The Mercedes-Benz press park is very conveniently located in Stuttgart — this noticeably simplified our work. Around the headquarters, the Swabian hills and the Black Forest mountains spread out, which turned out to be an ideal venue for testing the "on-road" talents of the Mercedes-Benz GLK350. True, it's impossible to conduct real off-road tests in Germany: where driving is allowed, there's asphalt everywhere, and the rest is private property. However, it's unlikely that many of our owners would gladly dip their cars into a muddy puddle or venture where even angels fear to tread, so the test is quite justified.
Long stretches on straight autobahns feel like a ride in a high-speed express. But the mountain serpentines that followed became a serious exam not only for handling, but also for brakes, and due to winter conditions — also for electronic safety systems. The GLK350 confidently passed both elevation changes, steep blind turns, and sections where asphalt alternated with ice.
As a bonus to the impressions, the onboard computer pleased with numbers: over several days we covered 1500 km, and the average consumption was 10.6 liters per 100 km.
2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC
© Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Driving
The high seating position combined with an excellent chassis gives exactly what is needed for calm and confident driving.
Interior
The interior is strict and without unnecessary experiments. The quality of finishing is top-notch.
Price
For a crossover, it's a bit expensive, but you have to pay for technology and the name.
Advantages and disadvantages
- + Comfort and dynamics.
- - If you are not an owner of cars of this brand, you don't get used to the ergonomics right away.
Technical specifications
- Make and model — Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4Matic
- Dimensions — 4525x1840x1689 mm
- Engine — petrol, 3498 cm³, 272 hp/6000 rpm
- Transmission — automatic, 7G-tronic
- Dynamics — 230 km/h; 6.7 s to 100 km/h
- Competitors — Audi Q5, BMW X3