is the GLK really that "small" in real world usage..
 

Im really been looking at this for the wife- downsizing from a full size..

Driven a few and she feels it will be a bit cramped..mostly her driving 5'6" and two kids 5"10" ish., one comment made to me while looking is GLK is basically a Hatchback type C Class, lol but im ok with that too.

Been comparing to a Porsche Cayenne base, but I know its another story... any thoughts anyone? More of a space issue when taking people along or kids in car..but really like the smaller size for in town driving which is what it will be used mostly.

thanks

If your wife feels it will be a bit cramped then it will be. I think it's a vehicle for a couple, a couple with a small child or a single person. My Saab 900 certainly seemed roomier.

I've actually seen a couple of GLK's in Germany being used as taxis, which I found surprising. Certainly it would not be a good choice as an airport shuttle vehicle!

If it had another half foot of depth in the trunk along with a rear bench seat that could slide back a bit when needed it would be "just right." On the other hand, if I were smaller I might not feel the need for that at all.

As the previous poster mentioned, I agree. My wife and I are about your size and we have two kids. For my wife the GLK is just the right size vehicle to drive. According to her, it is about the best vehicle she has owned. But for travel and trips with the whole family of four, it is a bit cramped. Since she is going to drive it, she should be happy with the size. We have already talked about seeing how big the GLC is when it comes out and seeing if they offer a better engine in the future and possibly switch in 2-4 years time.

One thing you can do is to load everything your wife would normally put in her vehicle into the GLK. My wife always has a stroller, two car seats a small bag with extra clothes for the kids. With that said, she can't fit the normal weekly grocery shopping items in the car nor a trip to Costco. (Usually the stroller is removed before shopping, if she remembers. So you should think about that as a reference of space in the boot.

with 2 kids, its too small only if:
- you are going for a long trip which requires luggage
- a *large* rear facing baby seat 'can barely' fit as it hits the front seats
- picking up a 5th person would be very cramped

the GLC might have solved these issues..

the GLC is a compact wagon slightly larger than a VW Golf. Either you spend money for the M or even more for the GL or go to Toyota or Nisan. They have vehicles (I guess it is a bad word to call them wagons) that are priced below the GLK with much more room and very dependable. Save the small wagon thought for when the kids are gone. With the money you saved on the Nisan buy an E class for the second car.
I wouldn't count on the GLC to be much bigger and as for engines, the 350 has been around for a while and the direct injection unit is quite dependable and powerful. The GLC will have the 2 liter turbo 4 with only 80% of the power and at a much higher rev as seen by the 9 speed transmission.

We purchased the GLK for my wife (5'6", 125lb) to replace her Toyota 4Runner Limited. She complained endlessly that the T4R was too big, especially parking, and even more so parking underground. Too bad - I liked the Toyota just fine.

She loves the size of the GLK, its turn radius and visibility. Front seat space is fine, no matter your size. Rear seat space is snugger. Legroom in back is limited. It handily swallows luggage for 2 for extended travel and will do 4 wheeled carry-ons and 4 adults. Fine for day trips for normal adults but tight for cross-country stuff.

As suggested above, you need to test it yourself to be sure. If you ask my wife, she thinks it's perfect.

We switched to the GLK 250 when the diesel became available. Will it be the right size for a family of 4 I'm 6'1" and I can sit behind the seat as I normally have it set, would I want to on a long drive "Not Really"... It's the right size for 2 people, or 4 for short trips. There is not a lot of storage in the back for 4 people, you would be better served with a larger vehicle or you may want a container for the roof for those longer trips with 4 people. We looked at our lifestyle and 95% of the time it's 2 or less with us so it was an easy choice, no matter how you look at it it's a great vehicle....

It is on the smaller side of SUVs. We replaced a Cadillac SRX for a 2015. We're in Seattle, and the tighter turning radius is welcome.

The backseat isn't too bad to sit in -- but I noticed with my older father, he has a hard time getting in and out of it.

Luggage wise -- it's smaller. We travel back and forth between Seattle and Phoenix, with my wife and dog in the backseat, and you have to be very strategic getting everything to fit in the trunk.

