LIVING WITH A... MERCEDES GLC
It’s time to say farewell to a car that shows Merc is back doing what it does best
We say goodbye to sophisticated family SUV in our final report.
After several years without a proper rival to the Audi Q5 and BMW X3, Mercedes plugged the gap with the GLC. this car’s predecessor, the GLK, wasn’t offered here, so the GLC has filled a yawning chasm in Mercedes UK’S line-up.
And the best news of all? It’s done it while staying true to Mercedes’ values.
there was a time, you see, when Mercedes went through a bit of a jealous phase. Perhaps frustrated at the progress being made by its more sporty rivals, Audi and BMW, the three-pointed star decided to try to join them in offering ‘focused’ road cars. the results were far from positive.
Mercedes is back on form now, though – and I reckon few cars illustrate this more effectively than our GLC.
It’s partly because of the comfort. the GLC sits on the same platform as the C-class and, perhaps afforded a bit of extra suspension travel by the higher ride height, it arguably rides even more sweetly. On 18-inch wheels and with the £1,495 optional air suspension, it did a great job of soaking up urban road scars and potholes.
However, the GLC isn’t a one-trick pony. that suspension set-up did an admirable job of keeping body roll in check through the twisty stuff, even if the GLC isn’t quite as sharp or responsive as a BMW X3. On motorways, the car was really in its element. the nine-speed gearbox meant it was the consummate cruiser, with the revs hovering at little more than idle.
the other factor that made the GLC such a good long-distance companion was its fuel economy. Given its chunky 1,845kg kerbweight I wasn’t expecting much, but the 2.1-litre turbodiesel engine has been around for a while now, and is pretty efficient. I regularly saw north of 44mpg, which was an excellent return on a car that spent the majority of its life nudging its way along the A40 into and out of London.
Indeed, the only thing I’d have wished for was a teeny bit more power. I imagine the ‘walk up’ to a GLC 250 d, which brings an extra 33bhp, is a relatively modest one when you look at the monthly payments. And a smidgen more grunt would help the GLC to get up to that comfortable cruise more easily – and possibly more quietly because it would be working less hard. the diesel growl under load is a big flaw.
However, the rest of the package behaved perfectly. the classy and comfortable cabin stayed rattle-free, muddy toddler footprints wiped off easily, and while a few extra millimetres of legroom in the rear seat area wouldn’t go amiss, the GLC coped perfectly well with my family’s life.
“On the motorway, the GLC was in its element. The revs hovered at barely more than idle”