ON FRONT PAG E N O R T H E AST V I C TO R I A , A L P S A N D H I G H CO U N T RY
APRIL 22-28, 2016
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LOOKS GOOD: Big and bold at the front, the long awaited Mercedes GLC makes a real styling statement.
Mercedes-Benz GLC is good-looking and practical
MERCEDES-BENZ Australia has been waiting for the GLC for years. Previous models in this class, with a tag of GLK, weren’t fitted with steering wheel on our side so couldn’t be imported. Now the local importer finally has a competitor in one of the most fiercely fought of all market segments in Australia, that of upmarket midsize SUVs. In case you’re wondering, the new Mercedes model numbering system indicates the body type in the first two letters and the Class in the final letter. Thus ‘GL’ means it’s an SUV, and ‘C’ means its a C-Class, model. (To add to the confusion Mercedes is known to be
By EWAN KENNEDY developing a GLC coupe, with an entirely different rear end.) We have just had the pleasure of reviewing a brace of this new model. The $64,500 Mercedes-Benz GLC 220d diesel we tested for our first week had 19-inch wheels, keyless entry and start, powered front seats, power tailgate, and LED Intelligent lighting. After dropping it off we picked up a $67,900 turbo-petrol which was really loaded with standard gear: These vehicles have 20-inch wheels, a Keyless-Go package, leather upholstery, privacy glass and Driver Assistance
Package Plus, more about the latter in our Safety segment of this review. STYLING A big, bold front end with one of the largest ‘three-stars’ badges in the centre leaves absolutely no doubt what you’re driving. The rest of the body’s shape is tidy, but tends to focus on practically ahead of look-at-me features. INFOTAINMENT Our cars were fitted with the Mercedes Comand system including satellite navigation with voice input, or you can use the reasonably intuitive touchpad. The audio system is a 13-speaker Burmester with surround sound.
WLAN with internet access for connected devices. ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS The SUV versions of the Mercedes C-Class, the GLC range has three models, two powered by a 2.1-litre turbo-diesel engine, the third a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol motor. The 220d puts we drove out 125 kW of power and 400 Nm of torque. The Benz GLC 250 2.0-litre petrol produces 155 kW, and 350 Nm of torque from just 1200 rpm. It accelerates the GLC from zero to 100 km/h in just 7.3 seconds.
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Paul Davenport 0408 057 837 Michael Henderson 0418 512 531 Kylie Stevenson 0428 215 677 Noel Gilbert 0438 597 200
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