2023 GLC 300 AMG

Mercedes-Benz Australia has rolled the dice with the all-new GLC medium SUV, with just a single well-specified variant available next year. And we've driven it.

• Excellent powertrain
• Increased boot capacity
• Interior fit and finish are next-level

• No plug-in hybrid for Australia
• No entry-level variant for Australia
• Haptic-touch steering wheel controls too sensitive

2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC300

It should come as little surprise that the Mercedes-Benz GLC, the German brand’s luxury take on the medium SUV segment, has become its biggest seller around the world.

Mercedes-Benz has sold over 2.6 million GLCs (and its GLK predecessor, a GLC in all but name) since launching in 2008, making it the brand’s number-one-selling vehicle, supplanting the evergreen C-Class sedan.

It’s a similar tale here in Australia, where the GLC regularly trades places with the C-Class at the top of Merc’s sales charts. The sedan currently holds the mantle of best-seller locally, but Mercedes-Benz Australia is expecting that to change when its all-new mid-size SUV launches here in early 2023.

We’ve tasted the new GLC overseas ahead of expected first-quarter 2023 local deliveries. And Mercedes-Benz Australia is keeping it mercifully simple.

Just one variant will make its way Down Under – GLC300 – and as you’d expect, it should be brimming with standard equipment befitting a premium medium SUV.

It’s a bold strategy from Mercedes-Benz Australia, eschewing the entry-level GLC200 model as well as a range of three plug-in hybrid variants, all with a claimed pure electric driving range of 100km. But, MB-A knows its customer base for the GLC, so the lone mid-spec GLC300 is it for local dealerships from next year.

How much does the Mercedes-Benz GLC300 cost in Australia?

Pricing is still to be confirmed for Australia, but in its native Germany, the GLC300 is asking for €68,240 (AUD$99,570).

And with a new C300 sedan in Australia starting at around $90,000 plus on-road costs, it’s not a stretch to suggest the new GLC will tip over $100,000 before on-road costs when it lobs locally.

All speculation, of course, as we won’t know final specification for some months yet. For context only, the current GLC300 is priced at $87,892 in Australia before options and on-road costs are added.

Externally, at first glance, the new GLC doesn’t look that different to the model it replaces.

But, dig a little deeper and the changes are soon apparent. For starters, the new model is bigger by almost every measure – some 60mm longer overall with a wheelbase extended by 15mm. Overall width remains the same at 1890mm, but thanks to being 4mm lower from top to bottom, the new GLC looks more purposeful, cutting a sporty stance on the road.

Out front, slimmer LED headlights lead straight into a new grille, while at the rear, slimmer LED tail-lights and a new rear diffuser design set the 2023 GLC apart from its predecessor.

Mercedes-Benz claims the new GLC is also more aerodynamically efficient than the outgoing model, its new profile cutting a slippery figure through the air. Drag coefficient is down from 0.31 Cdto 0.29 Cd, a 6.5 per cent improvement that should see gains at the petrol bowser.

How much space does the Mercedes-Benz GLC300 have inside?

Mercedes-Benz has long been the champion of trickle-down economics, and technologies and features found in its flagship S-Class sedan eventually finding their way down the Merc range.

It’s no different here with the new GLC, which at first appearance looks and feels like a smaller S-Class. This is a properly premium interior.

The materials throughout are exemplary as are the fit and finish, the GLC feeling solid and well-screwed-together, as you’d expect from a premium brand.

The sculpted dash is a masterclass in cabin design, with flowing lines that lead into the doors, as well as seamlessly integrating the centre console.

Soft-touch materials abound, while interesting textures and finishes adorn the lower portion of the dash. While the wide ‘pinstripe suit’ design of one test car we sampled didn’t really tickle our fancy, we did like the carbon-fibre weave garnishes found in another. You might think differently.

The seats themselves are super supportive and comfortable, the perfect accompaniment to long stints behind the wheel.

The steering wheel itself errs on the side of chunky, and features Merc’s relatively new haptic multifunction controls. While I love the reassuring heft of the steering wheel, I’m less convinced about the haptic controls, which require a level of precision that proved a little distracting at times, and sometimes frustrating as a little too much ‘touch’ would result in shuffling past the desired and required screen or option.

It’s a minor gripe, and no doubt with prolonged use – as in ownership – you’d develop a deft and light touch.

The second row feels spacious, despite only minor dimensional increases in the second row compared to the outgoing GLC. Certainly, behind my 173cm driving position, there was ample leg, knee and head room. The second-row seats are comfy too. There are separate climate controls back there, keeping things nice and cosy too.

