The 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e Is A Balanced Luxury PHEV SUV With Class Leading Range
If you’re in the market for a small luxury SUV, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve probably taken a look at one of these, the Mercedes-Benz GLC class. This name plate has been around for well over a decade, and around 2 years ago, Mercedes introduced the allnew second generation model, taking a lot of the technology features that we saw from the new C-Class sedan. Now, for 2025, Mercedes-Benz is expanding the GLC family with the introduction of this. This is the GLC 350e. What the E essentially means is this is a plug-in hybrid. So, it combines the 2 L turbo engine from the GLC 300 with a powerful electric motor and a big 31 kWh battery pack that allows for up to 54 mi of all-electric range, making this vehicle the best range that you’re going to find in the compact plug-in hybrid luxury SUV segment. So, the big question I went answered for those of you who want to buy a luxury SUV and you also are thinking about going fully electric, but you aren’t quite uh looking to make the full jump into an EV, how does the brand new GLC 350e stack up? Stay tuned to find out. [Music] Now, before we start talking about the unique styling elements of the plug-in hybrid version of the GLC class, let me first go ahead and pop the hood and show you guys what’s powering this thing, because of course, that’s the big story when you go for a GLE 350e. And this is where the car combines the company’s signature 2 L turbo with a powerful electric motor. Now, as you can see, underneath the very tidy looking hood, you’re going to find a longitudinally mounted 2 L gasoline direct injection turbocharged 4-cylinder with again a powerful electric motor that is sandwiched between the engine and the N-speed automatic transmission. Now, of course, this being a plug-in hybrid means it has a big battery pack. 31.2 kwatt hours, around 23.3 is usable, which allows for up to 54 miles of all electric range. Now, of course, the power up to figures also aren’t too shabby. up to 313 horsepower combined and a whopping 406 pound- feet of torque. That’s actually more torque versus the AMG version of the GLC called the GLC 43. The gas engine on its own delivers 201 horsepower. The electric motor on its own delivers around 134 horsepower. So, keep that in mind when you drive it in pure EV power. It’s going to be significantly slower. Now, Mercedes-Benz says this model is good for 0 to 60 in around 6.3 seconds. It has a top speed of around 130 mph. Sadly, other models of the GLC class can tow up to 3500 lb. But this model here is not rated to tow. Uh, and that’s probably because it’s significantly heavier with that big battery pack and the electric motor. This model, as it sits, weighs in at around 5100 lb. A whopping 800 lb heavier versus a GLC 300 Formatic, which is again, which is this powertrain without the electric motor and the big battery pack. But let’s go ahead and close up the hood here and talk about the exterior styling. Now, this particular generation of GLC is now in its second generation, of course, and it’s technically the third generation if you include the GLK class, which this model essentially replaced. And I have to say, the lines are very soft. They’re very conservative. They’re also not quite as standoutish as the original GLK model. I still haven’t quite warmed up to the styling of this vehicle, although the AMG models certainly help. My particular test car is painted in graphite gray. It’s an extra 750 bucks. And when the sun hits it, it has a beautiful metallic fleck to it. Uh, which really shows off the lines of the vehicle. You can see being a Mercedes, you have a big three-pointed star on the hood and of course in the front grill. My Tescar for an extra 3,300 bucks has the AMG body styling package or it’s 3,500 bucks. Uh, and this is the exclusive uh trim line uh which is one notch below the Pinnacle. You can tell it’s the exclusive because the Pinnacle will include their updated or upgraded digital light, full LEDs. These are the LED headlights which are the reflector style as opposed to the projector style which they definitely look a little cheap when you guys don’t go for the uh full LED headlights. Although these are technically an LED low and high beam, LED turn signal and LED daytime running lights. Now you can see the AMG body style package adds uh a more aggressive front fascia with some functional air intake openings. You also can see the stars are actually act are actually in the grill itself. In the lower grill as well, you have integrated parking sensors, a full 360 camera, which comes with the driver assistance package that my test car has. And overall, it certainly is still a relatively handsome looking SUV. It just sometimes fades into the background. But if you guys like the current Mercedes design language, it basically