Consumer Reports: finally a correct rating
 

CR finally has rated the GLC properly, as the top 4th car in terms of reliability.
It was about time!

Typical CR inconsistency. A couple of trivial (non safety-related) recalls and the GLC drops like a stone, then shoots back up again once the recalls finish. It seems that evaluating and differentiating between the types of visits to the dealership.is just too much trouble. Counting eyeballs seems to be way more important than accuracy to these guys.

CR gets a solid black dot and a "not recommended" rating as a source for evaluating a vehicle for potential purchase.

You don't have a clue how CR rates cars.

Care to share the secret of how they do ratings?

GLC was top of the heap in one CR review but switched to "unreliable" a few months later. I certainly don't understand the wild ratings swings from CR.

Not a secret and it wasn't a few months later.
From the CR web site:
Every car we test gets an overall score that includes data from four factors:

1. Our road-test program looks at how a car will perform in the real world by putting them through more than 50 tests at our 327-acre test facility in Colchester, Conn. Those tests include each vehicle’s fuel economy, emergency-handling and braking capabilities.

2. We gauge Reliability by analyzing the responses of CR members to our exclusive Auto Survey. The data from that survey give us insight into 17 problem areas for models since 2000.

3. In addition, we ask CR members about how satisfied they are with their car. We ask owners whether they would, given the chance all over again, still buy the same car.

4. Our experts incorporate safety data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), if crash tests were performed (some cars aren’t tested because they don’t sell in high volumes). We give additional consideration to cars that offer standard advanced safety systems—forward collision warning (FCW), automatic emergency braking (AEB), Pedestrian Detection, and blind spot warning—across all trim levels of a particular model. Those systems are proven to help drivers avoid an accident or reduce the severity of a crash.

The GLC was originally rated highly but as more information came in from owners, it dropped. I can attest to problems -- m,y 2016 had squealing brakes, satellite radio that sometimes wouldn't work, parking light that came on randomly at night while parked, light behind fuel gauge too bright/light behind temp. gauge too dim, battery for stop/start wouldn't charge or hold charge, clunking noise behind driver's side air vent on cold mornings...