Three dislikes?
I should have waited and ordered it european delivery.

I should've ordered the lighting package in my 14. It just looks nice!

No easy tow hitch electronics attachment.

Now for the likes!

I have the glk350 4matic and it gives great mileage! I currently own a 2015 escalade platinum and a 2013 Range Rover Sport, you know where I'm coming from.

It is fast and agile and stable, 2nd fastest in the SUV department. 155 for the RRS and 112 for the escalade. 130 for the glk350.

Durable mbtex compared to the supple aniline leather of my other SUV's.

Powerful engine! Did I say power again?

Go anywhere 4matic.

Pano roof functional.

Multimedia, apps, Bluetooth functionality and easy functionality of the knob control despite having no touchscreen.

Not 250 but a 350...
1- slight jiggly rear suspension leaves me feeling a side to side rocking on irregular roads.Can live with it on the rare chance I drove on those.
2-wish I had larger exterior mirrors
3-bluetooth disconnects without a reason (rare)
4-radio drops distance channels and refuses to reconnect.

Outside of that I totally love the handling, solid tank like feel for such a compact car and the famous MB quality and craftsmanship.

Mine was an Executive Demo from the dealer and they claim they chose all the options they wanted to put in it. Sticker was $50,500
The only thing that I can tell it does not have is leather, lane change warning, collision avoidance, and pwr passenger seat.
The one main thing I don't like about it is the long delays in shifting when first starting out from cold position. It revs up to over 2500 rpms in 3rd or 4th gears. By then the temp gauge moved up to 80c or so and it shifts fine after that.
The next thing is: I don't like how it takes road bumps etc. The suspension does not absorb bumps or small holes very well. I can't think of a 3rd thing I don't like.

I am impressed with the highway mileage. I've had it up to 42 mpg for that particular trip. The average combined driving reading gets anywhere from 34 to 35.8 mixed driving. The city driving with traffic signals and stop and go traffic really kills the MPG. I am big on MPGs. You won't find me being the first one crossing the intersection when the light turns green.

Yes I noticed a lower MPG in cold weather. But i think part of that is due to waiting for the engine to warm up a tad? I do think the engine takes longer to reach full operating temperature in really cold temps.

1) No easily installed trailer wiring available from the dealer.
2) You have to have the multi-media package for a backup camera. WTF?
3) The diesel emissions system should be foolproof. It should just work no matter what.
4) The DPF is not just a filter and should be covered under the emissions warranty exactly as a catalytic converter is on a gas engine vehicle.

I have had my 250 for about 12 days & almost 1200Km's. Like Rick8560 mine was an MB Exec Demo loaded with EVERYTHING except Lane Change thing. Love all the options. Managed to get it to 5.7L/100Km on a 300Km trip on the weekend. Average since i got it is about 7.2L/100Km combination of 70% hwy 30% city.

My issues are;
1/ Brake Dust
2/ Water marks dripping on Body from drip rails, mirrors (vehicle is Obsdian Black) & rockers after rain or being washed.
3/ Dunno. Car is such fun to drive. Find myself just driving for the hell of it! Can't think of a 3rd issue right now.......

About the lower mileage in winter...
The normal #2 diesel fuel is diluted with the thinner #1 diesel in winter to help
with starting and gel formation. Fewer BTU's per gallon = lower mileage.
You see the same effect with cold weather gasoline formulations.

I totally agree with your reply to that complainer!

I might be crazy but I did notice something about my GLK250...

when I'm at a red light, after stopping completely for about 6 or 7 seconds, the transmission seems to go into neutral. (there is a light thump that I can feel which tells me the tranny just shifted) when this happens, after I let go of the brake pedal to get going again, the GLK take JUST A BIT longer to get itself into first gear and gets going....

If i'm stopped for less than 6 seconds, it stays in first gear and I can step on the gas and get going instantly....

I think this is by design, maybe to save the transmission from the high torque engine.... but when I asked a technician about this at the dealership, he had no idea what I was talking about and looked at me like I was out of my mind...

anyone else notices this little feature?

All I can say is that mine certainly doesn't do anythign of the sort and that AFAIK there is no such programming in the TCU. You may want to take it in and have a tech come along for a ride with you so they'll know exactly what you're talking about. The transmission does not pop out of D - it's just a torque-converter automatic and will idle in D for days until you run out of diesel.

^ This.

In the USA there is an ever increasing number of states that now also mandate some Biodiesel content (usually B5) that most definitely disagrees with the DPFs in all MB diesel engines. Add this to the realtively high sulphur content in US fuels (including ULSD) compared to Europe, and you have a recipe for premature DPF failure.