just looks like a raised up version of the C-Class. Now, moving around the side profile, the GLC got a little bit larger this year with its 113.7 in wheelbase and a 1857 in overall length. This is around 2 in longer than the old uh GLC class. Uh it’s also around an inch wider, but around 74.5 in wide. This is not the widest vehicle in the segment, but overall um it certainly is nicely proportioned. Again, this is a compact luxury SUV. Now, looking at the wheels, for an extra, I believe, thousand bucks, my test car has a 20-in AMG style uh wheel. You can see it has almost like an aerodynamic spoke to it, but it’s the classic double five-spoke design. Uh the wheels themselves are actually staggered. So you have a 255×45 R20. Um this is a Continental summer performance tire which is a no charge option. The rears, if you can believe it, are actually fatter, a 285 width tire. So those tires are almost as fat as the tires that are on the AMG version of the car. You have a 13.8 in cross drilled rotor at the front. It’s a slightly smaller 13-inch rotor at the back, four piston, Mercedes-Benz B branded caliper. Uh and then uh the GLC comes with a four-wheel independent suspension. Although on the plug-in hybrid model, the company does add a rear air suspension. That’s mostly to deal with the heavy battery pack that’s underneath the floor uh of the cargo area. You can see with the AMG body style package, you also get a full paint finish along the wheel arch trim. The side skirt, however, remains unpainted. And then you can see the mirrors are also black accented. My test car has the AMG night package for an extra 200 bucks and the power red uh leather interior. You can see the panoramic sunroof is still an extra $1,500 if you can believe it. It’s a little expensive. uh it should just be included, especially at this price point. The AMG night package uh blacks out a lot of the chrome along the window trim. And then, as you can see, backing away from the vehicle, it’s definitely not a boxy proportion, but it’s also instantly recognizable as a MercedesBenz with their current design language. You can see this little door here. If you open it, reveals the charge port. Uh that’s how you’re going to know this is a plug-in hybrid model. That’s one of the clues you’re going to find. Uh, you can see if I open that up, it has the J1772 combo and it also has the CCS plug because you can actually DC fast charge this vehicle. Mercedes says on a level 3, it’ll accept up to 60 kW. So, you can go from 10 to 80% in about 30 minutes or most people are probably just going to plug it into your home. It has an 11 kW onboard charger. It’ll take about 3 hours to charge this vehicle from empty to full on a level two. Don’t do yourself a favor or do other people a favor and don’t plug this into a level three. It just seems pointless. A level two for three hours is going to suffice to give you around 54 miles of all-electric range. Now, looking at the rest of the design, you can see the design definitely reminds me a lot of the new S-Class or the new C-Class with this the look of those tail lights. There’s a very subtle GLC 350e badge here. Again, it goes to a 350 because it has more power. So, Mercedes says it’s going to be higher up in the uh hierarchy. Uh the tail lights are full LEDs, including an LED turn signal, reverse lights, brake and tail lights. Of course, the rear bumper with the AMG body style package has these uh rectangular chrome exhaust tips. Although, if you look a little closer, those are actually fake. They aren’t connected to anything. The real exhaust actually sticks underneath the bumper. So, that’s a little annoying how it’s a fake exhaust uh piece, but it also will prevent it from getting too dirty. The spoiler, as you can see, is uh nicely integrated. Third brake light. Of course, you can get a more pronounced spoiler as an option. The rear wiper sits in the middle as you can see. And then this vehicle does have a backup camera, parking sensors, but no digital camera rearview mirror. The Germans tend to not offer that feature. Now, looking at the cargo space, as you can see, the battery pack does line basically. It’s underneath the cargo floor here. That’s where it sits. So, which means you do still have some storage right here, but this doesn’t open up anymore. So, you lose all the underfloor storage there. You also lose the spare tire, obviously. and the the cargo floor is raised up ever so slightly. Now, Mercedes didn’t actually have the cargo figures of the plug-in hybrid model. The regular GLC has around 22 cubic feet of storage space, which expands to 56 cubic feet. I’d probably say this drops to under 20 cubic feet if I had to guess. That raised floor definitely eats into the space, and you lose the space underneath the cargo floor as well. You can see this is the mobile charger that the car comes with, and you also have a little storage compartment