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By Pritesh Ruthun 
November 9, 2020
JOHANNESBURG – We’ve been waiting for what seems like forever, but it’s finally here and we’ve finally driven it on local soil. The new Mercedes-Benz GLB compact SUV has been launched in South Africa.
The GLB is Merc’s newcomer in the C segment, and it looks to bring the fight to cars like the Audi Q3 and BMW X1, but where those cars are five-seaters, the GLB can seat up to seven people.
Beyond its ability to sit, it has a cracking diesel engine and is as capable off-road (in 4×4 form) as can be expected considering the segment you’re playing in.
The new GLB is part of the Mercedes-Benz compact car family that includes the A-Class Hatch winner of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists Car of the Year, as well as the A-Class sedan, B-Class and CLA. and the GLA.
Since the first A-Class was launched in 1997, more than seven million vehicles in this compact segment have already been delivered worldwide. “There is a growing interest in SUVs, while compact cars are also seeing an increase in sales. So a compact SUV like the GLB combines all the success factors of our two segments,” says Johannes Fritz, Co. -CEO of Mercedes-Benz South Africa and the CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars South Africa.
Extremely satisfactory handling
The powerful proportions of a large car with short, muscular overhangs and an off-road-oriented design with standard LED headlights, as well as the 4Matic all-wheel drive in the GLB 220d make the vehicle a versatile SUV and a spacious family car alternative.
We took the GLB down the specially designed 4×4 track by Merc at Zwartkops Raceway. This off-road track had originally been used for the X-Class launch activities, which means it’s quite a bumpy course.
There were certain sections where the GLB just raced through sand and mud, where the G-Class 400d behind needed a handful more revs. In fact, it was only the GLB’s front bumper that snagged in one or two places on the course when approaching obstacles. The angle of break and the angle of departure were also respectable considering that this is a road-oriented family car after all.
The 220d engine installed in our test car also purred like no other diesel I have experienced this year. For a four-pot, with a relatively high compression ratio, I’d expect it to sound a bit agricultural, but it’s the opposite. In fact, some of the gasoline 200-series Mercs sounded worse than the diesel we were driving. Beyond the soft noise, however, comes the smooth power and torque delivery. There is very little turbo lag in the car and in the sportiest driving settings it’s actually quite lighthearted and fun.
The best part of the GLB though, as I realized after a few hours of hitting it with Zwartkops, is that it really does offer a lot of worlds. It drank so little diesel you’d think it was some kind of super eco-friendly model, but considering the abundance of power and torque at the taps, it’s truly a fantastic combination of performance, economy, practicality, and style.
Equipped with the latest technology
Like the voice control systems we are now used to testing in the larger Mercs, the GLB also includes MBUX as an option.
It works well enough if you are easy with your commands and I really had no trouble working with the system as needed. For example, we told the car that it was too hot. So, he adjusted the climate control to cool the cabin. Short, strong, clear, and precise sentences seem to do the trick. You can also ask MBUX a question, but you are still learning and may be confused at best. I would say that when it comes to these systems the best is the Google Assistant on your Android phone so I just use it.
By the way, Google’s Android Auto (and APple CarPlay) is available on GLB and is a fantastic solution if you use apps like Waze or Spotify. I use Google Maps quite a bit in conjunction with Apple Music and had no trouble streaming audio or making calls through the system. Using the in-car systems really frees up your hands to focus on what you’re supposed to do, driving, and in this sense the GLB offers a really cool system that will get you hooked on high-tech use safety. information systems in automobiles.
Added to all the connectivity technology is safety technology, Mercedes basically offers everything you’d find in an S-Class (up to nine airbags if you choose to go all the way). As standard, you can expect a robust construction with high-strength steel and aluminum and a front-wheel drive architecture that can be opted for with 4MATIC. You also get the usual Pre-Safe fare with ABS, EBD, and Variable Mode Stability and Traction Control, as well as various riding modes to suit your riding style or situation.
Naturally, our test car came equipped with just about everything, which raised prices to an incredibly high level, but it’s comforting to know that if you want to build a truly family-safe compact car, you can. I particularly enjoyed the active cruise control with distance monitoring that maintains a gap with the car in front of you. It’s nothing new, but what’s great about the GLB’s system combined with the sleek eight-speed DCT gearbox and smooth engine is that it responds instantly.
Is it worth it over a competitor?
The GLB is the coolest compact off-roader to land in South Africa this year, and thanks to its boxy styling and rugged appeal, it’s certainly more attractive than the GLA in Merc’s own stable.
By the way, Mercedes had a new GLA for us to drive at this event and having driven both the GLA and GLB side by side there is a feeling that the A still feels like a car in your hands, whereas the B has this weight which gives it is more of an SUV feel.
Perhaps it was the rather large wheels and tires on our test car that added to its attractiveness and meatiness in the hands, or its sumptuous interior package that wowed us the most. It’s very difficult to pin down exactly why the GLB makes sense even at its ridiculous price point, but it does … if you have the money to spend in these tough times.
It’s small, it integrates while having the ability to stand out, and it has all the benefits of the larger Mercs for a fraction of the price. Go try one this weekend and see what I’m talking about.
DRIVE360
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