Mercedes GLK - a smaller GL with sporty-youth inclinations

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

If you undertake to draw a picture of "American Mercedes-Benz SUVs" in the style of "Three Heroes", then Ilya Muromets would sit in a GL-class Mercedes, Dobrynya Nikitich in an ML-class car, and Alyosha Popovich would saddle the hero of our story Mercedes - GLK-class. Moreover, Alyosha Popovich’s car would look like a smaller version of Ilya’s car, and he could say to Dobrynya with a slight grin: “Something you, Dobrynushka, bought a girl’s car?”

But do not be deceived by the almost complete similarity of the appearance of the Mercedes GLK with the older brother of the Mercedes GL. The GLK class cars are built on the all-wheel drive platform of the C-class, they have a monocoque body without a hint of a frame structure, and even different wheels on the front and rear axles - a tribute to sporty stability on the track.

On the other hand, the Mercedes GLK is equipped with the down-scaled off-road capabilities of the Mercedes GL. The Offroad package is able to change the properties of the suspension, increase the ground clearance by 30 mm to 231 mm and help when descending a mountain. A kind of mountain-descent cruise control, respecting the speed of 4 or 18 km / h. The Offroad package can work not only with differential locks,but also to use special settings for ABS and ESP, which, together with a very good geometric cross-country ability of the body, makes the Mercedes GLK an acceptable car for corrupt deputies from the countryside of central Russia.

Inside the Mercedes GLK, the design is quite avant-garde for the cars of this company: large round deflectors with cross-shaped diffusers, unusual white circles on the instrument dials, non-trivial ergonomics and a lot of chrome parts. And by Mercian standards, and in general, the Mercedes GLK is a small car in terms of internal dimensions. Long-legged beauties in the back seat will rest their knees on the front, but if the rear seats are folded, the trunk will turn from 425-liter to 1550-liter, and there is where to roam, taking into account various fixing and packaging equipment. However, the main drawback of the luggage compartment and the car in general is the lack of a spare wheel. For off-road trips, this is an unacceptable omission, which is highlighted by almost all owners of such cars from Russia and the CIS countries.

With regard to the shortcomings of the Mercedes GLK, owner reviews also mention narrow rear door openings, uncomfortable thresholds, tiny rear-view mirrors, an incomprehensible and hard-to-remember algorithm for switching on lights and wipers, shocks and thoughtfulness of the suspension at moments of abrupt overcoming of obstacles.

If we return to the merits of the Mercedes GLK, the owners' reviews describe a cozy and comfortable interior with excellent sound insulation, good dynamics and comfortablegoverning bodies. A car that holds the road perfectly in any conditions: puddles, snow porridge and ruts are nothing to her. Engines are often praised, and not only for acceptable dynamics, but also for excellent traction at low revs, which allows the tractor to pass snowdrifts and other obstacles like a tractor.

Mercedes GLK is a car that pleasantly stands out from the mass of modern crossovers with its masculine appearance, high-speed qualities, increased cross-country ability and an acceptable level of reliability against the background of the decline of this very reliability in modern cars as a class of technical devices.