there to the side. If you want to fold down the seats, you can do so by just pushing on that. And then sadly it looks like you actually have to push the seat forward again. Although for some reason, there we go. Um, when you fold it down, it does create not a flat floor. There’s a little bit of a hump there. And again, like I said, I believe 56 cubic feet is the max cargo amount, but it could be less because the rear the battery pack lives underneath that cargo floor and it raises it up. Now, moving on to the interior of this 2025 GLC 350e. Before we get inside, however, let me show you guys the key fob. As you can see, this is the latest key fob from Mercedes-Benz. It’s their intelligent access key. It’s a very heavy feeling key that feels pretty high quality, but it’s also a little a rather large key fob. You can see there’s buttons here on the front that are the usual buttons for lock, unlock, power lift gate, and then there’s also a panic feature here. If you have access to the Mercedes MI app, you can uh access the vehicle, of course, remotely from your smartphone. As you approach the door handle, it’s a traditional style. You just touch that little outer portion that will lock the doors. It also will electrically fold in the mirrors. touch the back of the door handle. That will unlock the doors for you and unfold the mirrors. Mercedes does not offer an auto walkway lock or unlock feature. Now, looking at the color combination of my test car, this is a classic color combo with the uh gray, graphite gray exterior with the power red two-tone black uh leather seats. So, these are actual real leather. This is not the MB tech seats. These are an extra 1,600 bucks. Uh if you guys want a brown interior or a black interior, Mercedes does offer a full-on Napa leather where it actually will get rid of the two-tone look if you don’t like that. But this power red and black certainly is an interesting much more youthful and aggressive combination. So, I really like that. The two-tone continues here onto the door panel where you have real leather and contrast stitching here. Real leather here where you’d rest your elbows. The window controls have a metallic uh trim finish to them which they are one touch for all four. You also have power folding mirrors. You can see the uh accents here for the door handles are aluminum. You get a 15 speakeraker Burmeister stereo that’s part of the exclusive trim that sounds good. If you guys are on a file, you’ll appreciate that. at my test car for an extra 740 bucks. Adds the alle cart ventilated front seats which should be standard at this point. You also have heated seats, threeperson memory. And you can see the seats adjust, I believe, in like 16 different ways via these little controls, which kind of looks like a seat. That’s pretty similar to what other Mercedes models offer. You can see you do have four-way lumbar on the actual seat cushion, uh, where you typically find the seat controls. Now, stepping inside this vehicle, I believe the GLC has around 7 in of ground clearance. Um, but once you get inside, it has a really easy step in height. Shut the door. The door has a pretty solid sounding thunk. That little rattle you heard was actually a bottle that’s here in the door pocket. But no soft closed doors are offered on this model. Remember, this is kind of more of their entry level SUV. Now, starting the vehicle up, you can see start stop button is right up here. So, you don’t really lose it behind the steering wheel too much, but because this vehicle is a full plug-in hybrid, most of the times, or actually all the times, it’ll start up and it’ll just say ready. there’s no engine noise or anything like that because it’ll primarily feed off of the electric motor most of the times. Uh so you don’t have to necessarily, you know, use the internal combustion engine. But looking at the rest of this cabin, this is pretty much the same as what I first saw and showed you guys on the regular GLC. So nothing really here has changed. The upper dashboard has this beautiful leather, which is really nice. You’ll have this kind of metal weave trim that’s part of a a nocost option, of course, to get the metal trim. You have an 11.9 in center display here and you also have a 12.3 in fully digital cluster. This of course has their Mercedes um MBUX software which technically got an update this year uh with the software. You can now of course you know uh go to their app store and download some of your favorite sources. You can also download Apple Music of course. Uh I also like the new colors and graphics which look good. And this the system itself is quick and snappy. It’s it’s very responsive. I’m actually surprised cuz Mercedes does offer the option to download Apple Music, but it also still has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. So, kind of keep that in mind. Um, the no seat, no massaging seats on this model, but