Benz’s GLC SUV a quiet achiever
The revised Mercedes-Benz GLC aims for the middle ground – but gets there quickly and with polish, writes
It’s difficult to think of any Mercedes-Benz model being ordinary, but if there’s such a thing as a ‘‘mainstream’’ Merc this is probably it: the GLC. Medium-sized SUVs are the single most popular type of new vehicle in New Zealand, and the GLC has nudged its passenger-car equivalent – the C-class – out of the way to become the most important Mercedes-Benz in the local market.
It’s been around a while now – since 2016. So it’s facelift time.
Mercedes-Benz has a knack of quietly introducing new technology into what seems like a familiar package. Exterior changes are slight, but underneath the updated GLC has new powertrains and inside there are some cutting-edge features – although you might not immediately be aware of them.
Our GLC 300 test model replaces the previous 250 – a lot more power from this twin-scroll turbo engine (up 35kW/20Nm) and all-wheel-drive as standard.
Pop your head in the door and the new GLC’s interior looks like a mildly refreshed version of the old: same basic layout, with a conventional instrument binnacle and tablet-style standalone touchscreen on top of the centre console. It’s nothing like the cowlless widescreen displays featured in the all-new A-class and GLE models.
But underneath the same-again style, the new GLC does have all of the latest Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) technology, including the ‘‘Hey, Mercedes’’ intelligent voice assistant.
As always with the three-pointed star there are a multitude of option packages. Our evaluation vehicle looked quite low key, but still carried more than $15,000 of extras: AMG Line (including 20-inch wheels),
It’s in the nature of these types of vehicles to tread the middle ground. They have to have very broad appeal, so don’t expect the massive character and presence of the larger GLE – or even the cheeky attitude of the forthcoming GLB.
But in typical Mercedes-Benz fashion you get polish with surprising dynamic capability.
The GLC 300 is effortlessly quick, but also genuinely fast for a family SUV that doesn’t wear a performance badge (such as AMG, for example). Zero to 100kmh in a bit over six seconds is not hanging around.
It’s superbly composed over curvy roads and in fact you can make it as sharp as you want to: a range of chassis-enhancing stuff from Dynamic Body Control adaptive suspension to the full Airbody setup is on the options list.
Greater familiarity with MBUX is breeding greater respect for the abilities of the voice assistant, although we’re not sure the use of the ‘‘Mercedes’’ name as a prompt is such a great idea. You do tend to mention the brand of your vehicle during a lot of in-car conversation and . . . you can guess the rest.