Mercedes-Benz has built lovely sedans since the very beginning of the automotive age, but it’s adapted well to the SUV era. It has five of them now, and one of the better ones is this.
The 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class is the C-Class for most of us, whether it’s a GLC 300, a GLC43 AMG, or a GLC63. Four doors? Plus one, in fact, and also, a taller roof, more cargo space, easier accommodations, and the same high-end polish that graces the C-Class’s road manners and its lovely cockpit.
This year, the GLC AMGs get an available sport or performance exhaust, a Track Pace app.
We give the GLC-Class a 7.7 out of 10, with its best scores in comfort and utility, and in safety.
Whether it’s a conventional SUV shape or a low-roofed “Coupe,” the GLC-Class doesn’t put a Benz family hair out of place. It’s a better-looking GLE, scaled down to more svelte proportions. From its massive Mercedes star logo on back, the GLC has a voluptuous appeal that probably still has the GLK’s designer thinking what might have been. The GLC’s interior? It’s even better, with a lush waterfall of wood trim, big round air vents, and a serene sensibility that plays well against its sheet metal.
Performance comes in three grades. The 241-horsepower GLC 300 is the most normal model, if a 6.5-seconds-to-60-mph SUV is the new normal. With rear- or all-wheel drive, it’s not blessed with copious steering feel, but especially on optional air dampers and springs, it glides over obstacles with NHL finesse. Fuel economy peaks at 28 mpg highway.
Two AMG models dump the GLC 300’s turbo-4 but keep its 9-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. The GLC43 has a twin-turbo V-6 with 362 hp and wonderfully taut suspension tuning and steering weight. It’s not too brutal for daily driving, something we can’t yet say for the nutso AMG-built GLC63. In S trim, that SUV throws off 503 hp and injects some growth hormones into its shocks and steering rack. We’ve yet to drive one, and eager we are.
Mercedes trims out the GLC cabin with fine wood and synthetic leather, which transforms into real leather once you pay for the unlock code. Upsized from the GLK, the GLC has room all around, for people and cargo and whatever falls between those labels. AMG models have better, firmer sport seats, but they skip the linden wood trim for metallic glints and racy suede and leather. The GLC’s rear seats don’t fold down quite flat, but that’s only rarely a problem; a bigger problem is the GLC Coupe’s big drop in usable cargo space, thanks to its low roofline.
A rearview camera and forward-collision warnings come standard with the GLC’s excellent IIHS crash-test scores, but the next step in safety–adaptive cruise control and more–is an expensive leap. All models come with power features, Bluetooth, infotainment, and wood trim, but leather is an option, as is navigation. On the beautiful-people option list: heated rear seats, concert-hall Burmester sound, and even the in-car fragrance dispenser also found on the S-Class.
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