Mercedes-Benz GLC facelift India-bound in 2019

Unveiled a little more than a week ago, the refreshed Mercedes-Benz GLC has made its public debut at the 2019 Geneva motor show. We can now confirm that the facelift is also headed to India and will be out before the end of this year. The international-spec model features subtle styling tweaks to the exterior, an updated infotainment system and instrument cluster and all-new petrol and diesel engines.

The model for India is expected to sport the same design changes, which include reprofiled front and rear bumpers, a new grille design, revised LED headlamps and tail-lamps, along with a range of differently designed alloy wheels. The AMG Line trim, also expected to come to India, adds design cues from Mercedes’ performance arm like sportier bumpers, a different grille with diamond pattern inserts, rectangular chrome tailpipes, and will offer either 19-inch wheels as standard or optional 20-inch wheels.

The cabin of the GLC facelift may look familiar at first glance – the dashboard layout is the same as the current model on sale in India – however, it now features a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system (also has an optional 10.25-inch unit) with the new MBUX operating system. The infotainment systems support voice and gesture control (available as extras). There’s also a new instrument cluster in the form of a 12.3-inch digital display and a larger touch-control pad.

For now, the Mercedes GLC facelift for international markets gets a new 2.0-litre, turbo-petrol unit with 48V mild-hybrid tech and a 2.0-litre diesel engine. Both four-cylinder units come in multiple states of tune. The petrol engine is available with 197hp and 430Nm of torque in the GLC 200 4Matic and 258hp and 520Nm of torque in the GLC 300 4Matic while the diesel motor comes in 163hp/360Nm (GLC 200d 4Matic), 194hp/400Nm (GLC 220d 4Matic) and 245hp/500Nm (GLC 300d 4Matic) states of tune. Engine options for our market have not yet been confirmed.

All the motors are mated to a 9-speed torque convertor automatic that sends power to all four wheels via an updated 4Matic four-wheel-drive system. Mercedes also offers a new Dynamic Select system – comprising of Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Individual drive modes – and an optional Off-Road Engineering package that adds Off-road and Off-road+ drive modes.

The current GLC has been on sale in India since 2015 and is available three variants – GLC 220d Style (Rs 50.90 lakh), GLC 220d Sport (Rs 54.64 lakh) and GLC 300 Sport (Rs 55.04 lakh). It rivals the likes of the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 in the Indian market.