Mercedes, among the leading luxury carmakers in India, has always had a rather gaping hole in its product portfolio. In the space between the GLE and the GLA, the German giant has had nothing to offer Indian buyers. It’s not like the carmaker hasn’t had a model that would fit here – there was the GLK, which had been on sale in international markets since 2008. However, this car was never made for right-hand- drive markets.
But now, all that is about to change with the new GLC. This new SUV will compete against rivals like the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. But is it up to the challenge? We got behind the wheel to investigate.
The GLC is based on the same set of mechanical bits as the C-class and the distance between the front and rear wheels has been stretched by 33mm. It’s a tall car with a wide grille protruding from the bonnet and it has plenty of presence due to the clean flanks, bulging wheel arches and the raked rear screen. It turns quite a few heads.
Inside, the GLC is very similar to the C-class and that’s a good thing, given how impressive the sedan’s interiors are. There’s lots of wood, double-stitched leather, chrome and metal finish used all over the cabin. It looks good and feels well built.
There are some niggles though – the instruments are quite boring to look at and there’s some cheap-looking plastics used on some parts. Also, Mercedes’ control screen or Comand system may be the latest iteration but it still feels outdated. And the small 7-inch infotainment screen doesn’t help things either.
As far as comfort is concerned, the seats are large and provide good support. Powered seats and steering adjustment make finding the perfect driving position easy and the front seats, with the long back-rest and seat base, are very comfy and especially useful on long drives. In the rear, space is good and the high seating position ensures good visibility. But the short seat with the lack of thigh support is not ideal. Boot space, at 550 litres, is very impressive and that’s expandable if you flip down the powered seat backs. The only problem is that the spare wheel placed on top takes up quite a bit of space and you’ll have to haul bags all the way to the top of the wheel when loading. Under the hood is a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol unit pushing out 245hp and it comes mated to Mercedes’ latest nine-speed automatic gearbox. The motor responds well in a pretty wide rev-band and at low speeds, there’s hardly any delay between your stepping on the accelerator and consequent outpouring of grunt. There isn’t too much thrust at low revs, though, and this engine builds power gradually. The real action comes in once you’re past 3,500rpm and goes on delivering all the way to the 6,500rpm limit. As you push the engine to its redline, the noise levels rise, but never to the extent that it sounds strained.
The GLC manages the 0-100kph sprint in a quick 7.5 seconds which is pretty impressive. What helps it achieve these times is the wonderful gearbox. You can even change the speed at which it works, as can you change the way the steering and throttle respond. For this, the SUV comes with five drive modes – Comfort, Eco, Sport, Sport+ and Individual. So, while in Comfort, the gearbox works smooth and jerk-free, in Sport+, when you put pedal to the metal, you will hear a distinct thud as the gear changes are sped up. And if you want to control the shifting, there are even steering-mounted paddle shifters.
The GLC’s driving manners are a good mix of ride and handling. The suspension is a bit soft and takes pretty much everything in its stride. In fact, it is probably the most comfy among its rivals. There is a price to pay though, as at higher speeds or over uneven roads, there is a bit of up-and-down and side-to- side movement. And this is also not an SUV meant to be pushed to the edge. It is balanced well enough when on twisty roads but doesn’t exactly feel agile when changing direction. And even the steering, while it works for fast yet relaxed driving, never taking away from confidence owing to the brilliant on-centre feeling, is not the most direct or pin-point accurate.
The GLC has a lot on offer for a wide range of buyers. It looks modern and there’s plenty in terms of space and equipment inside.
It may not be the sportiest handling SUV around, but precious few Indian buyers would extract that kind of performance.
We drove the petrol-engined GLC 300 4Matic which is priced at Rs 50.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune), but the one that is likely to be more popular here is the diesel-equipped 220 d 4Matic which is marginally more affordable at Rs 50.70 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune). In all, the GLC is a comfortable and luxurious all-rounder and is worth serious consideration.
