2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC-class nears production

Winter testing is well underway for the next-generation Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV, ahead of its arrival later this year. Prototypes are being examined in Arjeplog, Sweden, where the temperatures drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius and there are piercing winds and the roads are covered in snow and ice.

A test centre at the location near Lapland is set up specifically for automotive winter testing, with facilities including hill climbs with gradients of up to 20%, test tracks with mixed co-efficients of friction, and a handling course and skid pans on ‘almost sheer ice’ placing ‘extremely high demands on the powertrain and control systems.’

Once the GLC passes, having covered ‘several 100,000kms’ in various endurance tests, Mercedes-Benz will begin test production runs. The latest GLC uses the same new MRA2 architecture as the latest C-Class saloon, providing more interior space and higher degrees of electrification.

Three plug-in hybrid models will be offered (two petrol and one diesel), coupled with a nine-speed automatic transmission, a 134bhp and 325lb ft electric motor and a battery providing an electric driving range of ‘well over 100km (62 miles)’. The GLC will also be available with Mercedes-Benz’s OM654M 1,993cc mild-hybrid diesel engine offering outputs of up to 262bhp and 406lb ft of torque, utilising one- or two-stage turbocharging, depending on its power level.