Mercedes revealed the new 2023 GLC today and it has also announced which powertrains the compact luxury SUV will be offered with in Europe and Australia. All of the available drivetrains are, to one degree or another, enhanced with electric assistance. Mercedes-Benz will offer a range of drivetrains in Europe half of which are mild hybrids that make use of the automaker’s second-generation integrated starter-generator (ISG). Three others will be plug-in hybrids.
All powertrain options are based on four-cylinder
engines from the automaker’s Family of Modular Engines (FAME). The ISG is then
capable of adding a 22 hp, 200 Nm boost to the
engine. In the GLC 200 4Matic, the engine is rated at 201 hp and 320 Nm of torque, plus the boost. The GLC 220 d 4MATIC is rated
at 194 hp and 440 Nm of torque, plus the additional
torque boost. The GLC 300, meanwhile, is rated at 255 hp and 400 Nm of torque, plus the boost.
The plug-in hybrid powertrains also have
four-cylinder engines that use Mercedes’ fourth-generation PHEV drive
technology. The system is more compact and powerful than ever before and can
move the GLC at speeds of up to 140 km/h. A 31.2 kWh battery pack,
meanwhile, means that the SUV can go up to 100 km on electric power
alone. So far capable of delivering up to 134 hp and 440 Nm of torque in the GLC, the electric motor is a major benefit to the
vehicle. In the GLC 300 e 4MATIC, that means a system output of 308 hp and 550 Nm of torque. In the GLC 400 e 4MATIC it amounts
to 375 hp and 650 Nm of torque; and, finally, the
GLC 300 de 4MATIC is good for 328 hp and a whopping 750
Nm of torque.
According to the European WLTP test cycle,
the SUVs, in particular the plug-in hybrids, are very fuel efficient. The GLC
200 and 300 return 8.2 l/100 km in the city and 7.3 on the highway (29/32 mpg)
while the GLC 220 d is a little better at 5.9 city/5.2 highway (40/45 mpg) on
the WLTP driving cycle. The plug-in hybrid GLC 300 e and 400 e, meanwhile are
good for an outlandish 0.8 lt/100 km in the city and 0.6 l/100km on the highway
(294/392 mpg respectively), and the diesel GLC 300 de maxes out at 0.7 l/100km
in the and 0.5 l/100km on the highway (equal to 336/470 mpg). That’s not a
mistake, it’s what Mercedes claims. However, there’s a perfectly reasonable
explanation that doesn’t really have anything to do with the diesel engine
itself as it does with the large battery that allows the SUV to travel without
sipping any fossil-fuel during WLTP testing. Even higher-power versions of the
SUV from AMG are expected to follow for all markets before the end of the year,
likely based around the mechanically related C43 and upcoming C63 AMG sedans.
