GL052_604

im new to the forms, mainly because 'im interested in a 2014-15 glk250. i have read most of 250 reviews, trying to find updates, if any

people who own one, please post your feedback. good or back. Would you buy one again given the choice.

cheeriosss

Bob338

I'm so happy with mine I decided not to buy a GLC and bought out my lease. 35K hard miles in Europe and Western USA and nary a single problem, warranty or otherwise.

Cwdawson

Love our GLK250 and would buy another in a heartbeat. No issues of any significance only the 10 starts remaining (fixed the same day) 2 years ago other than that nothing.

formerjeepguy

After all the trips to the service center and expensive parts replaced under warranty I will never own another diesel. As we have also seen with VW diesels, the emissions system is overly complicated, prone to failures, and to expensive to maintain.

I got out of my 250 at 18k miles and into a 350 gasser. The best I could get for milage in the 250 was 40mpg. In the 350 I get 32mpg over the same route.

Modern diesels with their complicated emissions systems are far from the bulletproof diesels of the 80s.

bugelrex

For long road trips, the MPG is great (around 36-38MPG). For getting around town and short trips, not so sure Diesel is best choice.

If there is any chance you need more space in the future, I would look else where. Very concerned out the emissions system when out of warranty.... Its been problem free so far though, rock solid.

107123210

Absolutely no mechanical problems in 2 1/2 years. Fuel consumption good for type of vehicle but best we get on highway is about 6.5l/100km (36mpg) and in winter this is substantially lower (32-33mpg)

Cargo space is on small side and too narrow for golf clubs. Rear door entry is quite narrow and rear seats kind of cramped for leg room.

Car is quite lively and sporty to drive. Nothing like our old diesels.

I agree with posts above that these cars have complex emission systems (and they are subject of a law suit). I wouldn't own a GLK, or most modern complex cars, without a full warranty. We bought the MBCanada 6/7 year extended warranty.

Services are expensive compared with other makes. We prepaid for 4 routine services and it cost about C$1600.

But we do still like our GLK!

Tameling

Our GLK250 just crossed the 30k mile mark. The good: no repair issues, solid build, quiet cabin, easy to use climate control, good visibility, handling, torquey acceleration, turning circle, distronic plus, adaptive headlights, blind spot monitoring and lane keep assist actually work. The bad: rear seat leg room dismal, petit cargo space, quirky rain sensing wipers, frustrating voice command system, barely audible Harmon Kardon subwoofer, lack of extra cupholders, poor sunshade and sunroof versatility (fully open or shut), no rear cargo under floor storage.
Advice: I would not purchase this vehicle if you have a family or family members to transport; the rear leg room is simply not acceptable, even for short trips. The rear cargo area is poor for a car of this length. If you want a luxury 4 wheel drive compact high mileage SUV, this may work, as long as you have another vehicle for groups.

bird67

Tameling, you posted similarly elsewhere. It's interesting that every negative you posted is a feature of the vehicle that was readily apparent to you before you bought it! You list: cupholders, rear seat leg room, sunroof, rear cargo, radio. Every one of these you could have determined in a test drive was inadequate for your use! Given how negatively you feel about these attributes, why would you buy it?

It's like buying a two-door sport coupe and then complaining on every forum that the car sucks because it doesn't have four doors.

Tameling

bird67, it's true that I failed to perform due diligence before purchasing. I don't have kids so most of the time, the car is fine. But since I retired, more visitors have been showing up at my door than expected, and that's where the GLK's shortcomings became apparent. We previously owned a VW diesel sportwagon, and wanted a compact diesel SUV. At the time, there were few choices in this category. I do think it's important that prospective drivers consider how it might feel to sit in the rear seat for longer than a test drive, and to imagine how many pieces of luggage or camping gear will fit in a real world situation. That said, I have read that the new model addresses some of these concerns and we will consider it should a diesel version be available.

