There used to be an old saying regarding Mercedes-Benz: It was said that the company only updated its models every 10 years or so (whether they needed to or not), and it’s something which has helped MB products maintain some of the best resale values in the industry.
In many ways this still holds true and is an important consideration when outright purchasing a new vehicle. However, times change and most lease customers today couldn’t care less about resale values (even though they should), so the Mercedes-Benz GLK which has only been out for a few short years receives a mid-life update for 2013.
Of course, as the GLK is the company’s second-best seller after the C-Class (which it’s loosely based upon), one could hardly expect MB to go crazy with this update. So, apart from a surprising new diesel option, most changes on the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK are somewhat subtle.
What’s new for 2013
The exterior of the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 receives a few styling updates together with three new available colours: Luzonit Grey, Diamond Silver, and my favourite Polar White (yes, white is definitely the new black). The interior also gets a tad funkier with some new colour schemes for the instrument clusters and display units (very nice), and a slight redesign of the cabin area.
There’s a new CGI V6 (302 hp & 0-100km/hr in 6.5 seconds) available for the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC (borrowed from the 2012 SLK 350), and this now offers the GLK an ECO Start/Stop feature.
The 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 RWD has been deleted from the lineup. Truthfully, I never understood the logic behind a 2WD SUV anyway, and I guess I wasn’t alone in this thinking or MB would still be offering this option.
Of course, the real meat in the pie, so to speak, is the announcement of the all-new 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC.
Yes, I’ve driven the new diesel-powered GLK and I can say hand-on-heart that my fellow diesel fans are going to love this vehicle! Its 2.1L bi-turbo inline 4-cylinder diesel puts out around 200 hp, which may not sound like much if you’ve been listening to the boasts of your V8-gasoline-owning friends, but its 369 lb-ft of torque should make them sit up and take notice. After all, torque is the important figure here as it’s this which actually moves your vehicle.
The 0-100 km/hr time of 8 seconds, although superb for a small diesel unit, probably won’t set any land speed records. Yet, pull out to overtake slower vehicles on a highway in the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC and its torque will impress to no end!
Mated to the 7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission (the same unit that’s in the GLK 350), the vehicle is quiet in operation and, when set in Sport mode, the GLK 250 becomes quite the plaything.
Unfortunately, the lure of the aforementioned Sport mode meant that yours truly didn’t exactly hypermile. In fact, while taking in a few enjoyable back roads in the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC, plus a fair amount of highway miles, it’s fair to say that I barely glanced at the fuel gauge. So, let’s just go with the official MB combined fuel economy figure of 7.2L/100km (8.3 City/5.9 Hwy) which makes this the most fuel-efficient compact SUV on sale in Canada. That’s impressive, especially when you consider that this quote includes all compact SUVs sold here, and not just the premium brands!
With pricing for the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTec 4MATIC starting at just $43,500 (which is $1,400 less than the base GLK 350), I predict a lot of these hitting our roads this year; and why not? After all, it’s already a hugely popular vehicle here in Canada, outselling just about everything in its class (BMW’s X3, the Audi Q5, Volvo XC60, and the Land Rover LR2).
Yes, this is the model GLK buyers have been waiting for and (if you want my opinion) it’s the model to finance or purchase outright, as the resale values should prove excellent on these down the line. After all, there’s another old saying which still rings true: There’s always a lineup of buyers looking for a well-loved, secondhand diesel Mercedes!
In many ways this still holds true and is an important consideration when outright purchasing a new vehicle. However, times change and most lease customers today couldn’t care less about resale values (even though they should), so the Mercedes-Benz GLK which has only been out for a few short years receives a mid-life update for 2013.
Of course, as the GLK is the company’s second-best seller after the C-Class (which it’s loosely based upon), one could hardly expect MB to go crazy with this update. So, apart from a surprising new diesel option, most changes on the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK are somewhat subtle.
What’s new for 2013
The exterior of the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 receives a few styling updates together with three new available colours: Luzonit Grey, Diamond Silver, and my favourite Polar White (yes, white is definitely the new black). The interior also gets a tad funkier with some new colour schemes for the instrument clusters and display units (very nice), and a slight redesign of the cabin area.
There’s a new CGI V6 (302 hp & 0-100km/hr in 6.5 seconds) available for the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC (borrowed from the 2012 SLK 350), and this now offers the GLK an ECO Start/Stop feature.
The 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 RWD has been deleted from the lineup. Truthfully, I never understood the logic behind a 2WD SUV anyway, and I guess I wasn’t alone in this thinking or MB would still be offering this option.
Of course, the real meat in the pie, so to speak, is the announcement of the all-new 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC 4MATIC.
Yes, I’ve driven the new diesel-powered GLK and I can say hand-on-heart that my fellow diesel fans are going to love this vehicle! Its 2.1L bi-turbo inline 4-cylinder diesel puts out around 200 hp, which may not sound like much if you’ve been listening to the boasts of your V8-gasoline-owning friends, but its 369 lb-ft of torque should make them sit up and take notice. After all, torque is the important figure here as it’s this which actually moves your vehicle.
The 0-100 km/hr time of 8 seconds, although superb for a small diesel unit, probably won’t set any land speed records. Yet, pull out to overtake slower vehicles on a highway in the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC and its torque will impress to no end!
Mated to the 7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission (the same unit that’s in the GLK 350), the vehicle is quiet in operation and, when set in Sport mode, the GLK 250 becomes quite the plaything.
Unfortunately, the lure of the aforementioned Sport mode meant that yours truly didn’t exactly hypermile. In fact, while taking in a few enjoyable back roads in the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC, plus a fair amount of highway miles, it’s fair to say that I barely glanced at the fuel gauge. So, let’s just go with the official MB combined fuel economy figure of 7.2L/100km (8.3 City/5.9 Hwy) which makes this the most fuel-efficient compact SUV on sale in Canada. That’s impressive, especially when you consider that this quote includes all compact SUVs sold here, and not just the premium brands!
With pricing for the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTec 4MATIC starting at just $43,500 (which is $1,400 less than the base GLK 350), I predict a lot of these hitting our roads this year; and why not? After all, it’s already a hugely popular vehicle here in Canada, outselling just about everything in its class (BMW’s X3, the Audi Q5, Volvo XC60, and the Land Rover LR2).
Yes, this is the model GLK buyers have been waiting for and (if you want my opinion) it’s the model to finance or purchase outright, as the resale values should prove excellent on these down the line. After all, there’s another old saying which still rings true: There’s always a lineup of buyers looking for a well-loved, secondhand diesel Mercedes!
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2013 Mercedes GLK-Class GLK250 BlueTEC 4MATIC
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