The curvy version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV packs everything that a mid-tier luxury car needs to have into its bag, but with mixed results

2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4Matic

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Launched: September 2023 – Price: S$393,888 with COE (Jan 2024)
Five-door, medium SUV-coupe, five seats
258hp, 2.0-litre turbo petrol with 48v mild-hybrid drive, 7.8L/100km

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PROS
Planted, stable driving
Very quiet on the road

CONS
Poor rear visibility
Woolly steering feel
Small interior space

SINGAPORE

Cars arriving in Singapore at the end of the year tend to get a little mixed up with their date categorisation at CarBuyer Singapore. The Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 coupe seen here arrived in late 2023, but as the car has only just been released for drives locally it’s categorised here as a 2024 review. What it is however, is really the curvier, slightly more cramped version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV. If you’re still new to the present Mercedes-Benz naming convention, the big ‘C’ in the name is taken by many to mean that the GLC class of cars is essentially the SUV version of the evergreen Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.

What’s trending in the automotive styling scene and selling in Singapore these days?

Mid-level luxury cars, SUVs, sporty and spacious coupe body styling, connected and A.I. powered software, along with some form of electrification in the drivetrain.

Well, the GLC 300 Coupe packs everything on the ‘want’ list. When compared with its direct sibling the GLC SUV, the swoopy coupe-SUV version costs in the region of S$30k more thanks to its sexier design, but the GLC 300 in either of the SUV designs are almost identical mechanically. 

There’s the 2.0-litre turbo engine with 48-volt mild hybrid assist, which is becoming quite rare in this time of full electric-everything. As we detailed way back, since the launch of the Audi A4 mild hybrid in 2020, mild hybrid cars don’t use the onboard electric motor as a motive source. Rather, the electrics are used to help the car accelerate quicker, kind of like having another turbocharger, and also let the car cruise on highways without the petrol engine having to bear any load as the onboard generator powers the air-conditioning and electrics in the cabin.

The engine along has 258 horsepower, and the electric motor adds 23 horses in short bursts when you need to accelerate really quickly.

The car projects an interesting vibe in that despite its claimed 0 to 100km/h launch time of 6.3 seconds, it doesn’t feel very fast because the takeoff is so linear. There’s no kick in the backside and no mighty shove as the car leaps forwards. Actually it’s also pretty quiet too. In its Eco drive mode you could almost pass off for an EV. The improved aerodynamics of the body shape would certainly have helped reduce wind noise even further.

Yet it has a bag of gimmicks as well. The sport engine sound, as far as we can tell, is a synthesised ‘exhaust noise’ and piped through the sound system when enabled. Then there’s the usual customisable ambient lighting to match your mood.

There’s full-time all-wheel drive so the car is very sure-footed, but the steering feel is not its strong point. In the comfort mode it steers a bit too lazily, making driving up multi-storey car parks a steering wheel-spinning job. In sport mode steering it’s very excitable just off centre, like you would expect to find in a Mini Cooper S, except that the handling of the big GLC 300 Coupe doesn’t match the steering speed. Rear wheel steering and adaptive suspension are optional extras.

Across all steering modes the centre is slightly vague, the car can wander if you’re not focused, which is where the active lane assist will catch you with its alarm before you veer out of lane. 

Whether its tradition or styling choice, the cabin feels cosier than expected because of the high centre console and storage box. Mercedes-Benz gear selectors have resided on the right side of the steering wheel for a few generations now so there is no control lever between the front occupants. In the face of spacious interiors of EVs like that of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, one wonders if this chunky centre console design that once was a mark of the ‘cockpit seating’ is out of step with present practicality trends in a car like this one.  

Rearward vision is reduced to a tiny slot through the rear window and the wing mirrors are also not wide enough for a confident view of what’s behind you. Well, at least there’s a blind spot monitor and a set of full 360-degree parking cameras.

The voice-activated operating system, along with the large centre screen, is identical to the other cars in the Mercedes-Benz lineup of this generation. Which is to say, pretty good and very impressive, perhaps overly so for older drivers that are not used to being distracted by so much tech in a car.

Rear passenger space is pretty good on leg room, but the slant in the roof means you need to duck your head a little more than usual to get in and the lower roof makes it all feel a little claustrophobic/cozy.  The wide side sill with the decorative side steps also means all occupants need to step over a wide section to exit the car and you can easily stain the ankle area of your pants on the way out of the vehicle.

A deceptively shallow boot rounds off the interior. It’s actually a split-level space, and even includes a foldable plastic crate that can be stashed away to help you manage loose items temporarily.

It’s still a car with an audience, and with the signs that COE prices are falling in 2024 this could still be something that you will want to look into if you’re shopping in this size of vehicle. Despite its powerful petrol engine, the range is impressive under the right conditions. We got 6.8l/100km on the highway but this plummets to around 12l/100km in urban crawls.

Marketers may all be pushing for EVs, but efficient turbo engines like the 2.0-litre Mercedes-Benz units still know how to do the job properly.

2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4Matic Coupe AMG Line

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