'Get your eyes checked!' Mercedes-Benz defends the new GLC luxury SUV's styling as anything but same

Mercedes-Benz is pushing back against claims that the next-generation GLC’s styling is too much like the preceding version, stating that the changes are plainly obvious, even without parking old and new side-by-side.

Replacing the hugely successful second-generation GLC that debuted in 2014 as a replacement for the boxy GLK that was never sold in Australia, the newcomer is pencilled in for a local launch in March.

Speaking at the global launch event of the generation GLC in Spain recently, Mercedes-Benz AG senior engineer, Joerg Bartels, defended questions about design similarities, stating that while the two versions share obvious family traits, they are dramatically different in real life.

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“They are not the same at all,” he said. “With no carryover body panels, a longer wheelbase and wider tracks altering the overall proportions... and extensive airflow work to improve efficiency and cut noise, it is now a very different vehicle.”

While Mr Bartels acknowledged that the pressure to repeat the sales success of the original had strongly influenced the way the brand's global bestseller looks, the details reveal a more modern SUV.

“Of course, that is very important... but I don’t think customers will think they are alike,” he said.

With research showing that key markets like North America and China were drawn to the design of the old version, the new GLC has had to maintain a strong visual link to ensure conservative buyers are not put off.

The new GLC is set to launch locally in March.

To that end, the 2023 version adopts reshaped headlights that connect with a resized grille, giving the front end a sleeker yet wider appearance to emphasise stance and athleticism. For the same reason, the wheel arches are more prominent, reflecting increased track widths (+6mm/23mm front/rear respectively).

While the actual body is no wider than before, it is longer (by 60mm) and lower (by 4mm), with a 15mm wheelbase stretch, giving the design more room to breathe than before. Breaking out the tape measure, the nose is 12mm longer, the mid-section 15mm longer and the rear overhang 33mm longer. Result? Mercedes reckons the profile boasts a newfound elegance.

From a platform point of view, the stretch is all between the back of the front seat and rear axle, boosting rear legroom as well as cargo capacity by a significant margin (+70 litres in the latter's case).

This was achieved for electrification as much as cabin space purposes.

The new GLC is 60mm longer while the wheelbase has been stretched 15mm.

A new multi-link rear suspension system replaces the old four-link set-up, allowing the placement of batteries, motors and other electrical gubbins as required. The need for more insulation to cut noise/vibration/harshness (NVH) and to fit the optional rear-wheel steering system were further considerations to stretch that wheelbase.

Back to the design, the sheetmetal is all new, as are the shapes and sizes of the door apertures, roof and daylight openings (basically the windows), while the glass house’s silhouette has been altered quite noticeably, with a greater rake ushering in a “sportier” appearance, according to Mr Bartels.

Around the back, the tail-lights match the hips by being wider, the roof spoiler is longer as well as larger to emphasise the GLC’s dynamic agility, and the rear window adopts a different profile.

There will be more rear legroom and an increase of 70 litres in cargo capacity.

Mercedes' engineers applied every possible aerodynamic trick to lower the drag co-efficiency from a still-impressive 0.31 Cd to 0.29 Cd. While that may sound like a slight gain, it’s actually a massive feat, since – except for height – the vehicle's newfound bulk should have seen an exponential drag leap in the other direction.

Areas that received special aero attention include the grille (with motorised flaps to control air entry as needed by the cooling system), air curtains around the wheel arches to redirect flow more efficiently, sleeker mirrors, appropriately smoother alloy wheel designs and an overall greater “air drop shape” to the GLC's silhouette.

Benz's aero team is also very proud of the GLC’s rear, controlling disruptive airflow vortices with multitudes of aero aids, like the shape of that roof spoiler, tail-light lenses featuring wind foils, back window ‘side wings’ that disperse flow as required, a specially rear bumper and even the size and position and length of the rear wiper. Obsessive stuff.

Mercedes' engineers applied every possible aerodynamic trick to lower the drag co-efficiency.

That’s why the aerodynamic performance of the latest Mercedes mid-sized SUV was so crucial to get right. Cutting NVH was a major motivator, as that was one of the biggest criticisms of the old GLC. Along with controlling air flow, better seals and substantially more sound deadening material are also applied to slash undesirable and very un-premium noise intrusion.

Only the now-tapered shape of the side steps (expected to be standard on Australian-delivered GLCs) is the outlier here, as they aren't as efficient as they could be by design.

“It may look better than the old straight-cut one, but it’s worse aerodynamically,” Mr Bartels admits.

There you go. Along with the sleeker face, longer body, wider tracks and smoother sheetmetal surfaces, that’s another sure-fire way to pick new GLC from the old one!