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Compact luxury lifestyle SUVs are a popular yet practical choice for families looking for a driving experience rather than something rudimentary, if not utilitarian. Considering this review is on a Mercedes-Benz product, you can expect a vehicle equipped to the nines with technology, luxury and style.
Related: Mercedes-Benz GLC (2023) First Drive Review
Enter the Mercedes-Benz GLC300d, which isn't just a C-Class on stilts but something that serves to be dynamic and an experience all on its own. It's worth mentioning that the whole South African range comes equipped with mild-hybrid technology, so expect a great deal of efficiency. Our test unit came with a host of optional extras (Which will be listed later in the review) and standard equipment.
Styling
The GLC keeps to the Mercedes-Benz's sculpted design language. In this writer's eyes, the silhouette and significant elements like the grille, etc., consist of gentle curves, whilst the body contours and features like the lights and vents are sharper and pronounced. It's all complementary and looks pleasing to the eye. This design language is quite signature to Mercedes-Benz to the point where you can tell that it's a Mercedes in a low light setting or even if the car is a mile away.
Our test unit came kitted with the AMG Line styling package consisting of gloss black trim pieces and sportier bumpers. The grille pattern tastefully incorporates the tri-silver arrow in chrome to break apart some of the chrome. Optionally, this vehicle also came with 20-inch AMG black multi-spoke alloy wheels nestled nicely in the black plastic-clad wheel arches. The GLC is lovely to look at and has an elegant road presence with considered design.
Space & Interior
Inside the GLC, you're greeted with a sizeable sloping dashboard, with the most prominent feature being the 11.9-inch touchscreen in the centre stack, which incorporates the infotainment and climate controls. The screen is cleverly designed with a floating dash effect. The GLC interior naturally consists of some of the best soft touch material, but where it falls short of the trim pieces with a faux carbon fibre look to it, the writer feels something more akin to brushed metal would look better.
Nonetheless, the interior is complemented by ambient lighting to suit the driving mode or your choice of colours. In terms of practicality, our test unit came with a stowage space package with numerous stowage and securing compartments for large and smaller items. Regarding boot space, you're looking at 620 litres of capacity, and when you fold down the rear seats, you get a maximum of 1680 litres. It's just fine for sorting the family duties.
Comfort & Convenience
As you'd expect with modern Mercedes-Benz, comfort is top priority. Seating is cushy and supportive front and rear, with care taken for lumbar and side bolster support. Rear legroom is ample, even with this writer's driving position. You can also find air vents and USB-C charging ports for the rear occupants. While we appreciate the slick aesthetic of the infotainment system and other centre stack controls, the user experience leaves a bit to be desired. Case in point is the mixture of haptics and touch controls. Skipping music tracks requires touchpad control style gestures on the steering wheel when, such can be simplified by just putting dedicated track skip buttons on the steering wheel. The controls under the infotainment screen, like the hazards, for example, are quite small and would benefit from a bigger size. The controls in this respect need more user experience focus in our view. The climate controls, on the other hand, are alright to operate.
Our test unit came equipped with the Advanced Sound System to complement the MBUX Entertainment. The sound fidelity of this system will definitely be missed. In fact, the cabin experience, when combining the plush materials, sound system and ambient lighting, makes the GLC pleasant to be in and something your passengers will appreciate, too.
Performance
The GLC range now comes equipped only with mild hybrid technology in the form of 48-volt technology and an integrated starter-generator, which benefits the vehicle's power delivery. The system aids in efficiency as well as refinement in that the engine starts smoothly and betters the start-stop tech. Pair all this with our test unit's diesel engine, and you have a very torquey yet refined performance. You have a 2.0-litre turbo diesel 4-cylinder engine producing 198 kW and 550 Nm. The pairing of a mild hybrid system and diesel engine proves to work well here. The mild hybrid system boost provides 17 kW and 200 Nm.
The ride quality of the GLC is composed but geared towards a softer ride naturally due to the luxury element. The 4Matic system is agile enough and handles with elegance on open roads. Interestingly, even with the 20-inch wheels and sports suspension, which is part of the AMG line exterior, the ride quality of our GLC faired well and is dampened nicely with the amplitude-dependent damping system. The GLC has been engineered for off-road driving as well but for this test, this writer used it more on urban roads.
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Fuel Economy
Claimed fuel consumption is rated at anywhere from 5.6l /100km to 6.5l /100km. We returned 7.5l /100km, albeit most of the commutes here were urban.
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Safety
You'll find the following standard safety equipment:
- 6 Airbags
- Blind Spot Assist
- Active Brake Assist
- Mercedes-Benz emergency call system
- Tyre pressure monitoring system
- Emergency spare wheel
- Anti-theft alarm system with preinstallation for collision detection
- Active Lane Keeping Assist
- Adaptive Highbeam Assist
- Parking Package (Reverse Camera, Active Parking Assist with PARKTRONIC)
Everything you need to know about the Mercedes-Benz GLC
Price
Pricing here is for the baseline models without added extras.
| Model | Price (incl. VAT) |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC220d coupe 4Matic | from R1 156 053 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC300d coupe 4Matic | from R1 200 313 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC220d coupe 4Matic AMG Line | from R1 209 953 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC220d 4Matic Avantgarde | from R1 227 271 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC300 coupe 4Matic | from R1 239 035 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC300d coupe 4Matic AMG Line | from R1 254 213 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC300 coupe 4Matic AMG Line | from R1 292 935 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC220d 4Matic AMG Line | from R1 309 864 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC300 4Matic Avantgarde | from R1 343 430 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC300 4Matic AMG Line | from R1 425 023 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC300d 4Matic Avantgarde | from R1 426 244 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLC300d 4Matic AMG Line | from R1 508 837 |
- High-Tech Silver Metallic
- Panoramic sliding sunroof
- Off-Road Engineering Package
- USB Package Plus
- Centre console in metal-struct
- Aluminium-look running boards
- Advanced Sound System
- AMG Line exterior
- Engineering Package
- Premium Package
- 50.8 cm (20”) AMG multi-spoke alloy wheels
Competitors
- BMW iX3
- Land Rover Discovery Sport
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Volvo XC60
Is the Mercedes-Benz GLC (2020) good for families? Here's our verdict
Verdict
The Mercedes-Benz GLC300d was a pleasant vehicle to live with. There's a lot of clever design and considerations here in this vehicle, but the infotainment and other mixed haptic and touch controls need more refinement in the user experience department. Regardless, this vehicle will do fine for family road trips and the daily commute with that added luxury injection. This vehicle does have quite a personality going for it.
