Skip advert
Advertisement

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.

Advertisement - Article continues below

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.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

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.

Subscribe to Auto Express magazine

You can buy individual issues of Auto Express or subscribe for even bigger discounts on the print magazine cover price. You can also subscribe or download individual issues of our digital edition direct to your desktop, phone or tablet as well.

Stay right up to date with the latest from the world of cars in 2025 and beyond, subscribe to our email newsletter and follow us on social media...

Great leasing deals on a Mercedes GLE and rivals

Mercedes-Benz GLE

Mercedes-Benz GLE

Volvo Xc90
Land Rover Discovery
Skip advert
Advertisement
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 presenting videos for the Auto Express social media channels.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Best used large SUVs and 4x4s to buy 2026
Used large SUVs

Best used large SUVs and 4x4s to buy 2026

The best used large SUVs and 4x4s offer space, practicality, performance and low running costs
Best cars & vans
19 Nov 2025
Most reliable SUVs and 4x4s to buy 2026
Most reliable SUVs - header image

Most reliable SUVs and 4x4s to buy 2026

We reveal the most reliable SUVs and 4x4s, according to our Driver Power survey
Best cars & vans
22 Oct 2025
Most reliable family cars to buy 2026
Most reliable family cars - header image

Most reliable family cars to buy 2026

These are the most reliable family cars you can buy, according to our Driver Power survey
Best cars & vans
10 Sep 2025
Most reliable cars to buy 2026
Most reliable cars 2025 - header image

Most reliable cars to buy 2026

How do you judge a new car’s reliability before buying it? Our Driver Power survey is the answer…
Best cars & vans
27 Aug 2025

Most Popular

Some Chinese car brands are doomed to disappear, warns Skoda boss
Skoda Kodiaq - front cornering

Some Chinese car brands are doomed to disappear, warns Skoda boss

Skoda’s sales and marketing boss warns “there will be a consolidation” of the number of Chinese car brands around
News
3 Feb 2026
New Kia EV1 electric city car on the way to rival the Renault Twingo
Kia EV1 - front (watermarked)

New Kia EV1 electric city car on the way to rival the Renault Twingo

Kia's design boss lifts the lid on plans for a Renault Twingo and Volkswagen ID. Lupo rival, and our exclusive images preview how the EV1 could look
News
2 Feb 2026
Meet Renault’s new SUV: a Dacia Duster but not as we know it…
Renault Duster - front

Meet Renault’s new SUV: a Dacia Duster but not as we know it…

Posher inside and out and with more headroom, welcome to the upside down world of the Indian Duster
News
26 Jan 2026

Find a car with the experts