A new crossover gets us nearly as excited as the prospect of binge-watching C-SPAN. Or maybe binge-watching people who are binge-watching C-SPAN. Yet such vehicles are wildly popular, and so every automaker offers at least as many variations on the theme as there are variations of, well, C-SPAN. (“C-SPAN 7: All Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security, All the Time!”) This includes Mercedes-Benz, which is rebooting its compact-luxury entry with the new GLC-class.
GLC, as in C-class
The GLC replaces the GLK-class, the rename coming as part of Benz’s latest nomenclature strategy and intended to align it with the mechanically similar C-class sedan. As did the GLK, the GLC battles the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Lexus NX, Lincoln MKC, and Porsche Macan, among others. Unlike nearly all of its competitors, it can be ordered with rear-wheel drive, and 4MATIC all-wheel drive is available.
We drove the new crossover in Switzer Germa France—also known as the Alsace region—in both GLC250 and GLC250d guises. When the GLC goes on sale in November, we won’t get the former in favor of the GLC300, which uses the same 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder but will have 30 more horsepower, for a total of 241. Which is good, since the GLC250 felt underpowered by exactly that much. A coincidence, that.
The GLC250d has a diesel engine—the tip-off is its little ‘d’—and it will arrive here in late 2016 with GLC300d badging. (So it doesn’t feel inferior to the GLC300, we guess.) The diesel makes 201 horsepower and a robust 369 lb-ft of torque. Both engines are smooth and refined, although throttle response is lazy in the Mercedes way, and their power deliveries can best be described as “oozing.” Both of these GLCs, as well as their future American analogues, use a new, Mercedes-designed nine-speed automatic. It’s typically transparent in operation, although it did deliver a few harsh, almost clunking shifts in Sport+ mode when we matted the throttle coming out of slow, tight corners. To its credit, though, unlike other nine-speeds on the market, it has no problem actually using its highest ratio.
As you may have surmised, the GLC drives like a C-class on stilts. The steering provides a confident sense of straight-ahead, and effort builds predictably when you turn the wheel. It’s essentially numb, but no one shopping a GLC will care. The structure is as rigid as rebar; we had a chance to briefly off-road the GLC—including rocking over deep ditches with diagonally opposite wheels in the air—and heard not one squeak or rattle.
The optional AIRMATIC suspension, which was fitted to every GLC we drove, offers good body control, and its various modes are clearly delineated in terms of road feel. But as in the C-class, the Sport+ program can be too firm. This wasn’t an issue on Europe’s preternaturally smooth roads, but it will be problematic in places with gnarlier pavement; many Americans are likely to leave it in the default Comfort setting. If the standard steel-spring setup is as well tuned as the C-class’s, we’d pocket the money.
Off the Block
Applying Mercedes’ current design aesthetic to the crossover shape preserves much of what we like about the look—the soft radii and tension-building creases—while avoiding the drooping rear end common to the sedans, and the GLC gives off a sophisticated, expensive vibe. The designers lobbied to fit the GLC with large-diameter wheel-and-tire packages, and so 18-inch wheels are standard, and both 19s and gorgeous, AMG-labeled 20-inch multi spoke jobs are available. Compared with the blocky GLK, the more curvaceous GLC is fractionally taller, two inches wider, and nearly five inches longer overall.
A spitting image of the C-class cabin we love so much, the GLC’s interior is a cut above anything else in the segment right now, and the materials, detailing, and finish all put the GLK’s to shame. The seats are supremely comfortable, and the interior is hushed even at autobahn speeds. So it’s a little bit surprising that the GLC300 will start at $39,875, just $1050 more than last year’s GLK, especially considering it adds a pile of standard equipment that includes a 7.0-inch infotainment screen with touch-pad writing surface, a power lift gate, push-button start, a power driver’s seat, and collision-mitigation tech, among other bits.
Beyond that, the usual raft of luxury, convenience, and safety gadgets can be added, including but not limited to heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a larger central screen, a head-up display, Burmester audio, radar cruise control, brake assist, rear-end collision prevention, active lane-keep assist, navigation, and adaptive LED headlamps.
No full-bore, Mercedes-AMG GLC63 hellbeast is in the plans—which, who cares?—but a 362-hp GLC450 arrives next summer to butt heads with the 300-hp BMW X3 xDrive35i and the 354-hp Audi SQ5. There also will be a GLC350e plug-in hybrid using the same excellent system from the C350e; it likely will arrive as a 2018 model.
The GLC isn’t as polarizing as the GLK, and it’s a huge advance in terms of desirability and both real and perceived quality. We might not be excited, but luxury-crossover buyers should be.
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