For the first time ever, I spent a weekend with a new Mercedes trying my darndest not to start the engine – not because I’m a lazy bum (though no one has ever accused me of being industrious), but because that would have been the proper way to test the new GLC 300 e and its plug-in powertrain.
If you’re unfamiliar with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), they are effectively two cars in one: a short-range electric vehicle (EV) for emissions-free commuting, and a combustion machine for longer journeys or when you can’t find – or can’t be bothered to find – a charging station. Think of them as a bridge to the electric car future.
PHEVs sell in tiny numbers here, but the tech could not have found a better ambassador than the new Mercedes GLC. In only its third incarnation (if you count the GLK, a predecessor that was never sold here), the plush, pretty, practical crossover has won over enough people to become Mercedes’ single best-selling model around the world.
The new one builds on the strengths of its predecessor. Visually, it’s still as elegant as a sport utility vehicle can be, and a 60 mm stretch means it has more cabin room than before, particularly in the back. The boot is bigger, too, presumably to cater to the lifestyle inflation that’s happened to customers since the previous model came out in 2015.
At the same time, rebirth has given the GLC the graceful yet modern dashboard of its sister car, the C-Class. You can now control the infotainment system via a bright, portrait-oriented touchscreen with gorgeous graphics; a 12.3-inch digital display takes care of the driving info, with different skins and themes available in case you find plain old dials boring.
As lovely as the Mercedes user interface looks, its real strength is that it operates on a zero-layer design that puts all the key functions front and centre. That means you never have to jab too deeply into the menu system to find what you want, while the important stuff such as the air-conditioner settings always live on the main page.
Less likeable, at least to this curmudgeon, are the touch-sensitive controls that live on the steering wheel and elsewhere. You slide your digits along them, which requires a certain sensitivity that these old fingers don’t have. Give me buttons to press and knobs to twirl any day.
But while I dislike newfangled touchy-feely controls, I do have a thing for hybrid technology.
If you want a regular GLC 300 with a petrol engine, you can still buy one, of course, but even that comes with a mild hybrid system. You don’t plug it in to charge it; instead, it recovers energy from braking and uses it to feed a motor. That boosts the acceleration and gives the engine an easier life, which ought to please everyone except Big Oil.
But as long as you’re looking, you might as well have a long, hard squint at the PHEV version. The GLC 300 e’s trump card is that it has a properly useful electric range. Top up the 31.2-kilowatt hour battery pack, which takes as little as half an hour, and the Mercedes is good to go for 138 km on electricity.
That’s the claim, anyway. In the real world, and with the air-con turned up high to beat May’s hellish heat, I eked out (drumroll, please) 110 km from a full charge. That’s enough to cover two days’ typical motoring here, and then some.
That might not sound like a lot, but it makes the Mercedes GLC a champion of the PHEV world. For perspective, no other plug-in I’ve driven has come close to delivering even half that distance on battery power – most run out of juice after going one-third as far.
What the Mercedes does have in common with other PHEVs is that when both its engine and motor are going, it picks up speed like a thing possessed. In the city, at least, the hybrid powertrain gives the Mercedes the legs to pounce into traffic gaps, and when you choose Sport mode, it becomes lively and energetic.
Whenever the petrol engine does jump into action, it’s smooth and has a much more sonorous voice than the agricultural-sounding power-plant in the last GLC. But there’s nothing smoother or quieter than electric propulsion, and it’s as an EV that the GLC 300 e shines brightest.
It’s not rocket-like the way a dedicated electric car would be, but the motor does give silky and responsive acceleration. Meanwhile, the Mercedes is so quiet on the go that the main sounds in the cabin come from the air-con system.
The main weakness is how the GLC 300 e rides over uneven tarmac. It feels firmly sprung in the back, where the PHEV system’s heavy batteries live, and the car has a tendency to rock, almost like a boat being disturbed by the wake of a larger vessel.
Small bumps jostle it up and down, too, so much so that if you ever wanted to make James Bond a vodka martini, you could put the ingredients in a cup and place it in the back, and simply drive around a little.
Another downside is that the hybrid hardware imposes itself on the cargo area. Though the boot itself still has an even floor and a regular shape, the hybrid batteries take up enough space to make a 150-litre dent in the GLC’s carrying capacity.
If you can live with that, the GLC 300 e is good enough at being an EV to excel at its mission of weaning you off petrol. The extra refinement of the electric drive system suits the Mercedes badge well, while the range is just about long enough for the engine to live like Rip Van Winkle.
One caveat: To get the most from the plug-in tech, you would need access to regular charging, ideally at home or at work. Still, there’s every chance that once you get used to what a car is like when it runs on electricity, you’ll want to stick with it.
The cost of finding out is effectively S$9,000. That is how much more a basic GLC 300 e (at S$393,888 with a Certificate of Entitlement) costs than the petrol-only GLC 300. If the thought of paying that is making you baulk, it might help to think of buying a plug-in as a way to get two cars in one.
Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 e 4Matic AMG Line Engine 1,999 cc, turbo in-line four Power 204 hp at 6,100 rpm Torque 320 Nm from 2,000 to 4,000 rpm Electric motor 136 hp, 440 Nm System power 313 hp System torque 550 Nm Gearbox 9-speed automatic Battery Lithium ion, 31.2 kWh Charge time / type 2.5 hours / Wallbox Electric range 138 km 0-100 km/h 6.7 seconds Top speed 210 km/h Fuel efficiency 0.5 l / 100 km Agent Cycle & Carriage Price S$435,888 with COE Available Now