Mercedes glc 300 4matic 2023 review năm 2024
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Benz's recently hybridized compact SUV – arguably its most important new model – is an exercise in form versus function Show
Published Aug 13, 2023 • Last updated Aug 13, 2023 • 6 minute read You could make a pretty good argument this is the most important car Mercedes-Benz will introduce this year. Oh, the S-Class is flashier, EQS and EQE are trendy EVs, and the SLS is faster, but compact SUVs are now the meat-and-potatoes of the luxury segment, and the GLC is the second-biggest seller in Mercedes-Benz Canada’s lineup (behind only the GLE). This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In other words, how it fares against the Audi Q5s and BMW X3s of the segment is keenly important to the marketing mavens at Mercedes-Benz Canada. So, naturally, we took it out for its first test drive as soon as we could get our hands on one. Here’s what we found. The 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC’s engine has been upgraded, but—There might not be a lot of increased performance to be found. Mechanically, the GLC’s little 2.0-litre turbocharged four is largely unchanged. Electrically, however, it’s been blessed with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. That’s one of those super-large alternators that can, in the right circumstances, feed power back into the engine. In fact, Mercedes says it can add as much as 23 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque to the equation. Learn more about the cars
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. However, the little 300 still claims the same 255 hp as last year’s hybrid-less version. So, what gives? Well, as it turns out, that 48V alternator-generator-motor is still connected to the engine via a rubber belt, not the best transmission system for high-rpm horsepower. On the other hand, the system does see a rise in maximum torque, from 273 lb-ft last year to 295 torques in the 2023 model. One would think that alone would give the new GLC better jump off the line than the old version. As it turns out, no; in fact, the 2023 isn’t any quicker off the line, still recording a roughly six-second sprint to 100 kilometres an hour. That’s because the new models, thanks to said hybridization and numerous other features, are some 130 kilograms heavier than the older version. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. So again, what gives? Why go to all the bother? All 12 Photos for Gallery Full Screen is not supported on this browser version. You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The 2023 Benz GLC is pretty efficientI averaged a commendable 10.2 L/100 km whilst driving the GLC around Toronto. I could probably have done better if I didn’t have such a leaden foot and had included more highway driving. Nonetheless, that’s about half a litre per 100 kilometres advantage over last year’s GLC, and about a full liter per less than Maserati’s far more complicated Grecale Modena — its 2.0-litre turbo is similarly mild-hybridized, but it throws a way-trick electronic supercharger into the mix. Officially, Mercedes claims the GLC 300 is good for 10.0 L/100 km overall, and considering how nonsensically I was driving it, it just might be able to attain that. Fuel economy may not be why people buy luxury cars, but it is what government regulators demand from new vehicles. Hence why the GLC sports that 23-hp-and-148-lb-ft belt-alternator-starter system, yet doesn’t gain any horsepower. And why it boasts better fuel economy than the Grecale, but doesn’t feel as lively. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC’s interior is beyond lovelyAll 11 Photos for Gallery Full Screen is not supported on this browser version. You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Fuel economy may not be the reason the well-heeled shop luxury vehicles, but interior décor certainly is. And here, the GLC hits one out of the park. Babe-Ruth style, even. Truly, this is — at least when outfitted with the Premium and Premium Plus packages — the most elegant interior in a premium compact SUV today. Worthy of special mention is the special console which sees the (faux) carbon-fibre lower portion flow into the 11.9-in portrait-oriented infotainment screen. Looking more like a piece of perfectly-curved driftwood burnished perfectly smooth by time, it truly is the digital made organic. The rest of the interior follows suit, dressed in lustrous piano black and sumptuous leather. Truly a marvel for the eyes. That said— This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The infotainment system is complicatedMercedes is very much on a drive to minimize buttonry, having ensconced even more in the digital infotainment apparatus. Everything from A/C system to music is now controlled by the infotainment or some other form of electronic gadgetry. For instance, there’s no volume knob for the radio, just a slidey capacitive discharge thingy on the steering wheel that’s tough to manipulate accurately. And I still haven’t found whatever closes the sunroof cover. Yes, I could have looked it up in the owner’s manual, but then that’s digitized as well. Besides, we North Americans are famously averse to reading owners’ manuals. Recent studies have shown that consumers have had their fill of computerized controls in their automobiles and long for physical switchgear. It looks like Mercedes didn’t get the executive summary. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. One last thing regarding the interior: More cargo spaceThe GLC has grown this year. Oh, the wheelbase remains the same, but it is, overall, 60 millimetres longer. All of that increased space is out back, which is why the trunk capacity is some three cubic feet larger than last year’s version. That might not seem a lot, but since the 2022’s luggage space was 19 cubes, the 2023’s room for groceries and duffel bags is actually about 15 per cent greater. It’s noticeable and a welcome improvement. On the other hand, since the wheelbase hasn’t changed, there’s precious little increased room inside the cabin, legroom — front and rear — is largely unchanged. In other words, the interior might be noticeably more luxurious, but it is not more spacious. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC ride and handlingConsidering the GLC 300 — at least, this GLC 300 — wasn’t sporting an AMG badge, its 255/55R18 Michelin Primacy All Seasons seem an appropriate compromise between ride and handling. You can get some monstrously-sized 20-inchers, but, by all repute, they ruin the delicate balance between ride and handling, the GLC’s primary attraction while driving. Indeed, while the engine, as I mentioned, is no great improvement on old, the GLC’s ride is much improved. Southern Ontario’s potholes failed to challenge it, and what few off-ramps we hustled through were handled with aplomb. As a balance between the needs of hooligan like me and a Millennial Mom’s need for baby-seat sparing compliance, the GLC — at least a GLC outfitted like my tester — is one of Mercedes’ best efforts. