As you might know, the GLC has been one of the most important and bread-earning (read successful) models for Mercedes-Benz. It started its life as ‘GLK’ Class back in 2008, and I’m not entirely sure if the revised nomenclature in 2015 helped the class achieve more success, but here we are talking about the second-gen model. Speaking of which, the 2023 GLC lineup includes petrol and diesel plug-in hybrid variants, which we’ll talk about in just a minute or two.
But first, let’s talk a li’l bit about its styling. Speaking of which, the design team at Mercedes-Benz plays it safe when it comes to series-production vehicles, unlike their good friends in Munich who often like to be controversial. The new GLC is instantly recognizable as a new GLC; meaning the styling revisions are clean and understandable. The front fascia sports a new star-patterned grille, new headlights and a sporty new bumper, while the rest of the vehicle looks fairly Merc-typical. The drag co-efficient this time around is 0.29 Cd versus 0.31 Cd of its predecessor.
And of course, the headlights you see in the photos here are the optional Digital Lights that debuted with the 7th gen S-Class. Other optional equipment includes rear-axle steering and Airmatic air suspension with variable adjustable damping for compression and rebound. The optional Offroad Engineering package raises the ride height by 20 mm. A panoramic sunroof is also an optional extra.
Standard suspension includes a new four-link setup at the front and a multi-link independent setup at the rear mounted to a subframe. The AMG Line package adds a sporty suspension tuning.
For those interested to know the dimensions, the new GLC measures 4,716 mm long (+60 mm), 1,890 mm wide and 1,640 mm tall (-2 mm), with a wheelbase of 2,888 mm (+15 mm). Which means, the width has remained the same while there’s some extra wheelbase. Depending on the trim, the wheel sizes range between 18- and 20-inches. Check out more photos here.
Inside, again, it looks just like any other latest Mercedes model, thanks to that identical dashboard and a portrait-style 11.9-inch central touchscreen. And of course, the driver gets their own 12.3-inch display. We are talking about the Avantgarde Line here, which means the lesser trims might get smaller stuff. Augmented Reality navigation can also be found in the options list. Optional assistance systems include Active Distance Assist Distronic (now supports up to 100 km/h), Active Parking Assist, Active Steering Assist, Traffic Sign Assist, and Trailer Manoeuvring Assist.
Moving on to the juicy bits of the story, the petrol variants include GLC 200 4Matic (2.0L 4-cylinder turbo; 150 kW/204 metric hp and 320 Nm/236 lb-ft) and GLC 300 4Matic (2.0L 4-cylinder turbo; 190 kW/258 metric hp and 400 Nm/295 lb-ft), while there’s only one GLC 220 d 4Matic (2.0L 4-cylinder turbo; 145 kW/197 metric hp and 440 Nm/324.5 lb-ft) diesel variant. In all cases, the transmission is a 9-speed automatic. All three variants are coupled with the EQ boost mild-hybrid system that adds 17 kW (23 metric hp) and 200 Nm (147.5 lb-ft).
Of course, there are plug-in hybrid variants as mentioned before. These include GLC 300 e 4Matic, GLC 400 e 4Matic and GLC 300 de 4Matic. The GLC 300 e 4Matic combines a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine and an electric motor integrated into the 9-speed automatic gearbox, for combined figures of 230 kW (313 metric hp) and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft). It boasts a WLTP all-electric range of up to 120 km (75 mi) and an all-electric top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph).
It’s the same setup with the GLC 400 e 4Matic, but the system output figures here are 280 kW (381 metric hp) and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft). The all-electric range and all-electric top speed are the same, but the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time is 5.7 seconds, which is 1.0 seconds quicker than the 300 e.
As for GLC 300 de 4Matic, it combines a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine and an electric motor integrated into the 9-speed automatic gearbox, for combined figures of 245 kW (333 metric hp) and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) of torque. The all-electric WLTP range here is up to 117 km (73 mi). All three PHEV models get a 31.2 kWh battery pack.
Recommended for you
Leave a Reply
Note: Comments that are unrelated to the post above get automatically filtered into the trash bin.
