The GLC has always been a good seller for Mercedes. It has always been in the good books of those aspiring to purchase a middle-sized premium SUV, but Mercedes stopped selling it in India from late last year. The new avatar is now here, and boy is it cracking!
On the outside, the GLC is typically Mercedes. No odd angles, light bars – it is a conservative, but very handsome design, just what buyers in this segment prefer. The centrepiece of course is the large three-pointed star on the front grille, connected by a horizontal bar. You also get fancy looking 19-inch alloys, that look good on the car. The front headlights have moved on to LED units from the previous version itself, but the rears have now been updated to reflect the same style across all SUV models.
Length has grown by 60 mm to 4,716 mm and consequently the wheelbase too has gone up by 15 mm to 2,888 mm – this means more space on the inside! The tailgate remains powered and you get 620 litres of space inside, which is actually good. A good thing is that the spare tyre has now been relocated to below the boot space, freeing up valuable space. You can further put the rear seats down to double the boot space.
The interior design language has totally changed, and is now more akin to the new generation of Mercedes vehicles like the S-class and the C-Class. There is the gorgeous pinstripe design on the matte dark woo which looks awesome. But of course, here the attention grabber is the central display that controls all aspects of the vehicle, like car settings, individualisation, infotainment, climate etc. Most of the stuff has moved to ‘touch’ from ‘press’ – something that I always find a little disconcerting at first – even the controls on the steering wheel have a touchy feeling about them – takes some getting used to!
You do get the latest generation of telematics – the MBUX system NTG7. All this works through the horizontal 11.9-inch touchscreen. The party trick here is the ‘virtual transparent hood’; a clever juxtaposition of images from the front camera using speed and direction algorithms to show you what’s under the car! My favourite though has to be the 14-speaker + subwoofer Burmester surround system. A concert hall on wheels – Burmesters are probably the best sounding car systems in India; I find them even better than the Naim system Bentley uses.
In terms of engines and transmissions, both petrol and diesel are assisted by a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and paired with a 9-speed automatic gearbox. The 2.0-litre petrol puts out 258 bhp and 400 Nm of torque (GLC300) and the 2.0-litre diesel puts out 197 bhp and 440 Nm of torque. Mercedes claims a 0-100 km/h time of 6.2 seconds for the petrol car. This is quick.
The suspension remains classical Mercedes – a good, pliant ride that is comfortable yet not too soft. Both drivetrains use Mercedes’ propriety 4Matic system, aka all wheel drive. Of course safety is top notch with a full complement of airbags, electronic nannies and everything else you might expect from a vehicle of this type.
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The new GLC is priced between INR 73.5 lakh and INR 74.5 lakh (prices are ex-showroom). It remains one of the best mid-size SUVs to buy in its segment and given the fact that it has thoroughly been revised and updated, we are left in no doubt that the star is reborn.