The new GLC is born as the successor to that premium D-SUV, but breaks with virtually all family ties. It is born from the same modular platform of the C-Class, reusing the cabin to a large extent. Dimensionally it stretches the wheelbase with respect to the sedan, it is closer in size to the X3, although with a lower roof (it is "less SUV" and "more CUV", with 4.68 meters long, 1.89 wide and a wheelbase of 2.87 meters), but with the idea of favoring the space in the rear seats and not sacrificing trunk. In fact, inside it is more capable than a conventional C-Class, while giving a greater sense of spaciousness by having more headroom inside.
In fact, the GLC not only has more wheelbase than a C-Class, but it's also 6 centimetres longer than the X3, so it has an advantage in rear headroom as a result. With 580 litres of boot space, there will be no one complaining about lack of luggage capacity either.
On a technical level, the car will be offered, as is already the case with the C-Class, with various types of suspension. Two of them are passive coil spring and shock absorber suspensions, one sportier than the other, while a third option is a variable-height air suspension that can also be combined with an off-road pack that will make the GLC a truly capable off-road SUV (or at least that's what Daimler promises).
For its European debut, the car will use two diesel and one petrol engine, plus a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid. The diesels are the 170 and 204 horsepower 220d and 250d respectively, while the petrol is the 211 horsepower 250, all with 4matic all-wheel drive. The hybrid is called 350e, and has 327 horsepower, also with 4matic all-wheel drive, using the same 211-horsepower four-cylinder of the "conventional" 250. Consumption starts at five liters for the 220d, although it can go lower in the plug-in hybrid, which is also capable of driving 34 kilometers in pure electric mode.
The car is up to 80 kilograms lighter than its predecessor, despite having more size and technology on board, favored by the use of very high strength steels and a new all-wheel drive system (which sends more torque to the rear axle than the front to start) and a new gearbox lighter nine-speed automatic gearbox 9G Tronic.
Mercedes-Benz places special emphasis on the car's off-road capabilities, something we find particularly striking, since in this premium D-SUV segment, only the Cherokee has real off-road capabilities and available underbody protection, while Q5 and X3 are eminently asphaltic.
All in all, on an aesthetic level the GLC is, besides being more aerodynamic, much better integrated with the rest of the range (it looks a lot like the GLE and GLA), something that will help it to offer less visual resistance (the GLK was a clear case of "you either like it or you hate it"). Valuing everything specified in the official press release of the car, and in the absence of testing it, it seems that it will be a "round" product, with certain aspects "to the minivan" (offers more space than the C-Class and versatility) and an aesthetic that right now is the most liked in a SUV-addicted market.
