bevalaqua kid

After seeing the commercial on TV last night, I got the itch to buy one of these. I took it for a ride an hour ago and the verdict - too expensive. The ads are misleading - looks like a lot of car for $35K. But when you start adding in options, it quickly becomes $45K. The one I drove didn't even have leather seats and it was $45K!

As for the drive - it was decent. I was expecting a little quicker ride from the 268HP engine, but the 4,000 pound curb weight slows it down a bit. At full throttle, there's not much off the line torquiness, and it really winds out.

The real deal killer for me was when I tried to get in the back seat to test out the leg room. I'm 6'0", about 200, and could not get in without angling my legs at 45 degrees. There's NO leg room. My 14 year old kid is 5' 11" and there's no way he would fit back there.

I got back in my '98 BMW 540 6-speed, and was amazed at how much better my old car drives - even with 105K miles on it (I know I'm comparing apples to oranges, but it's hard to want to drop $45K when my 540 feels the way it does).

So it's back to looking at '06 E55's!

sleewell

O6 E55 > GLK imo.

MercPlease

When I tested one I liked it. I agree about the leg room in the back, but it is based on the C-Class. You can't compare an 06 E55 to a GLK at all, completely different vehicles. Sorry to hear about your disappointment though.

bevalaqua kid

One other point I forgot to mention is that the GLK is $45K, which is what I paid for my wife's Land Rover LR3 (new, sticker was $49K). The LR3 is much more vehicle for around the same money - 300HP V8, 3rd row seating, leather seats, and overall much larger and more solid build. Equal in luxury too.

However, compared to an X3, I'd take the GLK. I had an X3 loaner car for a few days and it was sort of crappy. Transmission wasn't that great (I think it was a 4 speed as opposed to a 7 speed on the GLK), cup holders sucked, and seems a little dated. I don't like the way it drives either. The GLK rides pretty well, but not as solid as a comparable priced LR3

david999

I was considering a GLK myself, but now I am a little concerned the more I read reviews. The price is a little high for the money, especially when you compare it to the new Lexus RX debuting this month, or the Land Rover you mentioned. The cargo space also seems smaller than I thought it would be.

F1Bobby

We went and looked at one last Saturday. It looks great and the size is right for us but bk is right. It doesn't take long for it to get to $45k...

bevalaqua kid

What got me to look at it in the first plasce was the MB commercial on TV - $33,900. For mid 30's, this would be a super vehicle. Mid 40's, not so good.

david999

Unfortunately, because this is a new model and Mercedes sold a good amount of them last month
(1300 in January) we will probably see higher prices for a while. I will have to take one out for a test drive soon and determine for myself if I should consider it, along with the new RX or maybe the Audi Q5.

bevalaqua kid

There is plenty of inventory. The showroom I went to had 4 or 5 and he told me if they didn't have the color/options I wanted, he could get one the next day. Salesman says the GLK's are all sitting at the port because the dealers don't want them sitting on their lots. So just a phone call away from plenty of inventory. I am actually surprised at how easy it is to find a model that was just released a few weeks ago. Must either be the recession has nobody buying, or buyers aren't dying to buy this new model (maybe it's the price)?

david999

That's interesting about the inventory. Did you try to work the sales guy on pricing to see if they would adjust the price down?

drpasteur

I don't think the GLK will sell as much as the new C300. When I test drove the GLK, I don't feel like I'm driving a SUV, nor feel driving a sedan.

oknish

huh??

bigben320e

All of the above. You are correct about them and most of all models sitting at the port(s). It is in the buyers hands now, don't let a dealer tell you different.

bevalaqua kid

I didn't really try to work the sales guy because I decided after the test drive that I don't want to buy it. Besides, the salesman wasn't too bright. I asked him if they have any good lease deals and his response was, "we got 36 months, 39 months, 48 months... whatever you want...". Thanks buddy

500lbman

The inventory is plentiful because they have been stockpiling them at the port since October. I just left my job as a sales consultant at a M-B dealer at the beginning of January. We have seen them on our inventory sitting at the port since October. M-B sent their initial release of them in the middle of January. I actually did a locate for a client in December because we did not have one on the way like he wanted.

chilledbenz

In the world of Benz..the GLK is a steal! Take a look at this thread on the C class board and pay special attention to my post of numbers.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-so-cheap.html

Essentially you can get a GLK 350 4matic for a hundred bucks more than a C300 4matic, and you gain more engine, more cargo room, and presumably more resale value than the C class. The numbers are m.s.r.p. numbers at the moment and we all know the C class isn't selling for anything close to those numbers right now. That said, given a year on the market it wouldn't be a stretch to say you can knock down the numbers on the GLK as well.

As for not having leather, its common practice for Benz to not put leather standard in their under $40k cars. This also happens with the competition as well, so its not just a Benz thing.

