Fresh Merc SUV drops diesels
Mercedes-Benz has refreshed its most popular model for next year with a huge tech upgrade and an all-petrol lineup, writes
How do you improve a thoroughbred? Countless owners and trainers of racehorses have found that to be a very tall order. That’s the bad news. The good news, however, is that every now and again one comes along that is so good it is simply the best right from the start.
Mercedes-Benz enjoyed that status in 2015 when it introduced a medium-sized sports utility vehicle in New Zealand for the first time.
The vehicle was the GLC, and it immediately began to vie with its sedan/wagon sibling the C-Class as the most popular Benz.
The instant popularity of the GLC helped Mercedes-Benz leapfrog its rival premium marques to become the most popular luxury brand here.
It has remained there ever since, with the GLC playing a major role as the top premium competitor in the crucial medium-sized SUV segment of the Kiwi new vehicle market.
But continuous improvement is key to ongoing success in the motor industry, and now the GLC has received its first facelift. It’s a significant facelift, too – and it’s all to do with changing market forces.
When the GLC was first launched four years ago, the SUV range comprised two turbo-diesels and a single petrol model. But reducing demand for oil burners has resulted in all the diesels being quietly dumped, and the range is now exclusively petrol, with the models featuring improved twin-scroll turbocharged engines.
And in a nod to the growing popularity of the electric vehicle, for the first time the GLC range will soon include a plug-in hybrid.
At a media event in Australia, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that this model, the $105,500 300e 4MATIC, will arrive during the second quarter
AMG product are likely to be launched at roughly the same time as the SUV models during the opening quarter of next year.
There weren’t 300e or coupe models available to drive during the media event in inland Victoria, the attending journalists instead getting behind the wheels of what is available now – a pair of SUV models powered by 2.0-litre turbo engines, a rear-wheel-drive GLC 200 and an allwheel-drive GLC 300.
Both of these SUVs, which retail for $87,600 and $101,400 in New Zealand, have undergone some cosmetic changes. These include redesigned head and tail lights and changes to the frontal design on the outside, as well as the installation of a touch pad instead of a rotary controller on the inside.
But the most significant changes are under the skin.
The GLC 200’s engine has been upgraded so it now sends 145kW of power and 320Nm of torque to the rear wheels, which is an improvement of 10kW and 20Nm over the outgoing model.
It continues to have the 9G-TRONIC nine-speed automatic transmission, and Dynamic Select for a choice of driving modes.
Meanwhile the GLC 300 is powered by a 190kW/370Nm engine, which is a significant step up by 35kW and 20Nm over the engine in the GLC250 that this vehicle replaces. And if a customer wants to improve the ride and handling