The new Mercedes-Benz GLB is manufactured at the Aguascalientes (Mexico) plant and, for the Chinese market, in Beijing. The GLB will be coming to German sales partners at the end of this year.

One in three Mercedes-Benz cars is now an SUV, and one in four a compact model. The company says that a compact SUV like the GLB therefore combines all the success factors of the company’s highest-volume segments.

With the new GLB the compact car family from Mercedes-Benz now consists of seven models: the A-Class, A-Class Saloon, B-Class, CLA Coupé, CLA Shooting Brake and the GLA are already on the market. In 2018 over 609,000 customers all over the world took delivery of a compact Mercedes. Since the A-Class was launched in 1997, over 6.5 million vehicles from this segment have been sold worldwide by Mercedes-Benz.

The GLB benefits from the technical highlights of the current compact-class generation from Mercedes-Benz. These include in particular:

• The four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, which were completely updated to relaunch the compact model series
• The optional driving assistance systems with cooperative support for the driver and functionality from the S-Class: thanks to improved camera and radar systems, the GLB can look up to 500 m ahead and can drive partially autonomously in certain situations, for example by conveniently adapting the speed before corners, crossroads or roundabouts using the Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC with recourse to maps and navigation data. As a new function of the Active Steering Assist, among other things, there is also the intuitive Active Lange Change Assist. If the Active Parking Assist with PARKTRONIC is additionally on board, the GLB also has the function extended automatic restart on motorways.
• The comfort suspension: at the front the GLB has McPherson suspension struts, at the rear an acoustically and vibrationally decoupled multi-link axle with compression springs. Adaptive adjustable damping is available on request. With this the driver can change between more comfort or particularly sporty tuning via the DYNAMIC SELECT switch.
• The intuitively operated infotainment system MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience): The powerful computer, brilliant screens and graphics, individualisable depiction, optional navigation with augmented reality, learning-capable software and the voice control which can be activated with “Hey Mercedes” are the key advantages of the system.
• The opitional ENERGIZING comfort control: it networks various comfort systems in the vehicle, and uses musical and lighting moods plus a number of massages for a wide range of feel-good programs. The ENERGIZING COACH recommends these programs according to the situation. If the Mercedes-Benz vivoactive 3 smartwatch or another compatible Garmin wearable is linked, personal values such as stress level or sleep quality improve the precision of the recommendation.

On request the GLB is equipped with the permanent all-wheel system 4MATIC, with fully-variable torque distribution. This sporty all-wheel drive configuration allows the driver to use the DYNAMIC SELECT switch to influence the characteristics of 4MATIC. Three characteristic maps are available to control the all-wheel drive clutch, though the system responds flexibly to the current driving situation in any mode. In regular driving operation, the drive program “Eco/Comfort” is based on an 80:20 distribution (front axle:rear axle), while in “Sport” it is 70:30. In off-road mode the all-wheel drive clutch acts as an inter-axle differential lock, with the basic distribution a balanced 50:50.

The new GLB places its trust in the four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines which were completely updated to relaunch the compact model series. Mercedes says that in comparison to the previous generation, they are characterised by significantly increased power, improved efficiency and emissions.

Thanks to further extended exhaust gas aftertreatment the two-litre diesel (OM 654q) in the GLB 200 d/GLB 220 d with the 8G-DCT dual-clutch transmission already meets the RDE (Real Driving Emissions) level 2 not obligatory until 2020 and is certified in accordance with Euro 6d.