Mercedes-Benz GLC Estate Review 2023
The Mercedes-Benz GLC Estate is a luxury SUV that's been one of Mercedes' most popular cars in the last few years. Coming with a slick design and classy interior, the GLC Estate is a great choice for families who want a premium and practical car.
Rivals to the GLC Estate include the BMW X3, Volvo XC60, Audi Q5, and Range Rover Evoque.
Our Mercedes-Benz GLC Estate review covers:
- Elegant exterior that looks the part
- Spacious interior that features some great tech
- 620-litre boot, reduces to 400 litres in PHEV version
- Two engines available, a mild-hybrid and a plug-in hybrid
- Three trims: AMG Line, AMG Line Premium, and AMG Line Premium Plus
Pros:
- Plenty of technology
- Premium and well-styled interior
- Economical engines
Cons:
- Performance falls short of rivals
- Infotainment system can be fidgety to use
- Quite expensive
The Mercedes-Benz GLC Estate's exterior is probably the most elegant in its class. It has a wide front grille with a bar running across the middle, creases in the bonnet, 19 or 20-inch alloy wheels, and a well-crafted rear end with two exhaust pipes.
Get in the GLC Estate, and you'll find a spacious cabin with plenty of room for manoeuvre. There's plenty of leg and headroom for two six-footers in the front, while rear space is also generous, although the middle passenger will have to deal with a hump in the floor.
Boot space comes in at 620 litres on the standard GLC Estate but reduces to 400 litres in the PHEV version to accommodate the battery. The normal boot is bigger than the Audi Q5 and BMW X3, while the PHEV variant is smaller than the Volvo XC60.
The GLC Estate's interior is a thing of beauty. The dashboard and doors are covered in soft-touch plastics, which is complemented by gloss black and matt wood trim finishes to the interior. You have to do some real searching to find any poor quality materials, making it more stylish than the Audi Q5.
For technology, you get a 12.3-inch digital driver's display and a portrait 11.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The infotainment system is mounted quite high on the dash and features a DAB radio, sat-nav, smartphone integration, and voice control. It's a responsive system and displays sharp and clear graphics, but it does not feature a rotary controller like in the BMW X3.
A head-up display is also available with the AMG Line Premium Plus trim, which is handy for following directions.
Three trim levels are available for the GLC Estate: AMG Line, AMG Line Premium, and AMG Line Premium Plus.
AMG Line kicks off with 19-inch five-spoke alloy wheels, LED high-performance headlamps, privacy glass, ambient lighting with 64 colours, heated sports seats with four-way lumbar support, a three-spoke black leather sports steering wheel, two-zone automatic climate control, speed limit assist, and active parking assist with Parktronic and a reversing camera.
AMG Line Premium adds to this with 20-inch alloy wheels, a memory package for the seats and steering column, heat and noise insulating acoustic glass, keyless go, blind spot assist, a dashcam, augmented reality for navigation, and traffic sign assist.
AMG Line Premium Plus has 20-inch multi-spoke black alloy wheels, a panoramic electric glass sunroof, four-zone automatic climate control, a Burmester 3D surround sound system, a head-up display, and a parking package with a 360° camera.
Under the bonnet, you can choose from a mild-hybrid or a plug-in hybrid engine. Both are available with petrol and diesel fuel and are paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
For the mild-hybrid variants, power ranges from 214hp to 291hp. The least powerful 220d completes 0-62mph in 8 seconds, while the others do it in 6.3 seconds. They all use a small 22hp electric motor, which helps increase fuel efficiency, especially for the entry-level 220d, which gets 51.4-52.3mpg.
The rest of the range comprises the plug-in hybrids, the 300de and 300e. They're both paired to a 31.2kWh battery, which helps increase power output to around 330hp. Performance-wise, not much changes compared to the mild-hybrids, but fuel economy massively improves, with official figures coming in at 706.3mpg for the diesel and 470 - 565mpg for the petrol.
The plug-ins come with an all-electric range of up to 80 miles, which is perfect for short trips and can charge using an 11kW AC charger in two hours and 45 minutes.
The GLC Estate is a comfortable drive and will keep your family happy, but it's not that fun. When cruising around town, the GLC easily tackles potholes and bumps in the road. If you've got 20-inch wheels, you'll find ride quality a tad more firm, but it doesn't make that much difference.
As you get up to motorway speed, the GLC Estate is settled on the road, but it's not as good as the Audi Q5.
For a relatively large SUV, manoeuvring the GLC around town is simple enough. Its steering is light and accurate, and you get the help of sensors and cameras to help if driving down a tight street or navigating a parking space.
Find yourself on a country road, and the GLC Estate is decent. Switch to Sport mode, and the steering is sharpened, which makes it compete with the Porsche Macan and Audi Q5, but that's about its limitations. If you want a more engaging drive, go for the Coupe version of the GLC.
Prices for the new Mercedes-Benz GLC Estate start from £43,195.00 OTR* or to lease from £283.00 per month.
Looking to get behind the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz GLC Estate? Nationwide Vehicle Contracts is one of the UK's largest car leasing brokers and offers a range of leasing deals to suit your every need.
Leasing may be cheaper than an outright purchase, thanks to a low initial deposit and fixed monthly rentals.
*' On the road' price correct at time of publication and includes one year's road fund license, DVLA first registration fee and number plate fee. Prices are subject to change; always check with your nearest retailer.
