henMercedesbroughtitsGLKtothemidsized
crossover souqbackin 2008 , it was ina market
placecrowdedwithbuyersandonlya limited
numberofstallholders. But theGLK’s angular
stylingdividedopinionandthoughit soldin
reasonablenumbers, by 2015 Mercedesrealisedthatwithglobal
crossover salesstillshowinggrowthandevermore SUVcompetition,
it neededa strongeroffering. EntertheGLCwhich,withitsslightly
more curvedpanellinesandstrongerfamilyresemblancetolarger
MercedesSUVs, immediatelybegantosellingreatervolumes.
Fouryearsandoneanda halfmillionGLCsaleslater, it’s timefor
a model‘refresh’withthis, the 2020 modelyearGLC, featuring
revisedbumpers, grilleandheadlampsontheoutside, alongwitha
host ofnewfeaturesandhardware within.AvailableinbothstandardandCoupéformat,the 2020 modelcomeswitha widerangeofnew
engineoptionsbut,ignoringthedieselvariants, thechoicereally
boilsdowntothe‘300’,a two litre,fourcylindertwinscrollturbo,
puttingout255bhpand 370 Nm, orthefourlitre V8twinturbofitted
totheAMGGLC 63 S.Thelatterkicksouta mightilyimpressive 510
horsepower and 700 Nm, perfectforthosedayswhenyou should
haveshouldhavebeenata board meeting 15 minutesbefore you left
thehouse.
Bothenginesare matedtoninespeedgearboxes, thefourcylinderto
a ‘9GTronic’,theV8totheAMGSpeedshiftMCT9G. Interestingly,
thefourcylinderisfittedwitha 48volt systemandEQBoost belt
drive combinedstarter/ alternator. Thisrecoupskineticenergywhen
deceleratingorcoasting, usingthatenergytoboost theengine’s power
byupto 14 hpatmomentswhentheturboisstillspinninguptospeed.w
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