Face of Nation : In theory, a mid-life update should make a car better in some ways and no worse in any way. Sounds simple, but even the best brands have the occasional facelift fail.
The Mercedes-Benz GLC has been on the market since late 2015, and so is due for a sales-boosting freshen-up. From September the “new” versions will begin appearing in local showrooms.
First to arrive will be the 200 and 300, with turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol-burners. They’ll be followed in about December by the range topping 63, powered by AMG’s ferocious twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8. It’s not certain Mercedes-Benz Australia will include a diesel engine in the revamped line-up. Demand for them here is slipping, apparently.
While there are points to praise, there are also reasons to pan the update.
In only four years the GLC wagon, along with the Coupe version launched later, has become the second best-selling Mercedes-Benz model in Australia, rivalling the long-running C-Class sedan and wagon family. Among the still current GLC line-up the version most popular with customers is the 250, powered by a turbo 2.0-litre four.
Its place will be taken by the incoming 300. Prices are yet to be announced, but it’s unlikely to stray very far from the low $70,000s territory of the 250.
While the engine of the 300 is the same size, enough changes have been made to the four for it to deserve a new Mercedes-Benz code.
Mercedes-Benz engineers say their main aim with the new engine was to “optimise fuel consumption”. As often happens, the quest for efficiency also lifted the maximum power output by a handy amount to 190kW.
While the numbers seem to shout success, the updated engine doesn’t whisper of Mercedes-Benz superiority. It’s noisier than something wearing the three-pointed star should be, and the sound it makes when revs rise isn’t pretty.
Making matters worse is the GLC’s nine-speed automatic. The transmission’s computer control software was updated to suit the more powerful 300 engine. It doesn’t work very well. It’s prone to holding low gears too long, and also sluggish or jerky shifting.
Two different GLCs with the engine and transmission were tested at the recent international launch in Germany. There wasn’t a lot of difference between them, indicating the problems are inherent rather than out of the ordinary.
Mercedes-Benz made only minor changes to the exterior design of the updated GLC — LED headlights become standard and bumpers and tail-lights are redesigned.
The main focus is on technology.
