Mercedes-Benz GLC 300e 4Matic SUV - Finnish quality work!

The facelifted new GLC 300 e supercharged hybrid is Finnish quality work at its best. The Finnish car industry can be proud of the GLC, which is the most compact model in Mercedes’ current SUV hybrid range.

The GLC is available in a more traditional SUV and a more linear GLC Coupé model. Charging hybrids for both petrol and diesel engines are available for both body styles. Mercedes already has well over a dozen body styles in its very wide range of charging hybrids.

Focus on comfort and quality

The GLC 300 e has a strong focus on comfort. The optional air suspension on the test car makes for a soft ride, but even the sportiest Sport mode doesn’t make the car sporty.

Herein lies the GLC’s strength, the character of the car emphasises a refined driving feel, offering a smooth quality ride. Inside, the materials feel like quality down to the smallest detail.

The centre console has clearly inherited its design from the previous GLC 350 e, and rounded surfaces and shapes are found throughout the cabin. The centre console is dominated by a touchpad with vibrating tactile feedback, around which you’ll find the main driving buttons as well as the volume control.

The interface to the entertainment system is MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience), which comes standard with a 7-inch touchscreen in the centre. A larger screen for the instrument cluster and centre is available as an option, but the stylish extra-wide display panel familiar from the A-series is not available for the GLC.

The entertainment system is controlled directly from the touchscreen or pedal on the centre console. The system offers a wealth of menus, tabs and information. Getting used to it takes time at first, and can even feel awkward if you’re not familiar with Mercedes.

The cabin and materials exude quality, but the facelifted design could have done with a more visible update, especially as Mercedes has the know-how.

Torque like a diesel

The torque figures are impressive. Considering it’s a petrol-electric combination, the 700 newton maximum torque looks good on paper and feels even better in the drive.

Maximum torque is the same at 700 Nm across all GLC Charged Hybrid models with petrol and diesel engines. The electric motor alone delivers an impressive 90 kW (122 hp) of power and 440 Nm of torque. Compared to many of its competitors, driving the GLC on electric power alone feels effortless – thanks to the power of the electric motor and especially the good torque.

The GLC currently ranks at the bottom of the Mercedes range in terms of range when compared to electric-only driving. Mercedes claims an operating range of 42 km on a full battery. In the test drive, 36 electric kilometres were recorded.

The battery capacity and the operating range are still in line with many competing models. In a comparison within the Mercedes range, the GLE model currently has the largest batteries. At 31.2 kilowatts, the batteries give the GLE an operating range of over 90 kilometres at best.

In the GLC, the battery is positioned under the boot, which tweaks the boot size by raising the floor a few centimetres. However, the floor is perfectly flat and the charging cables can be hidden under the floor at the rear of the boot. Loading or hitching the trailer is made easier by the rear suspension lowering button in the boot, which comes with the air suspension.

There are many ways to influence economy

There are several driving programmes that make it easy to influence your own driving to be as economical as possible. Driving programmes can be selected from the Dynamic Select switch on the centre console, which is usually the first place to select a driving programme when you start driving.

With the Electric programme, the car, as the name suggests, runs on electricity alone and has a maximum speed of 160 km/h. Energy is recovered during engine braking and coasting, and the intensity of the energy recovery, i.e. the deceleration of the car, can be manually controlled from the steering wheel gearshift.

The battery level programme primarily saves power from the traction battery for later driving, with power coming mainly from the internal combustion engine.

The Eco program is, as its name suggests, the most economical in terms of fuel consumption. The car can calculate the most economical way to switch between electric and internal combustion engine operation based on the route entered into the navigation system, taking into account differences in altitude.

The driving programmes also include Comfort, Individual and Sport/Sport. In the latter, the car delivers all the power on offer – 320 horsepower and 700 newtons of torque.

Significant battery energy savings can be achieved by setting the car’s EQ menu to Start Time, which allows the car to preheat from the charging current before setting off. The energy savings are particularly significant in cooler conditions. The car’s EQ menu also offers an option to run the car on electric power alone when driving in the city.

However, direct charging of the traction battery by the internal combustion engine is not possible with any of the programs in the GLC.

A dash of character

As already mentioned, the GLC’s quiet character and quality compared to its rivals are among its best qualities. The refined chassis feel, the elegance of the gearbox and the efficiency and seamlessness of the electric motor in the powertrain are particularly good things. The slightly two-piece feel of the brake pedal could be improved.

The stable and unpredictable ride sometimes needs more character and feel. This would certainly not depend on the efficient power train of the star wheel.