Nice, big wheels... and pricey tires!
Following today's trend, the GLK rides on 19-inch alloy wheels. A set of 20s is even available. However, owners who willingly decide or are forced by the law to replace the all-season tires by winter rubber will have to take a big chunk out of their budget in order to be ready for the cold season.
The power-assisted steering clearly lacks precision. On the other hand, its short turning circle (11.5 meters in diameter) makes parking maneuvers easier, even in the tightest confines. Meanwhile, the suspension is similar to the 2006 Subaru Forester's: pleasantly firm, with cleverly-tuned shock absorbers that minimize body roll in corners and maintain the vehicle's stability on rough surfaces.
Towing capacity amounts to 1,588 kilos, which means you can pull a small trailer carrying a personal watercraft, for example. For heavier loads, however, you need a truck like the ML320 BlueTEC which, unfortunately, starts just shy of $60,000.
Affordable... if you're careful
The thing is that a "fully-loaded" GLK350, according to an owner I recently met, costs the same thing as a ML320. That's right! The base price of the baby Mercedes skyrockets as soon as you add a couple of options. For instance, select the bi-xenon headlights ($1,000), Premium Package ($3,500, including Parktronic, a power liftgate and much more), COMAND Navigation Package ($1,800) and Sport Package ($800) and the final bill will be up by $7,100. Special body paint and leather trim will cost you an additional $3,390. Yet, you still don't have the necessary gear to plug a iPod. Add $375 on top of that!
To sum up, a "fully-loaded" GLK350 hovers around $60,000 -- excluding taxes! Optimists will argue that it's faster than a ML320 from 0 to 100 km/h (6.7 vs. 8.6 seconds), but it also burns 13-percent more fuel in the process. Of course, even at $60,000, you're still halfway from the base price of the ultra-exclusive G550 -- hence the "baby G" nickname.
Once again, it all depends on your own point of view...
photo:Luc Gagné
Following today's trend, the GLK rides on 19-inch alloy wheels. A set of 20s is even available. However, owners who willingly decide or are forced by the law to replace the all-season tires by winter rubber will have to take a big chunk out of their budget in order to be ready for the cold season.
The power-assisted steering clearly lacks precision. On the other hand, its short turning circle (11.5 meters in diameter) makes parking maneuvers easier, even in the tightest confines. Meanwhile, the suspension is similar to the 2006 Subaru Forester's: pleasantly firm, with cleverly-tuned shock absorbers that minimize body roll in corners and maintain the vehicle's stability on rough surfaces.
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| The unusual shape of the electronic key still surprises people who are not familiar with Mercedes-Benz products. |
Towing capacity amounts to 1,588 kilos, which means you can pull a small trailer carrying a personal watercraft, for example. For heavier loads, however, you need a truck like the ML320 BlueTEC which, unfortunately, starts just shy of $60,000.
Affordable... if you're careful
The thing is that a "fully-loaded" GLK350, according to an owner I recently met, costs the same thing as a ML320. That's right! The base price of the baby Mercedes skyrockets as soon as you add a couple of options. For instance, select the bi-xenon headlights ($1,000), Premium Package ($3,500, including Parktronic, a power liftgate and much more), COMAND Navigation Package ($1,800) and Sport Package ($800) and the final bill will be up by $7,100. Special body paint and leather trim will cost you an additional $3,390. Yet, you still don't have the necessary gear to plug a iPod. Add $375 on top of that!
To sum up, a "fully-loaded" GLK350 hovers around $60,000 -- excluding taxes! Optimists will argue that it's faster than a ML320 from 0 to 100 km/h (6.7 vs. 8.6 seconds), but it also burns 13-percent more fuel in the process. Of course, even at $60,000, you're still halfway from the base price of the ultra-exclusive G550 -- hence the "baby G" nickname.
Once again, it all depends on your own point of view...
photo:Luc Gagné
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