The cargo area is the big winner of the GLC’s growth spurt, expanding by 50L to now offer 600L of capacity. That expands to 1680L with the second row stowed away in 40:20:40 split fashion. An electric tailgate provides access to the boot area.

Does the Mercedes-Benz GLC300 have Apple CarPlay?

An 11.9-inch touchscreen anchors Merc’s latest MBUX infotainment operating system. The screen is beautifully integrated into the cabin, appearing to float in front of the dash before integrating seamlessly into the centre console.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as is satellite navigation. The screen serves as the nerve centre for a host of the GLC’s secondary functions such as ambient lighting.

Climate controls are also accessed via the screen, but unlike some systems found in other manufacturers, the Merc’s controls are permanently displayed along the bottom of the touchscreen. That makes for easy fuss-free access, important when on the move.

Merc’s ‘Hey Mercedes’ voice commands work fine for the most part – such as route guidance, making phone calls, changing the radio station or music selection, for example – but she can still be caught napping. But, Merc says the function has been improved and keeps evolving.

‘Hey Mercedes’ can also act as a ‘Tourguide’, offering an informative talk track when requested that highlights information about ‘points of interest’ along the route. We didn’t get to sample this feature as it’s currently only available in German (boo!). Merc has plans, though, to roll it out in other regions.

Other features of MBUX include online music streaming, the system fully integrating the most popular services. They’re played on a standard nine-speaker sound system or – likely to be optional – a premium 15-speaker Burmester audio system.

There’s wireless smartphone charging as well as a collection of USB Type C plugs inside the central storage bin.

The 12.3-inch digital driver's display is configurable in myriad ways, not only in the information it presents – such as mapping, telephony, driving data, trip data etc – but also in its appearance: from ‘Classic’ Merc to racy red ‘Sport’ dials, full-screen mapping or ‘off-road’ mode which adds information such as degree of incline, steering angle, and a compass, while a ‘transparent bonnet’ function displays what’s happening on the road under the front of the car, which is great for navigating rocky paths and rutted tracks.

We gave the transparent bonnet a whirl during a stint of off-road driving and it is excellent.

Is the Mercedes-Benz GLC300 a safe car?

The new Mercedes-Benz GLC remains untested by Australia’s safety body ANCAP. Nor has ANCAP’s counterpart, Euro NCAP, run the new medium SUV through its safety paces.

And, we won’t know what safety technologies will be fitted as standard in Aussie-delivered models. We’d expect autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control as a minimum as part of Merc’s Driving Assistance package.

Mercedes claims its traffic sign recognition feature has been improved to now also read signs on overhead gantries and conditional signs such as ‘in wet conditions', and then displays the relevant information accordingly.

We still caught the system napping sometimes, though, the function displaying a 60km/h speed limit, say, when the posted limit was 90km/h. It can be slow to react.

A 360-degree camera can be controlled manually, changing the angle of view by using tablet-style pinches and swipes on the touchscreen. It’s an excellent function that makes for easy parking and manoeuvrability in tight spaces. Active Parking Assist, likely to be optional, can park the GLC for you.

How much does the Mercedes-Benz GLC300 cost to maintain?

Without knowing how much the new GLC300 will land for in Australia, it’s difficult to gauge its value in a competitive sense. We’re speculating that pricing will be around the $100,000 mark before on-road costs and options.

That will position the GLC300 well above similar offerings from its main rivals from Germany – BMW X3 xDrive30i (from $89,900 plus on-roads), Audi Q5 45 TFSI Sport (from $80,000 plus ORCs) and Porsche Macan (from $90,100).

Mercedes-Benz is likely to cover the GLC300 with its standard five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. We will confirm once it’s launched in Australia.

Similarly, we won’t know servicing costs until then either. Intervals are usually at a generous 25,000km or 12 months, whichever occurs first.

To give some perspective, the outgoing GLC’s prepaid service plan asked for $2850 for three, $3850 for four, and $5800 for five years of trips to the workshop. Again, provided for context only, and based on the outgoing model.

Is the Mercedes-Benz GLC300 fuel-efficient?

Mercedes-Benz claims the GLC300 will use between 7.3L to 8.2L per 100km on the combined cycle.

Our test loops at launch, involving urban, motorway and rural backroads, saw an indicated 8.3L/100km on the uphill leg through the Pyrenees mountains in Spain and a more friendly 7.2L/100km on the return downhill leg.

Pretty decent against Merc’s claim.

What is the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC300 like to drive?

Just a single engine choice – a 2.0-litre inline turbocharged four-cylinder petrol – will underpin the Mercedes-Benz GLC300 when it arrives in Australia. It’s good for a decent 190kW at 5800rpm and 400Nm between a friendly 2000–3200rpm.