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The bottom line: GLC 300 Canadian pricingA base 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 will set you back some $58,900 (sans taxes and fees, of course). My tester, meanwhile, would require a further $15,185 — not counting, again, taxes and fees — to get out the door. If I were looking to save money, I’d definitely opt out of the $3,900 AMG Night package which, save for some brake upgrades, is all cosmetic add-ons. My tester also came equipped with the $4,200 Premium and $3,650 Premium Plus packages. Like so many luxury vehicle options packages, these are a bit infuriating, a combination of things that really should be standard; and one or two items that might be legitimately considered options. The Premium package, for instance, includes the huge sunroof — which could be considered a genuine upgrade, even in a luxury vehicle — but then Mercedes also asks you to pay extra for the navigation system’s Traffic Sign Assist software and illuminated door sills, both of which should be standard at this price. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ditto for the Plus compilation, which includes the Burmester sound system — genuine option — and Adaptive High-beam Assist and LED headlamps which, by no definition, should be considered an “upgrade” in this day and age. Add it all up and my tester cost $74,085, or close to 80 grand before you’ve given our federal government their tithe. Yes, inflation. Should I buy a 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300?The decision on whether to buy the GLC amongst all the mid-sized luxury utes available, I think, is quite simple. Indeed, to me, it comes down to one simple question: What matters more to you—the beauty of an interior superior to all its major competitors or the complications and steep learning curve that beautiful “waterfall” infotainment screen engenders? It’s definitely that love/hate relationship that would dominate my purchase decision. Yes, a BMW X3 handles a bit better, and maybe the Audi Q5 costs a little less, but those criteria are small potatoes compared with where you stand on the form-versus-function equation. Indeed, the GLC’s hottest competitor might be Alfa Romeo’s little Tonale PHEV. Not as lush inside, the engine is a little peppier, and thanks to its 15.5 kilowatt-hour battery, it’s going to use a lot less fuel, too. It’s also cheaper. Too bad Canadian consumers are so leery of the badge. David BoothDavid Booth is Driving’s senior writer as well as the producer of Driving.ca’s Driving into the Future panels and Motor Mouth podcasts. Having written about everything from the exact benefits of Diamond Like Coating (DLC) on motorcycle camshafts to why Range Rovers are the best vehicles for those suffering from opiod-induced constipation, Booth leaves no stone unturned in his quest for automotive veritas. Besides his long tenure with Driving, he was the editor in chief of Autovision magazine for 25 years and his stories has been published in motorcycle magazines around the world including the United States, England, Germany and Australia. EducationGraduating from Queen Elizabeth High School in 1973, Booth moved to from his Northern Quebec home town of Sept-Iles — also home to Montreal Canadiens great, Guy Carbonneau, by the way — to Ottawa to study Mechanical Engineering at Carleton University where he wrote a thesis on the then burgeoning technology of anti-lock brakes for motorcycles and spent time researching the also then burgeoning use of water tunnels for aerodynamic testing. ExperienceAfter three years writing for Cycle Canada magazine and another three working for the then oldest magazine in Canada, Canadian Automotive Trade, Booth, along with current Driving writer, Brian Harper, and then Toronto Star contributor, Alex Law, created an automotive editorial services group that supplied road tests, news and service bulletins to what was then called Southam newspapers. When Southam became Postmedia with its purchase by Conrad Black and the subsequent introduction of the National Post, Booth was asked to start up the then Driver’s Edge section which became, as you might suspect, Driving.ca when Postmedia finally moved into the digital age. In the past 41 tears, Booth has tested well over 500 motorcycles, 1,500 passenger cars and pretty much every significant supercar of the last 30 years. His passion — and, by far, his proudest achievement — however is Motor Mouth, his weekly column that, after some 30 years, remains as incisive and opinionated as ever. PersonalBooth remains an avid sports enthusiast — that should be read fitness freak — whose favourite activities include punching boxing bags until his hands bleed and running ski hills with as little respect for medial meniscus as 65-year-old knees can bear. His underlying passion, however, remains, after all these years, motorcycles. If he’s not in his garage tinkering with his prized 1983 CB1100RC — or resurrecting another one – he’s riding Italy’s famed Stelvio Pass with his beloved — and much-modified — Suzuki V-strom 1000. Booth has been known to accept the occasional mojito from strangers and the apples of his eye are a certain fellow Driving contributor and his son, Matthew, who is Global Vice-President of something but he’s never quite sure what. He welcomes feedback, criticism and suggestions at [email protected] All things automotive: breaking news, reviews and more. Wednesdays and Saturdays. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Driving.ca's Blind-Spot Monitor will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Notice for the Postmedia Network This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Is GLC 2023 worth buying?The new GLC is priced competitively and of course, it's pricier than the outgoing version because of all the new features and tech that have been added. But at the end of the day, at its price, it offers good value for money. Is Mercedes GLC 300 worth buying?Which GLC-Class does Edmunds recommend? For most buyers the standard GLC 300, which is available with rear- or all-wheel drive, is the right choice. We also think adding the Exclusive package (premium sound system, surround-view camera, navigation) is worth it on the base model. What is the difference between the new GLC 2023 and 2022?Performance. The 2022 and 2023 GLE 350 4MATIC®'s capabilities are identical. These midsize crossovers have a turbo four-cylinder gas engine generating 255 horsepower. This trim is also equipped with 4MATIC® all-wheel drive for more robust performance. Is Mercedes GLC 300 expensive to maintain?A Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class will cost about $14,421 for maintenance and repairs during its first 10 years of service. This beats the industry average for luxury SUV models by $1,293. |
