SD90

My wife and I have narrowed it down to a GLK350. We are looking for a smaller SUV that she can drive everyday to work and bring the kids to school. I have a Hummer H2, that she is driving right now since it started snowing, we just want a 2nd smaller SUV to take in tighter spots like mall parking lots and parkades. We have taken the GLK out for 3 test drives and love the way it handles, feels and looks, inside and out, the only thing I'm concerned about is the back seat. We have 2 kids, 4 & 8, the back seat is very small. It seems like it has only enough room for 4 people, unless the 5th one is a small kid not in a booster seat. Other than that, this seems like an awesome little SUV. Any one have kids that ride in the backseat on a regular basis?
(This would be our first Mercedes as well, I've heard the maintenance is high, but we never keep a vehicle for more than about 3 years anyway, so I don't imagine that would ever matter?)

RedRover

Don't have any kids but your reasoning is what brought us to the GLK.
We had a Murano.....just the two of us with an occasional other couple for lunch.....wanted a little smaller.....backing up the Murano was a chore.....we also have a bigger car for other events.......
We almost bought a Tiguan. It has an adjustable rear seat. Up and down and back and forth. A LOT. If you move the seat all the way back. You have massive leg room back there. Good all around car.
But a class below the GLK, if that is important.....and nothing rides like the GLK....and I Tested every compact SUV for $30-$37K.

I think it is likely they will hit me for $250/300 oil changes.
But once a year, I can handle that.

JT01

Tiguan is nice but a 4 cylinder... a no go for anyone that intends to pull anything.

Back to the GLK... the back seat is tight but not that tight. Kids will be fine... getting in and out for the smallest will be your biggest issue.

polarbexar

Our Eight year old loves it back there, and she brings her friends along on a regular basis. Three girls do great in the back seat. I have sit in the back too and I personally feel that there is more room in the GLK than in the 2007 Avalanche it replaced.

MBRedux

There's no denying it, yes it is tight... especially in two years when they're bigger.... get this instead! 2010 Audi Q5........ there is more rear leg room....

RedRover

Those file pictures look nice. But somehow, with all due respect, the Q5 is boring "in the flesh" IMO.
And of course, since it is bigger than the GLK, you would expect it tohave more legroom. If that's not enough, the Q7 is even bigger.

One thing I am not sure of......when I test drove the Q5 (I didn't like it at all off the line but in general liked it.....but I wasn't looking for sporty...) it seemed to me that the backseat was ALSO adjustable by a few inches.
Maybe not to the extent of the Tiguan, but still....I think adjustable back seats are cool and more companies should do it.....
Is yours like that, or did I get confused?
I did drive a lot of CUVs in a short period of time......

JT01

Hey MBRedux... did you sell your Q5 this afternoon or what?

You said you owned one in your post before editing it...

Just curious...

RedRover

Oops. Obviously my question was based on the fact that he did say that he owned one.

bzliteyear

we had GLK rental when our R500 was in MB service. the driving experience was an upside surprise. the engine, transmission, and chassis all strong. my only complaint is the mediocre quality of plastic/parts in the interior...i guess MB put the money into driving experience and not in the workmanship. for $30k-ish, it's probably ok. if buying $40-45k fully loaded, i think it's not worth it.
Patrick

MBRedux

Oh oh... you got me...! I thought it sounded like I was bragging a little so I took it off.... but yes my oldest loves it. I think it not only handles better than the Benz (it’s a little lower and stiffer), I like the steering feel much better than my wife’s GLK,. It has a more precise feel… and it self centers unlike the Benz…. with much less over steer…. But the turning radius is a half foot larger… no big deal.

The engine has incredible power especially in the lower range over the Benz… however the 7 speed tranny in the GLK has the Audi slush box beat….

The front shoulder room is 57.7” vs 55.2” for the Benz. The rear shoulder room is 56.4” vs 55.4" for the Benz…. And the rear leg room is 37.4” vs 35.1” for the Benz… definitely more room back there.

It cost about the same…. But it’s a lease…. I must admit… I’m a Audi/Porsche guy and have my eye on fully loaded S5..

So if he’s looking for more room… I would go AUDI…

JT01

but any reliability issues with the Audi?

It was between the Q5 and the GLK for us... I do agree re the better handling and more room in the Q5 but the GLK felt much faster off the line.

Ultimately we went with the GLK pretty much because of looks and the fact that the Audi dealership is a 45 minute drive from downtown where we live...

That and with the drive select option, the loaded Q5 was about $6K more than the loaded GLK.

JT01

You forget that with a fully loaded GLK comes a fully loaded interior (leather, Nav screen, wood trim, sunroof, etc). Without having sat in an upgraded interior... I don't think you are in a position to assume the vehicle with the options is not worth it...









I get hard just looking at it....

bzliteyear

i have looked at other GLKs at the dealer, and I agree that your leather seats look nice are nice. However, even with the extra options it's still the same dash, same arm rest, same plastic doors, etc. My frustration with MBs is that the newer ones drive GREAT and I love the improved driving experiences, but the workmanship and quality of material has gone down hill over the past 20 yrs. It really would not cost that much have a better interior. In fact, if I were running MB, I'd shift marketing/advertising toward making a superior interior and BLOW away the competition.
p.s. Just so you know I'm not knocking lower priced MB cars, even a $100k E63 or S63 did not have suede roof...that's just WRONG!

JT01

Yeah... you may have a point there! From the other posts it is apparent there are some workmahship issues...

ftttubrgcm

SD90, as your children continue to grow, the back seat continues to shrink. Our thinking on our purchase of a GLK is that one of our daughters will be out of the house soon, leaving us with only one child at home for the next few years. The older one rarely drives with us anyway, choosing to drive her own vehicle. We surely wouldn't have purchased the GLK if our children were the ages you have. We would have remained with Lexus RX(which does everything so well but sport driving).

bobhoff

I wish I had found this forum before I bought my GLK. We like to put Baby Seat in middle of Back Seat. This worked find on 06 SRX. Two adults could sit one on each side. In GLK with Baby Seat in middle there isn't room for an Adult on either side.

Also had Tail Gate issue on 1st Day. I was told Motor was changed. Went to pick it up and it didn't work at the Dealership. Had another motor change. Seems to be working now.

MegGLK350

We bought the GLK and we have two boys 10 and 11. They have no issues fitting in the back and their freind(s) fits back there too. Like stated in a earlier post I sat back there too without any issues. We looked at XC60, Q5 and Tiguan they all had + and -. In the end as you can see we chose the MLK and so far no regrets.

bobhoff

I sat in the back of GLK also. Car Seat is the Killer. If your kids don't need car seat you are probably OK.