Merc’s nine-speed automatic transmission apportions those outputs to all four wheels. While power output remains unchanged, it’s worth noting torque has increased by 30Nm over the older model.

It adds up to a competent and even fast medium luxury SUV. How fast? The benchmark sprint from 0–100km/h is dispatched in a claimed 6.2 seconds, which is faster than many hot hatches doing the rounds today.

And yet, while 6.2sec is undoubtedly a respectable rate of acceleration, the GLC300  doesn’t feel that quick off the line. And that’s an indication that while the GLC300 is indeed rapid off the line, it also remains unflustered and refined even as you ask plenty of it in right-foot terms.

We spent several hours behind the wheel making the gradual climb into the Pyrenees north of Barcelona. While a climb of 775m from sea level over 150km or so doesn’t sound too taxing, it’s almost exclusively uphill.

The GLC300 didn’t miss a beat, never feeling stressed or under-powered. Instead, the mid-sizer gobbled up the clicks with an ease and a quietude reminiscent of its bigger S-Class flagship cousin.

And that’s the thing that smacks you in the face – just how quiet the cabin remains inside, with only minimal road and wind noise infiltrating what is an otherwise silent cabin. That’s down to the work Mercedes has done on the GLC’s acoustic deadening – from lightweight acoustic foam injected into various hollow sections of the chassis, to a thin layer of silicone sprayed onto those touchpoints of the chassis where vibrations are likely to occur, and to a thin layer of double-glazing on the side windows – the noise suppression inside the new GLC has to be heard (or not) to be believed.

No doubt the optional air suspension played its part, too, providing a cushioning ride that never felt overly soft, but supple enough to iron out most road nasties.

The optional air suspension set-up also brings with it four-wheel steering, which can work in one of two ways. At slow speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction (by 4.5 degrees) to the fronts, thereby reducing the GLC’s turning circle by as much as 90cm. That makes for easy manoeuvrability around tight city streets and easier parking as well.

At higher speeds – over 60km/h – the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts, increasing stability at higher speeds.

We tested both during our time with the GLC over a long stretch of dynamic driving on rural back roads. At higher speeds, you can’t really feel the rear wheels working away, but you do notice how precise overall steering feel is, the near two-tonne (1925kg kerb weight) SUV eager to explore some twisting stretches.

Where some heavy SUVs can tend to understeer under more adventurous driving, the GLC300 remained true to its path, cornering adeptly and confidently.

Similarly, exploiting the system’s slow-speed ability surprised and delighted, the GLC turning sharply around mountain-top hairpins and village laneways. Anyone who lives in an inner-city enclave anywhere, enclaves defined by narrow laneways and even narrower turning circles, will love this feature.

Perhaps the biggest surprise came off-road. Yes, we know a new GLC – any GLC – is never likely to venture further off-road than a gravel driveway or maybe a lightly wooded forest trail. But, Mercedes’s engineers were keen to highlight just how capable the GLC is off the beaten track.

A local four-wheel-drive park provided the backdrop and, in short, the GLC was not only capable, but even exceptional in some pretty trying conditions.

Steep climbs and steeper descents were no match for the GLC, which used all the systems available to navigate terrain usually only reserved for military-issue G-Wagens. We spent about an hour climbing, dipping, crawling, three-wheeling, tipping, and the GLC did not miss a beat or put a wheel wrong.

Seriously impressed, even if, as we know, the likelihood of a GLC ever tackling, say, the Victorian High Country back home remains very slim. But, if you ever really felt the need, it’s nice to know you could.

Should I buy a Mercedes-Benz GLC300?

It will be interesting to see how the decision by Merc’s Australian division to only offer a single mid-spec variant will play out. The GLC300 currently accounts for around 50 per cent of overall GLC sales volume in Australia, while plug-in hybrid variants have added a further seven to eight per cent.

And with a starting price expected to creep over $100,000, the challenge will be in convincing those buyers who may have been in the game at the $70–$80K range for an entry-level GLC200 to pony up the extra dollars for the better-specified GLC300.

We’ll wait to see how well-equipped the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC300 is when it arrives in the first quarter of next year before passing final judgment. And with too many unknowns, we’ll save our ratings for when we know more when it does arrive locally.

Still, if our launch drives are any indication, the GLC300 won’t disappoint those who value a premium experience from their medium SUVs.

Rob Margeit has been an automotive journalist for over 20 years, covering both motorsport and the car industry. Rob joined CarAdvice in 2016 after a long career at Australian Consolidated Press. Rob covers automotive news and car reviews while also writing in-depth feature articles on historically significant cars and auto manufacturers. He also loves discovering obscure models and researching their genesis and history.

Read more about Rob Margeit

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