Car's a champ, though. I've hauled 800+ pounds of pavers in the back with the seats down without any problems, for instance.

I think the GLK suffers from a lack of depth in the trunk area. You can't pile anything too high in it because the deck is so high. In that sense, it's more like a station wagon than a typical SUV. I can barely fit my kids' bikes in the back and a trip to Costco doesn't work if I have 4 people aboard. That said, it works great as a commuter and for most stuff for my family of 4 (2 kids under 10), but for any real trips, we pile into my wife's Acura MDX, which is too bad because the mileage on the 250 is sooo much better and it's much more comfortable and fun over long distances. It just lacks the luggage space...and the TV for the kids.

Agree. Just bought OEM cross bars and looking for top carrier box to use for long trips.

I purchased the GLK knowing it was not the best SUV/Wagon for storage or people space. It's back seat is placed a couple inches too forward for allowing easy access or knee placement for taller folks but it has headroom in abundance. I am 6'2" with long legs and as a driver it is one of the most comfortable cars I have ever driven. A smaller person can sit behind me even with the chair pushed back for my legs but there will not be wiggle room. I myself have been in the back seat and found the seat bottom comfortable for an hour drive and the seat back incredibly support unlike any car I have owned before. It's the touch of details like that , that provides me with such satisfaction. The newer GLC coming 2016 will solve many of the space issues but will probably lose the go kart sharpness of the GLK's handling and amazing tiny turning circle. Still one can sell their kids and partner and the problem is solved.simple.

My take is this, if you purchased a 2015 or earlier and your wife is only 5'10 then the rear seats won't be all the way back, lots of room.

I'm 6'3 and l-o-n-g legs, so the seat is all the way back, then its tight. I can however move it forward for passengers and drive short distances (read around town) comfortably and the mid size passenger is fine, one like me would be cramped, they get the passenger seat..

I have not seen a 16 yet but its extra room looks to be great so it should not be an issue, there is one 16 delivered ask them - check out the 205 thread.....

Let us know what you decide... Car shoppings fun :gfight:

Thanks everyone its great advice. Most likely will be going this route! Yes it seems like for the most part it will be fine especially since just really around town , in and out and nothing really long commute or trip wise.

My two cents if that helps; I have a 2014 GLK 350 and 2 kids. Great car, smooth ride, nice handling and options. Love it!
Size? not so great. you're trading some size for the design and price. The ML is larger, but I don't like the design. I do like the sleek GLK and don't like large SUV's.
But if you need a lot of room in the back seat, I don't recommend. I don't mind the trunk space, it's not bad, unless you're always hauling tons of stuff! But you can always get a cargo retractable cover and split in two, that way you can add stuff on top.
In my opinion, most SUV's are really look bigger on the outside but not that much bigger than a regular sedan on the inside, unless you get a Suburban or a van!

Had our 2015 GLK for three weeks - it's a good commute car and weekend shopping is fine too. We have two little ones. We would not use the GLK for long road trips because we have an MDX that does that job. I got the cross bars for our GLK and we have a multi function roof top box so if we ever need the GLK to do a long road trip, we will place the box on the top. Rear seat is definitely smaller than our MDX but we knew going into it that we wanted a smaller car than the MDX so the ML was not an option. The GLK was about right for us as the GLA was just too small.

It all depends upon your needs. We also "downsized" from a 4Runner to the 2015 GLK. We are empty-nesters, and we felt that the 4Runner was bigger than we needed. My wife felt she still needed an SUV, and she fell absolutely in love with the styling of the GLK. For us, it is perfect. Enough space for two to road trip or go shopping, and if I want more "snap" than the GLK350 offers, I can just jump into my E400 TT.

Repeat from above that it's more a couples with young kids or empty nesters with dogs type of SUV.

For carrying, it's actually quite roomy.
We've been able to carry a midsize dresser, nightstands, & small trees on separate trips before.

We bought the knowing it was a bit smaller than it's counterparts but since there's only two of us and a small dog it's sized right. If your tall or have a family it's a bit tight in back and the cargo area is small. I like the headroom in front and have no problem with leg room.