Mercedes GLC vs rivals: Specifications comparison

On June 2, 2016, Mercedes will launch the GLC, its C-class sedan based SUV that will slot between the GLA and GLE SUVs. It will take on the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60, and will be the only car in the segment to come with both petrol and diesel engines. We bring you how its tech-specs stack up against those of its rivals.

Note: For sake of simplicity, we shall only consider the four-cylinder diesel engined cars, and so, the petrol GLC 300, range-topping 3.0-litre inline-six-cylinder diesel powered BMW X3 and 2.4-litre AWD version of the Volvo XC60 haven’t been considered in this comparison.

Dimensions

When it comes to luxury cars, space is of prime importance, and in this regard, the GLC claims to be class-leading. We drove the car recently and came away impressed with its cabin-space and it’s not difficult to see why. It has the longest wheelbase and is the widest car, both of which translate into a spacious interior.

In terms of size, all four cars are closely matched in terms of length, the BMW X3 being the longest of the lot, leading the GLC by just 1mm. As mentioned earlier, the GLC is the widest, and that too by a large margin. The X3 on the other hand is the leanest car here, with the Q5 and the XC60 spanning within millimetres of each other. The XC60 is the tallest car of the four, while it is the GLC that’s the shortest.

Not only is the X3 the slimmest, it is also the lightest car in the comparison, which should give it an advantage over the others in terms of performance and efficiency. At 1,830kg, the Q5 is marginally heavier, and is followed by the GLC and the portly XC60.

Engine and transmission

Mercedes will launch the GLC in both petroland diesel guises, the diesel motor used here being the ubiquitous 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine found on most cars in Mercedes’ Indian line-up. It will initially be offered in its 170hp 220 d version and a more powerful 204hp 250 d variant of the same engine is expected later. The engines send power to all four wheels via Mercedes’ new nine-speed automatic transmission, which is also offered on the C-class sedan(C250 d) and bigger Mercedes SUVs like the GLE and GLS.

The XC60’s181hp, 2.0-litre four-cylinder motor comes with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and is the only front-wheel-drive car in this comparison.    

The BMW X3 is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, which drives all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. The engine develops an impressive 190hp, which makes it the most powerful four-cylinder diesel motor in this segment, at least until the introduction of the 204hp GLC 250 d. The power advantage, when combined with the X3’s relatively low weight should make it the best performing car among its diesel rivals.

Like Volvo and BMW, Audi too offers a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engineon the Q5. It produces 177hp and comes with a 7-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission along with Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system. 

Prices

Due to the ban on diesel cars with engines over 2,000cc in displacement in Delhi, diesel variants of the GLC and top-end variants of all its rivals won’t retail in Delhi NCR. Hence, ex-showroom, Mumbai prices have been considered for all the cars.

BMW has priced the xDrive20d variants(2.0-litre diesel powered) of the X3 between Rs 46.90- 53.50 lakh, which makes it the most affordable SUV, when considering ex-Mumbai prices. The Volvo XC60 D4 2.0-litre diesel variants’ prices range from Rs 50.34-53.75 lakh, which makes it costlier than the X3 overall.Priced between Rs 50.93- 58.29 lakh, the base variant of the Audi commands a slight premium over the Volvo while the fully loaded Q5 is nearly Rs 5 lakh dearer than the top-end XC60 D4.

Mercedes is expected to price the GLC between Rs 50-55 lakh, which makes it about as expensive as the Audi Q5. However, note that the tentative price-range for the GLC takes into consideration the price of the flagship GLC 300 petrol, which means the top-end diesel GLC might undercut the Audi Q5.

All prices ex-showroom, Mumbai

Also read:

Mercedes GLC India review

Mercedes GLC: 5 things to know

Audi Q5 review

BMW X3 review

Volvo XC60 review