Top Car

FIRST DRIVES.

Dune buddies

South Africa finally gets a mid-sized Mercedes SUV,

and Stuttgart wants to sell a lot of them. Stand back

Audi Q5 and BMW X3. ByPeter Frost

M

ERCEDES-BENZHAS

learnt two important lessons in

recent times – don’t mess with

ride comfort is the most

important one (A-Class taug ht

them that) and; South Africa loves a mid-si zed

SUV. Mix the two epiphanies and you have

the company’s latest offering, the GLC, a

float ing, supremely comfortable soft-roader

with moreability than the GLA, less than the

GLE (formerly the M-Class) and great dollops

of Lifestyle cred, capital L. To highlight its

abilities Me rc chose the du nes and ro ckscapes

of the Namib. The result was a curate’s egg;

GLC aced the blacktop and outcrops, but had

to work hard in the sand, admittedly du e

mostly to tyre choices and variable driver skills.

GLC repres ents arguably Mercedes’ most

GLCride height adjustable,

optional air suspension keeps

things imperious. Nicefeeling

MERCEDES-BENZ GLC 250D 4MATIC

HIGHS

Ideal size, real dirt

roadability, great

price

LOWS

Everyonewill have

one soon

VERDICT

Merc’s most

important new

model, shouldsell

like hot cakes

important model after the C-Class, in that it

will appeal to all; it is the ideal size for the

school run, certainly capable and tough

enough for the ba ck roads end-of-year

holiday, good looking enough to appeal to

the urban stylemei sters and,

most importantly of all,

aspira tional thanks of the three-

pointed star. The good news is

that the car that took on

Namibia and – mostly – won,

will satisfy all of them. On the

back roads it is what the GLA

should always have been ,

confidenc e-inspirin g, tractable,

high-riding, comfortable and

yes, rugged. Frankly there seems

little point to -the lo wer, slower,

less interesting sister now, especially given the

GLC’s competitive pricing which sets it as only

marginal ly moreexpensive than

the GLA.All models come with

Dynamic Select and Me rc’s

4Matic all-wheel drive system,

which as the name suggests is

largely autonomous, and can be

left to decide for itself what the

road requires in terms of traction.

Drivers ca n get involved via the

usual drive modes – Eco,

Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and

Individual. There’s an optional

Off-Road package as well, a