Test Drive: 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4Matic

2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4Matic. Click image to enlarge

Related articles on Autos Test Drive: 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 First Drive: 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class Manufacturer’s web site Mercedes-Benz Canada Join Autos’s Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter

Review and photos by Jil McIntosh

Find this vehicle in Autos’s Classified Ads

Photo Gallery:
2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK

Oshawa, Ontario – Originally conceived as a full-size vehicle for work, the SUV has gradually downsized, with compact versions proving popular with urban dwellers who like their seating position and cargo capacity, but want a smaller footprint. Automakers have answered the call, and at Mercedes-Benz, it’s the GLK350 4Matic.

This new model surprised me on two levels. First, while it isn’t inexpensive, its starting price of $42,900 was less than I expected, given its features and luxury interior. And secondly, while the bulkier ML- and GL-Class tend to leave me cold, I really warned up to the GLK: I could see having one of these as my own vehicle.

2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4Matic. Click image to enlarge

Under its trucklet skin, the GLK is actually more of a car: it’s based on the C-Class sedan’s platform. It uses a 3.5-litre V6 engine, producing 268 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, that’s mated strictly to a seven-speed automatic transmission. It comes only with 4Matic all-wheel drive, which splits torque 45/55; an electronic traction system monitors slippage and brakes individual wheels when necessary to keep everything on the straight and narrow. The engine is buttery-smooth and never feels overtaxed, and the transmission moves gracefully between its seven cogs, often so well that you’re not aware it has shifted. Likewise, the all-wheel system is transparent, and the GLK definitely doesn’t feel like a four-wheel. On wet roads, it simply felt surefooted. The official fuel figures are 13.3 L/100 km in the city, and 9.6 on the highway, while in combined driving, I averaged 12.8 L/100 km (22 mpg Imp). The required fuel is premium grade.

2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4Matic. Click image to enlarge

In keeping with its underpinnings, driving the GLK is a car-like experience. Mercedes-Benz calls the suspension system “Agility Control,” its name for selective damping; a button on the centre console switches between “Sport” and “Comfort” modes. The vehicle is very quiet, with a sharp turning radius, and a smooth and uneventful trip over broken pavement. Brake feel is confident, with the pedal biting early in its travel. I do have a complaint with the mirrors, though, which I found too small to be really useful.

The GLK’s exterior appearance can be polarizing, as I discovered on an unscientific poll of auto-minded friends: some liked its angular lines and distinctive wedge shape, while others thought the creases were too sharp, especially the top body line of the cove on the doors. My ride’s 19-inch wheels are standard equipment, but a Sport Package can be added, which swaps them out for 20-inchers, along with aluminum roof rails in place of my tester’s black ones. Base colours are plain black, white or red; my Iridium Silver Metallic coat, one of nine optional metallic shades, was a hefty $890 extra.

The interior is up to the usual standards expected of a Mercedes, and while I found the exterior’s strong angles a bit overpowering in places, those same straight lines work very effectively on the inside, especially on my tester’s stock high-gloss walnut wood trim (aluminum or a matte brown pine finish are optional). The theme is carried through on the instrument pad, and onto the door handles and pockets.

2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4Matic. Click image to enlarge

The default is “Artico leather” (fake cowhide; real leather is optional) heated seats, but I had a love-hate relationship with them. On the negative side, I found them uncomfortably hard. I understand that German companies make firm seats, but these were too far on the rock-surface side. On a positive note, as with most German seats, they are very supportive, and I didn’t experience any chair-related aches following a long drive, as can often happen when the stuffing’s too soft. It reminded me of a hard massage that hurts while the masseuse is doing her stuff, but once it’s over and you stand up, you realize that it actually did you some good. The ten-way power adjustment includes a button to put the head restraints up or down.

The instrument cluster contains Mercedes’ signature white instruments, which are easy to read; controls are mostly intuitive, and when the stereo is off at night, its bank of backlit buttons also shuts down, for a smoother and less distracting appearance. I was very surprised by the headlight switch, though: while an indicator lights up on the switch itself, to show you where it’s pointing, the surrounding ring doesn’t light up as well, and so you have no idea where you’re actually setting the dial. Mercedes-Benz confirmed that this is standard for all its vehicles. Granted, most owners will simply set it to “automatic” and leave it there, but with something as essential as headlights, there should be something to indicate the position if you move it somewhere else.

The rear seats have good legroom, and they fold very easily to form a perfectly flat floor for cargo. With the rear seats up, the cargo area is 86 cm long; drop the seats, and it goes to 160 cm. A cargo bin under the floor includes a plastic-lined cubby, storage space for a soft cargo net divider, and a pop-up removable bin.

My tester contained a $2,000 Premium Package, which included parking sensors, memory seats, power steering column and power liftgate, among other items, and a navigation system, which added an additional $1,800. It’s very easy to use, and is operated through COMAND (COckpit MAnagement And Navigation Device), which uses a dial on the centre console to page through the screens and adjust the settings. It isn’t as fast as a touch-screen, but it’s simple to figure out without diving into the owner’s manual. It’s also voice-activated, and it works well most of the time – I was able to get back on my radio station by simply saying the station number. I did have problems, though, when I tried to get the navigation to find King Street, a major Toronto thoroughfare; it was convinced I wanted Kane Street. I had my husband speak the street as well, in the possibility that it was only my inflection, but it didn’t change the system’s mind.

For a few minor quibbles, though, the GLK is an impressive machine. It’s a crowded segment, and you can certainly spend a lot less to get a really good compact SUV. On the other hand, if you’re set on the three-pointed star, this little number is a winner. It may not be the prettiest Mercedes, but it’s one of the company’s best SUV efforts yet.