I love my GLK. I hate to say it though, but a few things in my 2002 Toyota Highlander kick the crap out of the GLK alternative:

- GLK sun visors have a cheap pressed plastic feel to them, the Highlander ones feel like solid pieces of *something* wrapped in a leather-ish vinyl that feels nice and looks high end. I think the Highlander ones are the same as the Lexus RX ones by nature of being built in the same factory.

- GLK sun visors are too short to be useful when turned to the left to block sun from the driver's side window. They pretty much stop about 4-6 inches short of actually being useful. The Highlander visor has a slide out extension that is not cheesy, it really works smoothly.

- GLK garage door opener buttons (in the compass mirror) are non-functional when the car is not powered with key turned. (doesnt have to be running tho). The Highlander buttons on the sun visor always function, even when the car is off. I was so used to using the buttons after the engine was off because I dont want fumes building up in the garage. Now I turn the car off, forget they dont work, then have to turn the key to re-power the car, etc. Its minor, but still silly. I get that they probably dont want the powered compass draining the battery when the car is off, but they could have had seperate power runs to support the garage transmitters. This is MB after all.

- Highlander roof rack gives you some default cross beams that aren't "raised". From what I can tell, to get any kind of cross beam mounting on the top of the GLK, I will have to buy a kit that mounts beams a good 4-5 inches above the top of the rack bars themselves. This seems like a terrible waste of vertical space, especially if I just want to go to Home Depot, get a few 2x4's to strap down with a blanket and spring straps.

- Highlander came standard with color keyed mud flaps that really work. The only mud flaps available for the GLK are black plastic cheap looking and no option for color matching. At least they seem to be cheap to buy and install. This hardly even seems like something that would be optional on a SUV like that, they should really have their designers provide a more seamless mud flap option that looks like it was designed with the car.

- Not really a comparable issue, but I wish the AC plug in was in the dash somewhere, not the trunk, I dont tend to want to use a laptop or portable DVD or other thing like that in the trunk. I dont see the value of the AC plug in in the trunk at all. (sports games? camping?).

- The "collapsable" spare seems cheapy. I know space is limited, but I still think a 19" full size would have fit with a different design in the plastic housing it sits in. Has anyone used it, is it just as good as a inflated full size tire for getting to the nearest station, or even finishing a few hundred miles of a trip at night? If I am supposed to inflate it, is there a compressor in the car already somewhere tucked away? (I admit I need to read the manual about this)

 

I haven't really used the sun visors so i can't really comment too much on that, I have opened them and I haven't really noticed anything I dislike about them myself. The sun visor in the SLK however is literally a piece of hard plastic it's probably the worst one I've encountered haha.

As for the garage door opener, at least you don't have to turn the ignition the full way to use it, can just turn the key to position 2, or if you have keyless double tap the button with your foot off the brake.

Mudflaps also would be nice, I have yet to install any on mine, evreytime it rains I just get a lot of dirt on the rear bumper and side fenders. Although I like the lines of the car currently and probably won't install any myself.

There is an AC outlet next to the ashtray in the slide out compartment above the gear selector as well as the trunk one.

 

Where is the AC outlet? Do you mean cigarrette lighter? If there is a standard AC plug (two prong, etc) somewhere near the gear shift, I haven't seen it. Maybe underneath the ashtray itself?

 

Oops sorry my bad, I mistook the cigarette lighter for an actual AC outlet. But I guess you can get a converter and stick it in the cig lighter jack haha

 

i kinda think it's a good idea to not supply power to the garage opener buttons when the cars off. what if someone breaks into your car outside your house, they now have a easy access to your garage. and if your garage is attached to the house and you don't lock the door to get into the house, now they have easy entry.

 

A good point, but I always park in my garage. Would be nice if it were optional. A switch somewhere that just disables it when the car is off would be fine for security but still give the functionality.

What would be even better is if the key fob just had garage door opener buttons on it directly.