you do have their automatic seat positioning and you have their seat kinetics, which I really like that feature a lot cuz it moves the seat around while you’re driving to keep you from feeling fatigued on longer drives. The ambient lighting in this car is also very intricate. You can adjust it from a multiolor or monotone effect. It also has different brightnesses and effects which are really cool. Uh, and then you can see everything else here is pretty easy. There’s also a dedicated hybrid mode here that shows you, of course, the state of charge that you’re at. You can also tell it if you want to DC fast charge it. It shows you your energy flow, vehicle information, engine, of course, how much power it’s producing. So, this is kind of unique to the plug-in hybrid model, but I really like how Mercedes didn’t go with their big like ultra wide uh display, their hypers screen or super screen. This, to me, is the more traditional setup, and the software behind has gotten so much better. I also love how the metal weave trim gets rid of the piano black that you get over here. Uh the more there’s more of that beautiful ambient lighting around here. And you can see the center console has a wireless phone charging pad, two USBC charging ports. That’s part of the advanced USBC. And then you can also close this lid up if you want to kind of hide this area. It’s got cup holders, of course, padded leather here. If you open this up, it’s actually pretty big. All of my camera equipment fits in here, uh which I wasn’t expecting. So that’s really nice in terms of storage. The steering wheel, you can see with the AMG body styling, you got a power tilt and telescoping steering wheel, which is a nice touch. And you also have a flat bottom design. Lots of touch sensitive controls to adjust the way this looks. I don’t love the way this looks, especially when you can see there’s dust and fingerprints that get all over it. Just looks bad. You do have these metal paddle shifters. Uh, but this wheel looks better versus the non AMG wheels. So, kind of keep that in mind. Uh, that same beautiful leather from the door carries over onto the dash. I also love the dash vents with this which have like this circular oval look. And they also have a satisfying click feel when you’re when you start adjusting them. Uh there’s more ambient lighting here, of course. And then these seats, these are the real leather seats, but not the premium Napa leather. Uh but they are relatively comfortable and supportive. They could use a little more padding, but the bolstering holds you in place pretty nicely. And the cooled seat, uh which you control via here also works pretty well. Uh although they are a little bit of a noisy cooled seat. You also get threeperson memory on the passenger side. So kind of keep that in mind. Your drive mode selector is here. You can see there’s it looks like seven different drive modes. Um, hybrid mode, of course, is the one that probably most people drive in. There’s also an electric mode, a battery hold mode, which will save the battery charge. There’s also a sport mode, and an individual mode. So, when I did that, it actually woke up the engine um because that’s what I told it to do to go into hybrid mode. So, um, again, there’s so many different ways you can drive this vehicle. There’s also a climate menu here. This vehicle doesn’t have, however, uh a perfume that wafts into the cabin, but it does have a uh like a air filtration system, which most new vehicles have. Of course, the glove box, as you can see, is damped and lined with felt. It’s actually a pretty big glove box itself. So, it has additional storage. There’s some aluminum trim here, which is a nice touch. You have a beautiful auto- dimming rearview mirror here, of course, but no digital camera rearview mirror. You can see a woven material for the headliner. And then you can see there’s a touch sensitive control here. If I swipe like that, it’ll close the power retractable shade. Swipe it back, it’ll start opening again. Swipe it again, it’ll actually open up the sunroof. Uh, and you can see the headrest. You can adjust them forward and back, but they’re also power up and down. So, it might actually be more like a 18-way power front seat. So, that’s very impressive. But you can hear with the engine on, it doesn’t have the best sound to it. It sounds very much like a vacuum cleaner. So, I found this vehicle more satisfying when I drove it as an electric vehicle. Uh, so again, keep that in mind if you’re considering the plug-in hybrid. But overall, the interior is practically identical to a non-plugin hybrid model. It just has that hybrid function there in the infotainment screen. But for the most part, it’s, you know, got good visibility, good quality interior. Um, really nice materials obviously, and a really cool look, especially if you don’t want that overwhelming tech you’ll find in the bigger Mercedes