Compare the2025 Audi Q7VS 2025 Mercedes GLE

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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Both the Q7 and GLE have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q7 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The GLE’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Audi Q7 achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Mercedes GLE has not been tested.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q7. But it costs extra on the GLE.

The Q7’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLE.

The Audi Q7’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Mercedes GLE does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Q7 and the GLE have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi Q7 is safer than the Mercedes GLE:

	Q7	GLE
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Abdominal Force	128 lbs.	151 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	557 lbs.	615 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Audi Q7 is safer than the GLE:

	Q7	GLE
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Torso Max Deflection	.94 in	1.34 in
Torso Deflection Rate	5 MPH	6 MPH
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	937 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	40	232
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	803 lbs.	1116 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

Warranty

The Q7’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the GLE’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Q7’s reliability 33 points higher than the GLE.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Q7 gets better mileage than the GLE running its gasoline engine:

			MPG
Q7
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	20 city/26 hwy
		3.0 turbo V6 Hybrid	18 city/23 hwy
GLE
	AWD	350 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	19 city/26 hwy
		3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Hybrid	19 city/25 hwy
		4.0 turbo V8 Hybrid	15 city/20 hwy

The Q7 has 5.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLE 450e’s standard fuel tank (22.5 vs. 17.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

The Q7 stops much shorter than the GLE:

	Q7	GLE
70 to 0 MPH	160 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver

Suspension and Handling

The Q7 Prestige handles at .86 G’s, while the GLE 450 pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Q7 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the GLE 350 4MATIC (26.4 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Q7 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the GLE (8.3 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Q7 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Q7 w/Air Suspension’s minimum ground clearance is .5 inch higher than on the GLE Airmatic (9.7 vs. 9.2 inches).

Passenger Space

The Q7 has 1.4 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front shoulder room, 1.9 inches more rear headroom and .2 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLE.

The front step up height for the Q7 is 1.4 inches lower than the GLE (18.6” vs. 20”). The Q7’s rear step up height is 1.3 inches lower than the GLE’s (18.7” vs. 20”).

Ergonomics

Laser headlights, optional on the Q7 Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the GLE’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

Consumer Reports rated the Q7’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the GLE’s headlights, which were rated “Poor.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q7 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The GLE doesn’t offer headlight washers.

A manual rear sunshade and rear side window sunshades are optional in the Q7 (except Premium) to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The GLE doesn’t offer a rear sunshade.

The Q7 55 TFSI Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The GLE’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Q7 owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Q7 with a number “5” insurance rate while the GLE is rated higher at a number “8” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Q7 is less expensive to operate than the GLE because typical repairs cost much less on the Q7 than the GLE, including $495 less for a water pump, $62 less for front brake pads, $95 less for a fuel pump and $633 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi Q7, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes GLE isn't recommended.

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its August 2019 issue and they ranked the Audi Q7 Prestige higher than the Mercedes GLE 450.

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