Meet the soon-to-be best-selling Mercedes-Benz
What is it?
The Mercedes-Benz GLC will soon be Mercedes’ best-selling SUV, and maybe even the best-selling Mercedes, period.
OK. That assertion is ours, prognosticating, but it doesn't seem like a stretch. The 2016 GLC dusts the SUV it replaces -- the 2015 GLK -- in just about every respect. The GLC is bigger, more solid, more comfortable and more efficient than the GLK, and probably better looking. It makes a much stronger claim to best in a very competitive class of compact, luxury-brand SUVs.
The new GLC swaps the K in GLK (Kompakt, auf Deutch) for a C to match Mercedes’ compact C-Class sedan. Henceforth, all Mercedes unibody SUVs will be designated GL, with a third letter distinguishing size or market segment: GLA (subcompact), GLC, GLE (mid-size) and GLS (large). The original, 36-year-old body-on-frame G-class (for geländewagen) will continue in its own, rarified world.
In the GLC’s case, at least, the SUV has something in common with its sedan counterpart. It starts with same rear-drive foundation as the new C-class, stretched ever so slightly. The GLC’s 113.1 inch wheelbase increases 4.6 inches compared to the GLK, and its length, 4.7 inches. Its length, width and height match competitors like the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Lexus NX within a fraction of an in inch.
