Planning to Buy Mercedes-Benz GLC? Check Out Its Key Highlights

Mercedes-Benz GLC Highlights: The mid-size luxury SUV segment is a popular choice among buyers, as these cars not only offer a premium cabin but also deliver a luxurious experience with good performance. If you are exploring options around ₹80-90 lakh, which have good road presence, good comfortable seating with a luxurious cabin, and a powerful engine option, there are various choices available in the market.

In this segment, you can either choose German SUVs like the Mercedes-Benz GLC, Audi Q5, or the BMW X3, or you can check out the Lexus NX in the market. One of the popular choices among buyers is the Mercedes-Benz GLC. It has good road presence, comfortable and luxurious interiors, and is available with petrol and diesel engines.

Recently, we drove the Mercedes-Benz GLC in the city and on highways. We tested its performance, features, comfort and other parameters. Here are our thoughts: why the Mercedes-Benz GLC is a popular SUV in its segment, and whether you should buy it or not:

Design

The design of the Mercedes-Benz GLC is bold and sporty. The front has a big chrome grille, a sporty bumper and LED headlamps and indicators. The bumpers are sporty and have air vents to cool down the brakes. 

Coming to the sides, the design of the GLC is good, and the rear portion feels as if it is the extended part. The door handles have a chrome finish in the upper parts, and offer request sensors on all four doors. To give good ride quality, the GLC runs on 19-inch alloy wheels, and the design of the alloy wheels looks good on the SUV. 

At the rear, it has LED tail lamps and indicators. The lower portion of the bumper is finished in chrome to enhance the premium appearance, but it comes with fake exhaust tips with a diffuser treatment.

Features

The Mercedes-Benz GLC is a feature-rich offering in the market. Some of the key features on offer are the 64 colour ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, multiple driving modes, a 360-degree parking camera with self-park function, and others.

Though it has a long list of features, there were some features that grabbed our attention, and we liked using them. For starters, the 360-degree parking camera offered a good view of what’s around, and the self-park function parked the car itself, without giving any manual input. Moreover, for music lovers, the Burmester audio system offered clear music vocals, and the bass was on point and during long drives, it elevated our experience.

Additionally, the Mercedes-Benz GLC comes with multiple driving modes, which include Eco, Sport, Comfort, and Individual. The difference in the performance, steering response and suspension was quite evident, and we enjoyed driving it in the Comfort and Sport modes.

Talking about safety, the Mercedes-Benz GLC has multiple ADAS features as well, which worked effortlessly. It comes with adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, blind spot monitor, and others. These features were quite useful in the city traffic conditions, as multiple two-wheelers just overtook us from the left side, and the blind spot monitor is a useful feature in day to day drive.

Performance

The Mercedes-Benz GLC is offered with a 2.0L turbo petrol and a 2.0L diesel engine. We drove the GLC 300 4Matic, which is the petrol variant. The GLC 300 4Matic has a 2.0L inline four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, which produces 258 bhp and 400 Nm of torque, paired with a nine-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.

Talking about the performance, it is quick, and the acceleration is sporty. Since you get multiple driving modes, the engine tuning alters in each mode, and as we kept it mostly in the Comfort mode, the engine was silent and responsive. However, for a sudden boost of power and torque, switch it to the Sports mode, and there you will feel the difference in the dynamics of the GLC.

The low-end lag is well contained, and if you wish for more power in the low-end, you can just downshift with the paddle shifters, and it gets more fun and engaging to drive. The mid-range is the sweetest, and it red-lines around 6,500 RPM. The performance is linear, and you do get a kick in the pants feel while pushing it hard.

Regarding its fuel efficiency, Mercedes-Benz claims it has an ARAI efficiency of 14.72 km/L. However, we achieved a real-world fuel efficiency of 8.9km/L.

Comfort

The Mercedes-Benz GLC is a comfortable SUV and offers a good cabin experience. The front seats are pretty comfortable, and since it has electric adjustment for the seats and memory function, it helped in getting back the good comfortable seating position after someone else changed it. The bolstering support is also good, and you can spend a long time in the front seats without being uncomfortable or getting tired.

Talking about the rear seat experience, there is decent space on offer. You have ample knee and leg room on offer, and since it has an all-black cabin, you might feel a bit claustrophobic. 

However, to get in more sunlight, you have a split setup for the sunroof, which helps bring in more sunlight. The cabin has decent width, but a third passenger in the centre may feel a bit uncomfortable on long rides.

Price

The price of the Mercedes-Benz GLC starts at ₹86.18 lakh (on-road, Noida) for both the petrol and the diesel variants. It is a great option for luxury SUV buyers who are looking for a petrol SUV with great performance, luxurious interiors, and features. However, the GLC may feel a bit more common on the roads, and may miss out on some features as well. While it does not give high fuel efficiency as its Japanese rivals like the Lexus NX 350h, the GLC can be a suitable choice if you prioritise a diesel engine for fuel efficiency and a premium experience at this price.