Seat time with the new 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK; and what about those
Bluetec models?
Words by Contributing Editor : Amanda Savercool
Many in the U.S. drool over diesels. Those who are lucky enough to get behind the wheel of a CDI-badged machine most often end up on the ground like a grade-schooler, fists balled up, whining “it’s not faaaaaair.” With the introduction of the all-new GLK mid-size SUV, our U.S. GLK350 model with 4MATIC does much to quell our fears of insufficiency, even if we don’t get the CDI version yet.
To dispense with the numbers, the 3.5-liter V6 provides 268 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Once on the road, these numbers meet with all kinds of Mercedes engineering that thread the needle on the driving experience. The transmission is seven-speeds, for one, most glorious in sport mode with manual selection from the Touch-Shift paddles on the steering wheel. Best of all, you don’t have to move from sport or auto mode to manual with the lever to make your shifts, and you can skip up to three gears in downshifts.
There’s lots of low-end torque to be had – 87 percent at 1500 rpm. Even in auto mode, the transmission noticeably adapts to hills and delays up shifts. Of course, if you are brave enough to risk scratching your Benz, the 4MATIC constant 4-wheel drive is ready all the time to adapt to your whims on or off the asphalt. These are the features that make for that sports-car feel while driving.Being the Benz that it is, there are plenty of creature comforts – panoramic sunroof, Bluetooth and iPhone/mp3 interface, and a single electronic controller instead of all those buttons to navigate through functions.
The next question on everyone’s lips, then, is “how far can I go on a tank of gas?” The estimate is 16-mpg city, 22 on the highway. The GLK220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY (the one we don’t get here in the states) has a more efficient, small displacement diesel engine, turbo charging, and a maintenance-free particulate filter that make it a more contemporary figure in all this talk about green. But it’s more than just the drive, and as we often see with European cars, it’s even more than the sting we feel every time we pay at the pump. Thinking ahead, the response from Mercedes in entering the mid-size SUV segment is eco-friendly focused. What’s more, we may just be gifted with the same diesel GLK in the U.S., most likely badged the GLK220 BlueTEC and almost identical to the GLK220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY. It would have to have the additional exhaust and a treatment system – the AdBlue injection and a storage tank in the rear. The ML, GL, and R Class receive these additions this year.
Ask and ye shall receive, and after all these we may also be just in asking for diesel hybrid. Though as we already know, Mercedes is not above giving us everything we ask for.
[Photo Credits: Daimler]
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