make searching easier.

Product highlights for the 2019 GLE were announced last month and joining it on the Mercedes-Benz stand in Paris was the new Mercedes-AMG A 35 4MATIC -- a 225kW/400Nm hot hatch that will arrive later in 2019 priced at around $65,000.

The ground-breaking new Mercedes-Benz EQC electric SUV also appeared at the Paris show yesterday, alongside the new smart forease concept car and the redesigned Mercedes-Benz B-Class.