 

At least you guys can use your garage door openers! The condo I live in, the fobs cannot be programed in to the GLK so everytime I have to whip out my keys and press the button on my buildings fob.

 

Do you have physical access to the garage door opening unit? If so, it probably has a "train" button on the back that you could use to sync it up.

 

agree on mud flaps, that's why i haven't gotten them, not good looking

yea there is a compressor in the trunk under the cover on the left, and it's a decent one imo.

don't use visors really as I usually sit kinda tall and wear sunglasses if it's sunny (no sunglass holder is my issue here)

don't really understand your issue with th garage opener as the car doesn't have to run, you just have not turn key all the way.

 

The garage door opener is minor issue. My old car allowed me to open the garage door without having the key in and turned. My new GLK cannot, it is a feature I had before and I don't have now. It is really minor, but I am used to shutting the car off and removing the key in one motion. Then I hit the button to close the garage door after I have gathered my things, etc. In the GLK, the process changed. Its a pretty trivial change, but if I had to choose which one was preferrable, it would be that the garage door buttons work when the vehicle is not powered and keys are removed. This isn't going to damage my love for the GLK, just a difference.

 

Maybe an upgrade, the 2012 GLK sunvisors slide on the pivot rod. Several inches even. Very nice.

Wayne

 

2011 also.
Our '08 C300 has it also.

I am thinking the OP didn't know about it.

 

Possibly. Probably. I found it by accident. Domestics had sliding sun visors since forever. I haven't had a sun visor like the new one since we bought the 1989 Trooper II. Nice to see something old retained along with all the new fangled Do-Dads & Widgets.

Wayne

 

2010 model has the same feature.

 

Wasn't the 2010 model around for about a decade? Just kidding. A couple years anyway. Looking like oversight on the part of the OP. No worries. I doubt there is anyone who has found EVERY feature of these vehicles.

Wayne

 

It's not the greatest but still better than my AWD sienna....NO Spare tire at all
And YES there is a compressor.

My sienna also has AC outlet at front and another in the trunk area..... I haven't plug anything in the front AC outlet yet but my daughter did use the one in the trunk.

 

Yeah they make a big deal in the advertising of the house plug in the back.
I can't see the need for it unless one goes into the woods.

As for the spare - I was told to call MB Roadside assistance. LOL!

 

Any spare beats the stuffings out of run flat tires.

Coming from a Country that coulbn't imagine anyone wanting to eat & drink in a car while driving, be thankful we have any of the so-called required things in our M-Bs.

Wayne

 

Why isn't Roadside Assistance hard coded into the Comand phone directory? Oh. Smacks his head hard. It is. It's called mbrace and costs a bazillion dollars.

Wayne

 

This is why I mainly drive my GT-R

 

...and I mostly drive a Turbo now as well.

Wayne

 

i also had a 2001 Highlander LTD and there there is not much to compare because my wife always drive the Highlander so I dont say anything much about the cars she might change her mind and like the GLK I might end up with the Highlander.

 

I think if you were going to compare the highlander you should compare it to the GL
thats the market its in... ''

The glk is a entry level suv. so there will be less leather and more plastic, less features and so on..

 

I'm on the fence on this feature. While I like the garage door opener to work without ignition, the feature should be disabled when someone breaks into the car when the alarm is triggered, and I doubt most manufacturers put thoughts into this.

Given the security concern, I actually prefer the way the buttons work right now on the GLK, makes me sleep better at night. When our Odyssey is parked on the driveway, we press the lock button on the garage door unit to ensure no one can gain easy access into the garage.

 

Here's my pet peeve with the GLK - would it have been too difficult for MB to have the interior dash lighting be a consistent hue? The instrument gauges and media screen give off a blue-white color as if lighted by LED bulbs while all the buttons on the door, steering wheel, radio....everywhere else really....give off a yellow-ish tungsten sort of hue. It looks cobbled together from leftover parts.