Mercedes GLC 300 de: Luxurious plug-in hybrid with comfort in focus

The Mercedes GLC is a luxurious and luxurious SUV in the middle class and now the new model has started to be sold in Sweden. The car I’m testing is the plug-in hybrid version with a battery that on paper promises 126 kilometers on a charge. This quickly turns out to be a long way from reality when it’s cold outside, but Mercedes’ new car, on the other hand, impresses in many other respects.

The test car has extra equipment for a quarter of a million, so I am greeted by a really lavish and luxurious driver’s environment when I change the car. The seats are firm and cupped, the screens (MMI and gauge cluster) razor sharp and every detail inside exudes high quality. The driver’s seat does feel a bit cramped, but it’s also easy to forget that this is quite a small SUV.

Comfortable as few

The comfort while driving is absolutely top class. The car is well insulated, the seats very comfortable and the suspension soft and sophisticated. The car is not a speed monster, but there is absolute power here, so it is enough for active driving and safe overtaking.

The test car had been outside when I picked it up, and when fully charged it says that I will get close to 11 miles on battery power. The engine in the car I’m testing is a four-cylinder diesel, which is unusual in a plug-in hybrid context. When the car goes into hybrid mode and switches between electric drive and internal combustion engine, this is not quite as discreet as I would like. And when it’s freezing, you unfortunately have to use the hybrid mode quite a lot before the car warms up. In some cases up to 10 minutes.

6-7 miles on one charge

How far do you get on a charge in practice? Winter time around 6-7 miles at best (including a few deciliters of diesel in hybrid mode). When I test the car, it’s never really hot, but since the WLTP figures tend to differ significantly from normal Swedish conditions, I would think that you get 8-9 miles on a charge at the most. Which is clearly good compared to what the competition offers. The car offers several different driving modes and you can of course choose to keep the battery charged or have the diesel engine top up the battery if you want to plan your driving.

Read also: This is why electric cars are useless in winter

Mercedes has long been at the forefront of smart driver aids, and the GLC 300 DE impresses greatly on that point. The adaptive cruise control works very smoothly and yet precisely, and the lane assist is among the best I’ve tested. If you let the car set the speed after reading the license plate, you should be a little careful, though. No car reads speed signs perfectly and on several occasions the test car found itself braking or accelerating at the wrong time. The drivers behind me were not happy when the Mercan wanted to slow down to 60 km/h on the highway, without warning.

Mercedes MMI is really nice and easy to work on. On the giant screen, it is easy to find the right one and adapt functions and views to your own preferences. There is also voice recognition that works well and when you have paired the car with the Mercedes Me app, you can start air conditioning remotely or just keep an eye on your car.

However, I’m not as keen on the touch controls on the steering wheel. It would simply have been much smoother to change the volume or set the speed of the cruise control with buttons instead of swipe controls for the thumbs.

The test car is equipped with driver assistance package Plus, which includes a bunch of safety systems, in addition to the cruise control functions. The car effectively warns of obstacles and collisions, and this extra package also includes tracking of stolen vehicles.

Usually, you will surely charge your charging hybrid at home or at a parking space at work, and then 11 kW applies to most people. If you want to charge the car via DC charging, it can receive a full 60 kW, which enables fast charging. However, this is optional equipment and it will cost you SEK 5,750 if you want that option.

The pricing of extra equipment is a minus as the price tag quickly drags away, something that is quite common with German cars in my experience. Maybe you don’t need navigation with augmented reality, the big sound system, 20-inch AMG rims and steps in “aluminum look”. But if you don’t spend a bit over a hundred thousand kroner, you won’t even get adaptive cruise control in the car.

Mercedes GLC 300 de 4Matic facts

Manufacturer: Mercedes
Taken: From SEK 770,900
Price test car: SEK 1,028,300
Car type: suv
Driving: AWD
Gearbox: 9-speed Automatic
Motor: 4-cylinder diesel engine + electric (269 + 23 hp)
Battery range: 126 km (WLTP)
Performance: 0-100 in 6.3 sec
Top speed: 217 km/h
Specified fuel consumption: 0.6 liter/mile (WLTP)
CO2 emissions: 157 g/km (WLTP)
Vehicle tax: SEK 758/month