Mercedes GLC 250 first ride review ~ station of gear

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28 May, 2015 3:30pm Jack Rix

Our off-road passenger ride in the new Mercedes GLC in the mud, water and even the air...

While Audi and BMW have been cleaning up in the UK with the Q5 and X3, Mercedes has been left staring at a medium-sized SUV-shaped hole in its line up. In other markets Mercedes has sold its rival - the GLK – for a number of years, but its decision not to make the costly and complicated conversion to right-hand drive has left them languishing in the UK in fastest-growing sector of the premium SUV market.

That won’t be the case for long, though, because in mid-June the all-new GLC, based on a stretched version of the new C-Class’ architecture, will begin rolling off the production line, with first UK deliveries in November. To get an early taster of what the GLC is capable of, we were invited to take a passenger ride around Mercedes’ off-road testing facility near Stuttgart.

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Given the type of family buyer the GLC is pitched at, it might seem strange to choose an off-road assault course to showcase it - but the location was carefully chosen to help shift perceptions.

“Not everyone will use it, but this car can be used as a real off-road car,” Marc Soukup, part of the GLC test team, explained. “With this combination of air suspension and off road package, plus a special ESP system that works like a diff lock it’s more accomplished off road than its competitors.”

From where we were sitting it certainly made light work of 45 degree inclines and descents, showed its chassis stiffness by cocking a wheel on a series of alternating bumps, scythed through a few feet of standing water and was quite happy clambering over rocks and deep mud – and all fitted with a standard set of tyres. We even drifted around a corner with armfuls of opposite lock and caught some air over a sharp crest, to show the GLC can do the dynamic stuff, too.

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Order the off road pack and you’re presented with a series of modes in the central display, including Ice, Offroad, Uphill/Downhill, and Trailer - each tailored to specific situations you might encounter. In each mode there’s customised graphics showing, among other things, a compass, angle of incline or descent, and the amount you’re applying the throttle and brakes. You can even order special knobbly off-road tyres with 18-inch wheels if you need to do some serious mud-plugging.

Although the off-road pack is available with standard steel springs (raising the ride height by 20mm permanently), Mercedes recommends going the whole-hog and ordering the optional air-suspension to go with it. Do so and you have five different ride heights to play with – 15mm lower than default in Sport+ mode, and then 30mm or 50mm higher depending on the level of ground clearance you’re after.

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Whether you go for the off road pack or not, all GLCs will come with four-wheel drive as standard initially, with a cheaper rear-wheel drive version joining the range next year. And there’s a treat in store for UK buyers. Due to packaging issues with the right-hand drive conversion, a smaller differential had to be fitted on the front axle - resulting in a permanent torque split of 31/69 front/rear, whereas all left-hand drive markets get a torque split of 45/55. It doesn’t sound like much but according to Uli Zillmann, project leader for development, “it’s definitely more fun to drive.”

Although our prototype was lightly camouflaged is doesn’t take a detective to see how the finished GLC is going to look. Mercedes’ is yet to release the official dimensions, but up close it looks lower-slung than its competitors from Audi and BMW. Inside there’s just enough of a raised seating position to give you that all important commanding view of the road ahead.

Room in the rear is surprisingly generous, too, certainly more so than the C-Class and not far off the E-Class in terms of space for your knees. Be warned though, the prototype we had access to was fitted with an optional panoramic roof, which flooded the interior with daylight, but nibbles into headroom for taller passengers.

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We’ll have to wait and see how the boot stacks up on paper compared to its rivals, but its large square shape makes the most of the exterior dimensions. There’s extra under floor storage, too, and two buttons that drop the split second row forward with a simple click. The rear seats can also be fixed in a more upright position to free up a few more litres if needs be. Order the optional air suspension and another switch lets you lower the boot lip to make loading larger, heavier items that little bit easier.

If you’ve driven or been driven in a C-Class before, then the interior design will hold few surprises, but it’s worth reiterating how Mercedes has hit its stride recently in this respect. The tablet style screen, infotainment graphics, bulls eye vents and general quality of materials is right at the top of the class, while the seats support, rather than squeeze you.

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For exact engine, trim and pricing details we’ll have to wait a few weeks yet, but our prototype was fitted with a 208bhp 2.0-litre four-cyl turbo petrol engine. It’s expected that only four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines will be offered initially, with a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid to come. Zillmann also hinted that a GLC 450 AMG Sport with the same 362bhp twin-turbo V6 as the C 450 AMG Sport, and a more rear-biased four-wheel drive system is likely to follow in due course, although a full-fat V8-powered AMG variant is unlikely.

Price: £35,000 (est)
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Transmission: Seven-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Power/torque: 208bhp/350Nm

0-62mph: 7.5 seconds (est)
Top Speed: 140mph (est)
Economy/CO2: 40mpg/160g/km (est)
On sale: June 2015

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