The latest Mercedes-Benz GLC has enough computing power, cameras, sensors and digital wizardry to make me wonder whether I am driving an SUV or carrying around a particularly expensive smartphone with four wheels.
However, Mercedes-Benz has managed to squeeze all this technology into a vehicle that still looks reassuringly like a Merc. There are no science-fiction doors or spaceship controls. Instead, a conventional SUV wraps around a sophisticated electronic nervous system.
The star of the system is MBUX, Mercedes-Benz’s infotainment platform. In the GLC it is spread across a 12.3-inch digital instrument display and an 11.9-inch central touchscreen in portrait format. It dominates the centre of the dashboard, rather like somebody has taken a very large tablet and decided that it would look better permanently attached to a car.
Fortunately, it does more than display music and maps. The screen is effectively the control centre for a sizeable portion of the GLC, covering everything from vehicle settings to navigation and entertainment. A degree of personalisation allows individual profiles, so that the car remembers preferences of multiple users.
Then there is the increasingly familiar “Hey Mercedes” command.
I am still slightly amused by the idea of talking to a car, particularly when there are people sitting nearby who may not realise that I am addressing the vehicle. The voice assistant does have a practical purpose. Instead of scrolling through menus while driving, I could use voice commands for various functions.
This helps enormously, because modern cars have developed an unfortunate habit of hiding perfectly ordinary functions several layers deep in a touchscreen. Mercedes-Benz has tried to get around that problem by giving me another way of asking the car to do things.
The GLC is also aware that my phone is likely to remain the most important piece of technology I own. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available, so I can bring my own navigation, music and messaging ecosystem into the car. Wireless phone charging means never having to plug in a device, which to some is an important feature.
The GLC uses a 48-volt electrical system with an integrated starter-generator in its mild-hybrid petrol and diesel powertrains. In the GLC 200 4Matic, the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine produces 150kW and 320Nm, while the electrical system can provide up to 17kW of additional assistance. Power is sent through a nine-speed automatic gearbox.
This is not a plug-in hybrid and there is no need to hunt for a charging station. Instead, the electrical system recovers energy when the vehicle slows down, and stores it in a small battery. That energy can then be used to assist the engine and support various electrical functions. It is a useful example of how modern vehicle technology is becoming less visible.
The GLC is equipped with a collection of cameras and sensors that give the car an awareness of its surroundings. Depending on specification, this includes a 360-degree camera system and parking assistance. The cameras are particularly useful in a vehicle of this size because they turn something that can otherwise involve guesswork into a more visual exercise.
Mercedes-Benz has taken the camera idea a step further with what it calls Transparent Bonnet. When driving off-road, the system can create a virtual view of the area immediately ahead of the vehicle, allowing one to see what is beneath the front end. It can be disconcerting, because the bonnet is still very much there, but on the screen it can appear as though the front of the car has temporarily become transparent.
The GLC also has an active relationship with its surroundings through its driver assistance systems. Depending on the specification, systems monitor blind spots, assist with braking, keep the vehicle within its lane and maintain a safe following distance.
An optional Burmester 3D surround sound system uses 15 speakers and 710 watts. That is enough equipment to turn the GLC into a serious listening room, although I suspect the neighbours may not appreciate my attempts to test the system properly at home.
The way all this technology is layered together is, for me, the most fascinating aspect of the GLC.
The car knows where it is, knows what is around it, knows who is using it, can communicate with my phone, can understand certain spoken requests, can alter the way information is displayed, and can use its cameras to show me things that I cannot see directly.
Yet I can still switch it off, select a gear and drive.
That contrast makes the GLC interesting to me. It is not a revolutionary-looking vehicle, and does not need to be. Much of its technology is hidden beneath familiar luxury-SUV styling, changing the way the car behaves and the amount of information available to me.
Soon, I may spend more time explaining to my car what I want than I spend explaining it to another human being.
For the moment, though, I am quite happy to keep the conversation brief, put the GLC into drive and enjoy the fact that, despite all those screens and sensors, somebody still remembered to give it four wheels.
- Pricing for the Mercedes-Benz GLC starts at R994,839.
* Sheryl Goldstuck is general manager of World Wide Worx and editor of GadgetWheels. Follow her on Bluesky on @crazycatbuzz.bsky.social.