SUV Review: 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 4Matic

Article content

Maybe it’s the aging process, but as I get older my appreciation for what I like to call “balanced” vehicles increases. I still enjoy power and performance, but less and less do I see the need for 600- or 700-horsepower street machines, especially in 5,000-pound or heavier sport-utes and crossovers. (However, I admit to backsliding on occasion.)

Article content

That is why vehicles labeled Mercedes-AMG are so appealing; they have significantly more zip and overt style for extroverted types than MB’s mainstream luxury products but are not as outlandishly fast and frenetic as the full-on AMG line of cars and crossovers. A Mercedes-AMG might not get the hand-built and signed engine of an AMG model or all the go-fast bits, but it does benefit from the performance division’s engineering expertise.

Which brings us to the new-for-2021 Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 4Matic, the more muscular version of MB’s compact crossover, the pedestrian GLB 250. GLBs use the same front front-wheel-drive platform as the A-Class, CLA, and GLA and is the largest of the four small Mercedes models. (Size-wise, the B is not that much smaller than the more popular GLC.) But while the GLB 250 is described by the company as a “versatile SUV with off-road-oriented design” — blandness and mainstream fairly dripping off the words — the 35 is expressed as a “highly attractive model for an active target demographic.”

Article content

And, yes, there is a street punk swagger to the GLB 35, the $65,900 (with options) tester swathed in Night Black Metallic paint and smartly blinged out with AMG accoutrement — air dam and diffusers, rims and that lovely Panamericana grille, a tribute to Mercedes’ W198 SL sports cars of the early 1950s. For a fairly squared-off, family-oriented vehicle — it is available as a five- or seven-seater — there is nothing meek or mild to the GLB in its AMG 35 guise.

A 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder resides under the hood of both GLB models; the key difference is output — the 250’s engine puts out a middling 221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, the 35 a far more substantial 302 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. And, yes, select Sport+ mode, flick the paddle shifters and the AMG-enhanced 35 will eagerly launch its way to 100 kilometres an hour in 5.2 seconds — 1.7 seconds quicker than the 250 — making appropriate hot hatch-like sounds.

Article content

The engine is hooked up to an AMG SpeedShift eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, which knocks off smooth, quick upshifts when one gets on the throttle, whether left in Drive or self-shifting. When puttering about in traffic and left in Comfort mode, however, the transmission occasionally stutters, upshifting too early — which Mercedes has built onto the program to optimize fuel efficiency — and causing an uneven flow of forward motion.

But drivers have a broad choice of modes to choose from courtesy of the AMG Dynamic Select programs, which change the response of the engine and the timing of the transmission. In addition to the previously mentioned Comfort and Sport+ modes, there’s also Sport, Individual and Slippery. The last optimizes the GLB 35 for greasy road conditions, with reduced power, a flat torque curve, and earlier upshifts.

Article content

These drive modes are linked to the AMG Dynamics agility control, which matches handling characteristics more closely with different driving styles as well as road conditions. Torque distribution of the 4Matic all-wheel drive system, steering feel and the intervention thresholds of the electronic stability program are altered according to the drive program.

Article content

In Sport mode, AMG Dynamics assumes an “advanced” nature, with a lower level of yaw damping, reduced steering angles, and increased agility — perfect for snaking backroads. When pushed, the 35 is neutral and very well balanced. And its grip of the road — aided by the blocky P255/40ZR20 Continental SportContact rubber — is nothing short of limpet-like. On the other hand, the GLB 35 can never be referred to as cushy, even in Comfort mode. The ride is always firm, as is the electro-mechanical, speed-sensitive power steering.

The 35’s AMG high-performance brakes — ventilated and perforated cast-iron discs, 13.8 inches up front, 13 inches at the back — are equal to the crossover’s power and handling, with high fade resistance even under heavy deceleration.

Article content

A look inside the cabin showcases a a bright, high-tech layout, highlighted by a central touchscreen. The air vents have a sporty turbine-like look to them, a signature Mercedes touch, and there’s plenty of aluminum trim and bright red stitching to complement the interior. Among the tester’s $8,400 worth of options was the $3,900 Premium Package, which includes a Burmester surround-sound audio system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, active parking assist, blind spot assist, vehicle exit warning, Keyless-Go, and a power tailgate with foot-activated tailgate release.

Whether operated with the touchpad, touch control buttons on the steering wheel, voice control or gesture control: the MBUX infotainment setup is nothing if not flexible. And with each Mercedes I drive, the AI voice control software — activated by saying “Hey Mercedes” — gets better and better, though still not as intuitive as Mercedes thinks it is.

Article content

As for actual roominess, the GLB operates far more comfortably as a five-seater (as the tester was so fitted) than with seven seats. Front-seat headroom and legroom is generous, and even six-footers will find the rear-seat accommodations to their liking. As would be expected, these rear seats can also be folded flat, leaving a spacious luggage area of 1,755 litres, 623 litres when they are upright.

Clearly a middleweight performance vehicle — and not one that would first come to mind — the GLB 35 ($57,500 base price) has little in the way of direct competition, especially as a seven-seat, compact-sized, upscale crossover that will never see anything more challenging than a cottage road. The closest rival I can think of for the five-seat version is BMW’s more hatchback-like X2 M35i, which has nowhere near the cabin space of the Mercedes. The Merc works because it’s a well-thought-out blend of power and practicality, with hot hatch moves, a roomy interior, reasonable fuel economy (11.1/8.9 L/100 km, city/hwy), and a price that isn’t ridiculous. It might not be a full-blown AMG model, but one good drive in should convince you it doesn’t matter one bit.