Baby SUV a new star in the making

The rain in Spain was torrential enough to wash out the off-road part of our first day driving the Mercedes GLB, but we still had good opportunity to get to grips with this enticing baby SUV.

Price range: Not available.
Powertrains: 1.4-litre petrol four with 120kW/250Nm (GLB 200), 2.0-litre petrol four 165kW/350Nm (GLB250), 225kW/400Nm (AMG35). seven-speed automatic, FWD (GLB200), eight-speed automatic AWD (GLB250, AMG35).
Body style: Five door SUV
On sale: From mid-2020.

“One last time. These are small… the ones out there are far away. Small… far away…”

Father Ted demonstrating plastic toy cows to Dougal. Classic.

Now to the GLB and the GLS. Assess the smallest and largest sports utilities Mercedes can deliver in isolation, and without anything to provide sense of actual scale, and … well, similarity of silhouette and styling is striking.

But make no mistake, notwithstanding that it is also a three-row seven-seater, and rides on new large iteration of the A-Class architecture, GLB is not by any stretch – which it gets, with a 100mm wheelbase extension over the donor - a large car. Benz’s new compact seven-seat SUV is just that. Compact.

Even a simpleton priest from County Clare can work out why it’s coming from next June; small SUVs are hot. Benz NZ conjects a significant customer call, core interest from families for whom this might well be their first new Mercedes. 

“With the GLB we now have the ability to transport an entire family’s worth of activity and adventure from a much lower starting price than before,” says managing director Lance Bennett 

“We expect this … will see us attract entirely new customers where we have not had a suitable vehicle in the past.”

NZ provision ticks petrol only and spans automatic-allied A-Class drivetrains: A 1.4 front-drive GLB200, next step four-wheel-drive GLB250 and an AMG edition, also all-paw, all out of Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Even with handsome Benz styling suggesting it as a big hatch, GLB is at heart a box full of chairs, so perhaps this makes the AMG involvement all the more intriguing. It’s the smallest SUV they’ve tackled and you might wonder how much fun can be extracted by something so family-prioritised?

Then again, maybe that’s is a ruse. As much as Benz reminds that GLB was specifically designed to be a seven-seater, the small print outlines the third row as an option. Chances are the entry GLB200 will have three rows as standard here and the others make it a factory-fit accessory.

The full-blown format is useful. Yes, it’s tight in the back, but hardly for emergency use only, and the remainder of the cabin certainly isn’t anti-adult. A lot of clever thinking (and using Volkswagen’s Tiguan Allspace for benchmarking) delivers decent head and legroom, excellent outward visibility and good stowage solutions. To a point. When running full occupancy, the luggage space remaining is miniscule. Stow the back pair (neatly, into the boot) and it’s much more convenient.

Before letting the kids in, you’d do well to pre-check for sticky little fingers, because this is a premium car, flashiness extending beyond the fully digital dash with its MBUX interface (and over-eager ‘Hi Mercedes’ prompt). Touch surfaces use high-quality materials, buttons and knobs have a satisfying tactility and reassuring clicks and it’s beautifully trimmed, with cushy seats.

AS for the driving? Well, as Bart Simpson likes to say, ‘Ay Caramba’! The pliancy resultant from the extended wheelbase and tuning with mind to having to cope with optimal loadings are pluses; beyond that there’s genuine playfulness. Thought that a seven-seater might be less involving the five, merely through weight difference, was undone when comparing. 

A shame the sun-drenched Costa del Sol was simply drenched on the first day. Thick mist ruined the view of chalk peaks, deep gorges and forests promised by navigating the Sierra de las Nieves via Ronda, location of the oldest bullring in Spain (Ernest Hemingway hung out there, Orson Wells is buried nearby). Assessing functions likely be least-tested by owners, the off-roading assists, was challenged by the small matter of the bespoke four-wheel-drive area being flooded.

The 4MATICs nonetheless shone on roads getting their first big wetting in five months and, on day two, when the region was back to bright and shiny normality, were even more planted and grippy.

Driving the 250 then stepping into the AMG was handy. The first handles sensibly, is quick and accurate in its responses and doesn’t feel too roly-poly. The drivetrain also has a likeable engagement, works comfortably with manual shifting and offers the promise of good economy. It’s a solid choice.

The more hunkered and honed flagship was an eyebrow raiser. Even though hot-rodding SUVs has become an AMG speciality and even if GLB is more expected to get people to race circuits than on them, with 0-100kmh in an exhaust barking 5.2 seconds and 250kmh top speed, this car surely places at least the Audi SQ3 and BMW’s X2 M35i on notice.

As well as being considerably quicker, the AMG also evidences higher lateral limits. Only when pushed really hard does it find understeer, but the high traction and surety even out of the test route’s many hairpins exceeds what you expect from a family chariot. That, the alacrity and the beefed braking make it a true driver’s treat so, if the kids are coming, pack sick bags.

Caveats? With local price and spec as yet unknown, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where this model will site. But it might well nab from GLC, for starters.

Big wheels and low-profile tyres arrive across the whole family. As much as they suit the styling, potential for noise over coarse chip, which has no equivalent in Spain’s road network, probably exists. AMG’s Sport Plus setting could be jiggly on tar-bonded stones, too.

While small racy cars account for the most AMG volume, the GLB will feel no more heat. AMG sales and product manager Mattias Schmidt made clear the powertrain from next year’s A45’s powertrain is not considered.

Mercedes, though, does seem to have GLB family expansion ideas. The wholly-electric EQB, two years off, might draw significant inspiration. 

So, more intrigues to come from a car that already pulls surprises from the box.

When you can't hit the road ... take the virtual highway

Our man in Bahrain set out to build a budget driving sim. Here’s his video series showing you how you can as well.

GAVIN Halls’ involvement with MotoringNZ goes way back – he used his skills as a high-speed driving instructor and car racer to good effect with some superb videos, set at his then work place, Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon.

You might remember one tyre-immolating effort in which a Mustang GT went up against a Holden Commodore SS V Redline in a drift competition (yeah, he does that stuff, too).

Anyway, these days he’s using that skill base to good effect - and with some very top-drawer product - working at Bahrain International Circuit, best known as being home of a Formula One round. Well, this year obviously excepted.

With Covid-19 lock down not allowing any opportunity to do his job for real, he’s decided to keep his skills sharp by driving in the virtual world.

To do that properly, meant he had to sort out a driving rig. What to do when the restrictions - and a tight budget - rule out buying one?

No worries. He already had a spare race chair, a monitor and a games console. So, out in the workshop. With his video camera to show us how this budget project came into play. Here’s the full series. Was it a truly cost effective exercise? We have our doubts - there’s a fair bit of fudging about some spending (presumably to keep Mrs H in the dark) - but it’s certainly more expedient than buying a ready-made set-up.

And don’t forget to follow Gavin’s new Smoking Steel Garage channel. He’s been making, and sharing, some awesome content.