1. The iphone cord that came with my glk250 is too short.
2. Wished I had brighter/more brake lights, see thread on missing brake lights
3. Door locking knob/button sticks up too high and I cant get it off to replace with aftermarket.
4. Owner manual sucks. This is worthy of its own thread.
5. Poorly lit speedometer, (not the digital one)
6. I push the button that opens the pano window but the little screen that pops up still doesnt keep the bugs from splatting on the front bumper. Hmm.......

Gotta LOVE that diesel.

2. do you want more brake lights or brighter brake lights? Is there a reason? Have you repeatedly been rear-ended? What brake lights are missing?
3. Pretty easy to take off the door locking knob/button. What's the problem?
4. Why does the Owner manual suck?

As I understand it, the GLK250 starts in second gear when in E mode. But in 1st gear when in S mode (Please correct me if I am wrong).

When I drive in a gated closed community that has numerous speed bumps that require me to come to almost a stop, I have found something like what you describe (longer to get going and a bit jerky) IF I stay in E mode. In S mode everything is smoother. Once out of gates, I go back to E mode.

I also noticed this recently and sometime it's quite strong, I almost feel like I got rear ended. I was thinking maybe this is only for 250 Bluetec and happens when Adblue fluid or diesel levels are going low and it moves inside the tank?
I will ask my dealer to check on my 1st service.

Watch the gear indicator and you will probably see that it is shifting from second to first. A full downshift to first on a rolling stop is undesirable so second gear is held unless the stop is complete for a few seconds.

My 250 did that too, but only in the first 10-15 minutes after a dead cold start when it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Once it warmed up the downshift from second to first at the stop would still occur, but there was no violence about it.

I have not noticed my 350 doing this. It seems to stay in second at full stops.

To my knowledge I never ran biodiesel and was always careful to check that I was using low sulfur fuel. I can only guess at why the DPF failed at 18K.

ningster, I don't think you are losing your mind as I think I get the same 'hesitation type' thing when coming to & moving from a stop. I plan on going to drive another new GLK in the next few days to determine if mine has an issue. I know I had to wait an extra week for the dealer to replace 2 rims when they got it back from 'MB Exec Driven'! I am a little suspect of how the ' MB Exec' damaged 2 rims.

All Demo or loaners are called "MB executive driven!" Lol!

Does this mean we are all "MB executives" for having driven the loaners?

Yup! It's a nice tag line. MB executive driven.

Ok, more than 3, but I do love the car.
1) I, too, get the transmission "thunk" when stopped at a light for more than a few seconds. At first I thought this was the engine shut-off feature, but the diesel (at least in '13) doesn't do that.
2) No backup camera option with the standard radio. I'm still looking for a decent option for adding one, along with a nav system (no Becker pre-wiring in mine)
3) Turbo lag (or the electronics) that causes the off-the-line hesitation. If I need to accelerate quickly, I lightly depress the pedal a second or two early to spool up the turbo before I actually need to move, and then press it harder. I absent-mindedly do this when I switch to my wife's V6 Acura MDX and end up pinning everyone to their seats.
4) The Automatic temperature control, when in AC mode, sounds and feels like a hurricane for the first few minutes of operation on a hot day. It always startles my passengers and makes it difficult to hear the stereo (even with my HK option!). I get that it's trying to cool the car more quickly, but it's really obnoxious.
5) standard headlights are pretty pathetic.


What I love:
1) the MPG. I get 40-42 on flat highway going about 70mph. Over 77k miles on mine and averaging 35mpg.
2) The tank-like look and feel. It feels German.
3) I actually like the Comand system and controls. Our previous (and current) lexuses and Acuras have about a million little buttons and senseless controls that required extensive reading of the manual just to figure out. For the GLK, the salesman took less than a minutes to show me how to navigate it and connect my phone and I've never had to look at the manual at all.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one....

Now that I notice it, I do a hard count at all red lights, usually on the 5th or 6th second, the thump comes on.... the thump is harder if i had a sudden stop, and barely noticeable if i rolled to a stop.

without the thump (if the red light turned green within 5 seconds), i can step on the gas right away and off it goes....

with the thump, the GLK will need a little more time to get itself into gear to start going again...

I am starting to believe this is a feature that's designed to do this... some people notice it, some don't... but it's not broken or defective by any means....

1 took my glk in for minor warranty work.
A. Passenger window would not open completely, qtr inch stayed up. (Came from factory this way, poor qq)
2 it took two days and part replaced.
3. Picked up glk drove home very impressed with dealer service and treatment.
OOPS!!! Window STILL doesnt go down ALL the way.
Two days wasted. I feel like I got Chevy service in a first class way.
4! Now I wonder what service ill get at my 10k checkup.
If I have to take it back twice for the same problem I may just trade it in at a ford dealer. In case anyone wants to know it was MB of North Olmsted Ohio.