And for the leg room...its based on the C class and the C class has no leg room...so that's no real surprise to me lol.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though, no ones wrong and no ones right.

Eurosport

lol local news test drive said "it looks like a subaru forester"
wtf are they smoking
anyway i think it looks great on the outside, better than X3 but interior is subpar for sure.

bevalaqua kid

I forgot to mention, one other thing I found cheesy is the lack of a full size spare tire. I noticed the E55 I was looking at has the same problem. For all the money these cars cost, they should at least include a full size spare - my '98 540i came with one. My wife's LR3 has one. Having a full size spare is nice for when you bend a rim - you can swap the spare for your bent rim and just use the bent one as your spare - no need to spend $600 on a new one at the dealer.

And like I said in earlier posts, my wife's LR3, which I paid $45K for new, has a 300HP Jaguar V8, leather heated seats front and back, heated windshield, Pano Roof, full size spare, and 3rd row seating. It is a real SUV - a much better value and just as luxurious as the GLK.

I know the GLK is more of a niche vehicle, but I don't really get it. If you have two kids, the vehicle is too small, or it will be once they get older. If you don't have kids, you don't really need an SUV - you can drive a sedan with 4WD, or a hatchback if you need more room to carry sh*t.

My whole point in looking at this vehicle in the first place was the ad said $33,900, so I figured I could buy this and keep it for two years, then buy the new BMW 5 series that is coming out next year (which is what I really want). And by the time I buy the new 5 series, my oldest kid will be old enough to drive, so I could keep the GLK as an extra car. For mid 30's, this would be a great vehicle. For mid 40's, there are so many other choices.

chilledbenz

Welcome to 2009, you should just be happy it had a spare at all. BMW's have no spare tires anymore, they use run flats. I don't care for run flats, they ride awful and are very expensive to replace, I'll take a compact spare over run flats any day. Many Sport versions or sports cars in general give you a can of fix a flat due to the large size of the wheels.

Now if the GLK were a off road geared vehicle such as the above mentioned LR3, then yes I would complain, but its just fine with a compact spare for its intended use.

500lbman

My whole point in looking at this vehicle in the first place was the ad said $33,900, so I figured I could buy this and keep it for two years, then buy the new BMW 5 series that is coming out next year (which is what I really want). And by the time I buy the new 5 series, my oldest kid will be old enough to drive, so I could keep the GLK as an extra car. For mid 30's, this would be a great vehicle. For mid 40's, there are so many other choices.[/quote]

Did you actually think you could get the car for $33900? This is the advertised base price. There is not a car on the market that sells for what they advertise it for. They always advertise the base price with no options.

MercPlease

No vehicle sells for the base price. It's a BASE price... without options. You can't possibly expect to get a fully loaded car for the base price. If you really want the GLK for $33.5k then buy a base one and don't complain to us

NYCGLK

LR3 has BMW's V8 from last get X5. While I do like LR3 quite a bit, it is 1000 pounds more than GLK and has only extra 30hp, so LR3 is very underpowered. While LR3 is great for off-roading and mountains, GLK is perfect for city setting.

I would prefer to have smaller/faster/better handling SUV with better fuel efficiency on top that is easy to park in garages and on the streets. Don't care about how many cubic feet or crap it fits, or if there is 3rd row.

DerekACS

Actually, the LR3 has the Jaguar/Ford V8, a very thirsty motor, not the BMW I6 engine. As for weight difference, the LR3 V8 weighs 1400 lbs more than a GLK.
This extra weight of the LR3 and its blunt aerodynamics account for its lousy fuel economy. Yes, the LR3 is a fine off road machine, but you would pay a huge price for additional fuel consumption compared to a smaller SUV like the GLK or X3.
Then there is the issue of reliability, where the Land Rover has consistently ranked at the bottom of all SUVs according to many sources such as J.D. Power & Associates and Consumer Reports.

NYCGLK

I didn't realized they swtiched to Jag's engine, they used to have bimmer's V8, back from when BMW owned Range Rover, but you are right now it's Jag's engine. I didn't realize LR3 is 1400 more, wow, that's a tank haha.

ftttubrgcm

We got an e-mail from our Lexus dealer to come and check out the new RX. My wife had an '05 and she currently has an '07. We test drove one one yesterday and were impressed enough to have the dealer start looking for what we wanted. Later on, i had my wife test drive the GLK because it caught her eye in the commercials. After just a short time on the road, I was not thinking of the RX other than how to let the Lexus dealer down easily. The ride and steering feel were so much better than the RX. To me, the RX is a woman's vehicle but I feel at home in the GLK. My wife said the aluminum interior was too manly but she likes the almond/black/walnut. Hopefully, in the next two weeks, our barolo red 4Matic will arrive.