SUV with style and substance
Mercedes has jammed all its smart MBUX tech into the GLC, you just wouldn’t know it to look at it, writes Richard Bosselman.
Mercedes Benz can lay claim to all kinds of firsts. Multi-valve engines, all-wheeldrive, antilock brakes four-wheel independent suspension as offthe-wall examples and most relevant safety assists (Volvo gave us the seatbelt but thank the world’s oldest brand for the airbag and electronic stability). The big gig now is electronic architectures.
As a control for numerous vehicle settings, MBUX, aka Mercedes-Benz User Experience, is a heck of a thing. Comfort and driving modes, in-car entertainment, complete mobile phone interaction, including navigation and cloud connectivity.
Everything by touchscreen or voice control, the latter as a digital assistant, with the capacity to understand everyday language, distinguish between driver or passenger and attune to your personal preferences. It’ll even crack jokes.
It’s what the world has come to. The first model to take it was the one most likely to find mass appeal and reach a tech-savvy younger crowd, the A-Class, but models grown-ups prefer have followed.
It’s been easy to pick an MBUX car: Just look for the hallmark of a big, oblong flat screen control panel, onto which everything is displayed in digital rendition.
Now comes the updated GLC. It’s gone MBUX as well. It’s just that you might not twig because
. . . well, no big screen.
There’s a reason why. This is among a few current Mercedes models whose production start preceded MBUX’s rollout. Accordingly, it had an orthodox instrument and control interface. And still has, even though this year’s versions deliver a new multi-function steering wheel, a larger infotainment screen and new digital dials, the dash hasn’t dramatically changed.
Sure, it’s not quite the same. Personally, I like the truly latest cowl-less widescreen display better. Sometimes you sense the functionality isn’t as suave or as swish as with the full-blown item. Also, the need to rely more on the trackpad controller is fiddly.
Yet assuming you don’t mind having a slightly over-eager but always well-intentioned guide with you, it works well. The graphics are rich-looking and expensive, the prompts do their job and it’s quick-witted. Is the use of the Mercedes name as a prompt a good idea? Depends how likely it is that you (or other occupants) will mention the brand during a lot of in-car conversation.
Lesser brands mightn’t have bothered with this but, of course, with the GLC being at or very close to the top of the premium SUV crowd, there’s a star status to protect.
The smarten-up doesn’t stop with its operational intelligence. The same sort of updates that hit the C-Class road car last year now transfer. So a minor restyle (revised bumpers, all-LED lights, an upgraded grille), some additional equipment and a couple of new engines.
The active cruise control and lane departure steering have been upgraded, while the autonomous emergency braking can now detect if you’re about to turn into the path of oncoming traffic, and slam on the anchors.
GLC can now be ordered with the Dynamic Body Control adaptive suspension previously exclusive to the Coupe models and even the full Airbody control.
The vehicle we drive here is the GLC 300, which replaces the previous 250 and delivers more power from its twin-scroll 2.0-litre turbo engine (up 35kW/ 20Nm) and all-wheel drive as standard.
As is the nature of these types of vehicles, it tends to tread the middle ground insofar as the driving goes. But while the ride seems set to be a touch degraded if you go for the big rims placed on the test example, it does handle tidily, though ultimately veering more to the solidly competent than the outright engaging.
The steering feel is lighter than you’ll find in, say, a BMW X3 or Audi Q5, and not quite as responsive, but the chassis has a fluency and fluidity you’ll come to like.
Performance is pretty good. Zero to 100kmh in a bit over 6 seconds is not hanging around and is a reminder that it only has 1800kg or so to haul – that’s light by SUV standards. Plus, the overall impression is of an engine that’s far smoother and more flexible than its predecessor.
It combines well with the nine-speed automatic gearbox, and proves to be a very good allrounder; happily cruising at open-road speeds and equally adept at shunting through intown traffic.
In some ways, the GLC is the posh Mercedes SUV you have simply because everyone’s into that kind of thing.
It does its job well yet, more than once, I had cause to reflect how a C-Class station wagon probably would be just as practical and quite possibly more engaging to drive. Still, people love their SUVs, and at least the GLC has the substance to back up the styling appeal.