Bob338

I've driven the gasser which drives almost exactly the same as the GLK. Maybe the couple of inches of leg room in the back, and in width may make a difference. For me it wouldn't and I prefer the style of the GLK so will most likely keep it instead of a GLC diesel. If I regularly expected to haul many people or luggage I'd likely get something bigger but there are no expectations along those lines. As lifestyle changes so do our needs and maybe decisions made at time of acquisition seem dumb. That's the time to consider a different vehicle but that's no reason to malign the current one.

bird67

My son is 6'3", mostly legs. I wouldn't put him in the back seat to drive cross-country but it's fine for short trips. I'm 6'0" and I have sat in the back seat a dozen or more times, again for short trips. I fit fine. It's a excellent smallish SUV. It fits what a smallish SUV should fit. If you want to carry what a larger SUV should carry you buy a larger SUV.

I've never once complained about cup holders in any car I've owned or considered. Cupholders? How many do you need?

GotDzl

My '13 GLK 250 will hit 100k miles this week. The only repair I had done (outside of routine maintenance) was replacing some front suspension bushings that were under warranty around 45k miles. Nary a blip with the engine or emissions.


My complaints? Back seats are a shade too small, but I have 2 kids under 10, so that's not an issue. I wish the hatch area were a little larger. I wish the backup camera was standard instead of part of a $4000 package that isn't on my car. The OEM tires are kind of crappy in the snow. The interface between the Audio 20 and my iphone is sometimes buggy. The stock headlights sort of suck, but replacing the bulbs helped quite a bit. Someone else mentioned the disappointing Harmon Kardon system, which I'd agree with. Not quite as booming as I might like sometimes, but I go for clarity over volume in my sound systems and this delivers pretty well. The automatic climate control system is annoying. On hot days, it blasts the AC at maximum velocity in your face endlessly (I have a 1-hour commute and have had it go like that the entire time, even when set on 74 degrees). While these are annoying bits, they're basically all minor stuff.


What I love? Pretty much everything else. I average 35mpg, which is why I bought it. It's got space for 99% of what I need to use it for. I borrow my wife's SUV for the bigger stuff. The electronic controls are way simpler to use than my wife's Acura or my buddy's BMW. It's been super-reliable for me. It has great curb appeal and even after 3 years, I still get comments and questions about it in the parking lot.


The verdict: I'd buy another one in a heartbeat, but one with more options next time.

slmskrs

Got a 2013 last November. Wife (in real estate) needed something so she wasn't using my car all the time. I also need to tow a 3500# boat, so I was a bit leery since that is the max towing capacity of the GLK250. However, not only does it tow the boat great, it gets phenomenal fuel economy even when pulling a boat wider and taller than it is. Round trip to the launch ramp is 25 miles mainly on a freeway. I have gotten as much as 23.3MPG pulling the boat (that's more than double the 10 MPG on our Expedition, and the GLK has more torque than the Expedition's V8--and also nearly 2,000# lighter). Long distance freeway is north of 36 (driving fast). Very impressed with that engine. Noisy compared to the E350 v6 bluetech our friend has, but not inside.

Same complaints as others; small on the inside (rear seats and back storage). I can get my mountain bike in if I remove the front wheel.

Even with dual turbos, the lag from standstill is painfully slow (if you're trying to get through an intersection quickly in front of oncoming traffic--have to anticipate). But once the turbos spin up, it moves very well. Used to drive my car all the time for the best gas mileage (over the expedition). Now I lean towards the GLK250. One thing I also don't like is wind noise over 70mph. My car is extremely quiet well beyond 70; driving the GLK at 80 is annoying (going from San Francisco Bay Area to LA via I5--normal speed on that road for everyone). So torn between 36+ mpg and noisy vs 26mpg and silence for 6 hours.

Anyway, so far no complaints. Just had a P2006 code come up with check engine light on. I removed and replaced the fuel cap and the light went out, but the code remains (and has nothing to do with the gas cap).