Top Car

(BrasilTuga) #1

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
Free download pdf