German premium carmaker Mercedes Benz is set to make a serious assault on the luxury SUV market with its new GLC. The mid-sized SUV is well styled and surprisingly capable.
This five-seater's moniker isn't a homage to Red Ken's Greater London Council but yet another three letter model name from Stuttgart. Initially you could be forgiven for thinking that Mercedes Benz was working with Eircode. As of now Mercedes Benz makes a number of crossovers and SUVs that are in turn an alphabet soup: the GLA (based on the A-Class), GLE (the ML replacement), GLE Coupé (a BMW X6 rival) and now the GLC.
This latest addition replaces a crossover, which someone in Stuttgart had decided would never be made in right-hand drive. That meant no sales in the UK, Australia, Japan, or even here. To this date no one at Mercedes can explain the thinking behind this, particularly when the firm is in a battle with its arch-rivals at Audi and BMW over sales volumes.
So for those of us who like our steering wheel on the right, this is the first Mercedes that properly challenges the likes of the BMW X3, Audi Q5 or Volvo XC60.
As you’d expect, all of the latest electronic toys are available that you’d find in an C, E or S Class, either as standard or as part of optional packs including a head-up display, collision prevention assist plus (auto braking), crosswind assist, lane keeping assist, distronic plus with steering assist (stop/start adaptive cruise control that follows traffic) and active parking assist (auto parking) to name just a few.
GLC is available in three body styling “lines” that allow you project a bit of your personality on the street. AMG offers a hint of aggression to attract younger buyers, while Exclusive is more reserved. Should you wish to venture off tarmac you can specify the Off Road line. It features a raised body with shorter bumper overhangs.
All our test cars were fitted with optional air suspension with dynamic select (driving modes: eco, comfort, sport, sport+ and individual). The standard GLC in Ireland will come with agility control suspension (steel springs) with variable dampers.
Irish prices are still being finalised so we cannot say how much of a premium the air option (air body control) will cost, but it certainly offered a broad range of ride settings with its default “comfort” giving a very pliable ride.
The GLC looks handsome on the road and the fact that the SUV is very capable off road is a nice surprise. We took a 250d, on standard road tyres, on a short but extreme off-road course that featured some very steep climbs and descents plus a number of rutted areas. We would have been cautious even in a Land Rover Defender on the course and yet the GLC managed it with ease and in great comfort. The optional off-road engineering pack fitted featured five selectable driving modes for different types of terrain. On one very steep hill that you could not walk up without a rope we stopped midway and the GLC managed to pull off again and complete the climb.
In a conventional four by four we would have had to roll back down and try again at higher speed. In Europe, this off-road rotary dial controlled electronic wizardry costs about €750 – so expect to pay about double that here. Seriously, GLC off road is truly impressive.
Twin turbo
On the road we first put a GLC 220d through its paces. The engine is a 2.2-litre, twin turbo diesel with 170hp and 400nm of torque. A nine-speed automatic delivers silky smooth and very quiet power to all four wheels. The cabin sits on a lengthened C Class wheelbase – this frees up interior space and rear seat passengers will have no complaints. Fit and finish in our top-spec car was luxurious and the driving position commanding.
Progress is swift with 0-100km taking just 8.3 seconds. Fuel consumption is low too, with an average figure of 5-litres per 100km quoted for the 220d. GLC has a very low drag figure for an SUV of just 0.31.
We also took the 204hp 250d (twin turbo) for a spin and despite being quicker to 100km (7.6 seconds) and having more torque with 500nm, it didn’t impress us as much as its smaller sibling. The car badge snob in me felt there needed to be more than a mere “30” gap (of whatever) between the machines. . . maybe GLC 300 would justify the expected premium over the 220.
We also took the GLC 350e plugin hybrid out on an urban test route and, as you’d expect, it was easy to use. Conveniently, all the hybrid dark arts happen autonomously behind the scenes. It is four-wheel drive too and uses a seven not nine-speed automatic gearbox to make use of its system power output of 320hp. GLC hybrid features rechargeable batteries from the larger S Class hybrid.
It does this to help extend the EV range (34km) and because it can as GLC has more boot space than the C Class hybrid. 350e is no slouch with 0-100kph taking a blistering six seconds and it does this while capable of producing an extremely low amount of CO2 at just 60g/CO2. But the best bit is its fuel economy, with its average fuel consumption figure at just 2.6-litres per 100km.
In mid-2016 we will see a GLC 200 entry-level version with rear-wheel drive and the plug in hybrid 350e. Sadly, we didn’t get to test the only petrol model available, the GLC 250, but the turbo charged 2-litre pushes out 211hp and 350nm of torque. 0-100kph takes just 7.3 seconds and the quoted average fuel consumption is a respectable 6.5-litres per 100 kilometres.
GLC launches in Ireland in October with four “4-Matic” (all wheel drive) models. MB Ireland will be introducing an importer (MDL)-backed PCP finance package across its entire range in the autumn via Bank of Ireland as it tries to catch up with Audi and BMW in the premium car sales charts.
Prices are expected to start at mid-€40,000. Mercedes Benz expects to sell 150 GLCs in 2016. It’s long overdue but it’s a very impressive machine that seriously challenge the likes of the X3, Q5 and XC60 for top spot on the posher Irish driveways.
Lowdown: Mercedes-Benz GLC 220D
Engines: 2.2-litre, twin turbo diesel with 170hp and 400nm of torque combined with a nine-speed automatic
0-100km: 8.3 seconds. L/100km (mpg): 5 (47)
Prices: TBC but likely to start around €45,000.
In Ireland: October