Mercedes reveals UK prices for new GLB compact SUV

First customer deliveries of the GLB are expected in December. 

The GLB is the eighth in Mercedes-Benz's compact range and differs from its direct class rivals in offering both five and seven-seat layouts. The firm says it has been designed to offer class-leading versatility to appeal more to family car buyers than the smaller Mercedes-Benz GLA.

The production version of the new SUV retains the upright lines of the earlier Concept GLB revealed at the Shanghai motor show back in April, albeit without some of the rugged exterior styling elements.  

Based on Mercedes’s MFA II platform, the GLB features a MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension with optional adaptive damping. It measures 4634mm in length, 1834mm in width and 1658mm in height, making it 21mm longer, 56mm narrower and 20mm taller than the recently facelifted Mercedes-Benz GLC. It has a wheelbase of 2829mm, which is 100mm longer than the Mercedes-Benz B-Class MPV.

While it has lost many of the rugged styling feature from the concept version, the GLB retains a square, angular style inspired by the larger Mercedes-Benz G-Class, including short overhangs at the front and rear, and a new headlight design. Multibeam LED headlights and LED for lights are both available as options.

Inside, the GLB receives a uniquely styled dashboard with an aluminium-look ‘tubular’ lower element. It features Mercedes' widescreen cockpit, consisting of a single digital panel housing the instruments and infotainment functions. It is controlled by the latest version of the MBUX interface.

Mercedes-Benz claims best in class front seat headroom of 1035mm and 967mm of rear leg room when in five-seat form.

The five-seat version has 560 litres of boot space, 140 more than the Q5 and 55 larger than the X1, which can be expanded to 1755 litres with the 40:20:40 second-row of seats folded.

In seven-seat form, with two extra seats that can be folded into the boot floor, the GLB features an easy entry function.

The four-wheel-drive GLB 220d 4Matic is available with an optional Off-Road Engineering Package, including multibeam LED headlights, hill start and descent assistance and an additional off-road driving mode, which includes a special infotainment display showing gradient, incline angle and technical settings.

Further models, including the hot GLB 35 4Matic and GLB 45 4Matic+ from AMG, are due next year.

Also under development is a four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid variant, featuring an electrified rear axle and a pure electric range that Mercedes sources tip to greatly exceed 31 miles. The GLB will also form the basis of a full electric EQB, due to arrive in 2021.