models. But let’s go ahead and hop into the back seat area so I can show you guys what that space is like. Now, as you can see, when you open up the back door, you get around 32 point or 37.2 2 in of legroom, which is not the best in the class, but also among the better numbers here. So, this has a fairly spacious back seat. Material quality is the same as the front seat with the real leather and the two-tone leather as well. The piano black, which I don’t love, shows fingerprints and smudges, but I do love the metal trim here. It’s hard touch plastic down here with additional storage. And then these seats, they do fold down um to create again almost a flat load floor, but uh not quite as flat because again that battery pack, as you can see, raises the floor up slightly. But this is still very much usable. If I close that, there’s no way to recline the seats. And when you fold them down, you can see the front seat actually moves out of the way. But getting back here and closing the door, this is basically my driving position. Um, and with around 37 in of legroom, you can see this is very, very usable. So, you’ve got nice storage here with the two storage pockets. You have rear seat air vents with the same satisfying click noise. Big open area here where this could have been like a third zone climate or perhaps even having like heated rear seats, but my test car is missing that. You have two USBC’s down there, of course, which are very handy for kids. Fold this down, you can see there’s an armrest with uh looks like phone storage. And then if you push that out, there’s your pop out cup holders. And you also have pretty soft and comfortable head restraints as well, which is nice. There’s decent thigh support. I can get back here and cross my legs. So, this is good for average size to slightly taller adults. And then in terms of the headroom space, you can see even with the sunroof, I have like a solid 3 in of additional clearance. So, at 5’7, this is the perfect size back seat. So, you can easily fit a car seat back there. back here or like some of your taller friends even. But uh just keep in mind if you need more space in this, of course, Mercedes-Benz has the bigger GLE class. So, the GLC class is the second bestselling model in the Mercedes lineup. And now that we’re driving a new variant, the 350e, let’s go ahead and talk about what Mercedes is offering here by going with the plug-in hybrid powertrain. Because as you guys know, most people when they buy a GLC class, they’re just buying the 300, which has the same powertrain as this, a 2 L turbocharged direct injection four-cylinder. However, the engine has been d-tuned. I think it’s because it runs on the Atkinson cycle to deliver 201 horsepower on its own. But then you get an extra 134 from the electric motor componentry, but at the same time, this is 5,100 lb. So 800 lb heavier is significant. Uh, which is why Mercedes-Benz claims the 0 to 60 time is 6.3 seconds. It’s technically a smidge slower versus the um non-plugin hybrid version of the car, which is shocking, but again, when you add that much weight, that much complexity, it’s going to slow down the uh performance of the car. Now, the last time I 0 to 60 tested a GLC 300, we actually got 0 to 60 in around 5.9 seconds. I also had a chance to 0 to 60 test the 43 AMG that did it in 4.2 seconds. So, that one obviously is going to be significantly faster. But, let’s go ahead and see what we can get in this model to get the best run. Make sure it’s in sport mode, which automatically puts it in hybrid mode. And then you’re basically just going to floor the accelerator as hard as you can. And I have the battery almost at a full charge. It’s showing around 68 mi of range. Oof. Feels pretty quick thanks to that electric motor. 0 to 60 in 5.99 seconds there. 5.99, which is basically the same time as the regular GLC 300. So, not surprised there that it gets basically the same performance because remember the additional power of the plug-in hybrid, which you know, 313 horsepower is a lot. 46 lbft of torque is also a lot, is negated when you add an extra 800 lb of weight. Now, I want to switch the vehicle into its electric mode here because I want to talk about how it drives in EV mode. And then we’ll switch back to the sport mode there, the hybrid mode to talk about changes there. But in EV mode, you definitely notice it only has 134 horsepower. It’s significantly slower when you’re in EV mode. And that’s because again, you’re just trying to you’re basically using half of the powertrain. Let’s see if we can get a quick 0 to 60 in just pure electric mode. Oh, it actually feels fast off the line. But I can’t go past the click point on the accelerator. So technically, it’s not floored because if I do, it’ll wake up the internal combustion engine. So, this is not like the Lexus NX where it actually will go fully electric even when the pedal is floored. But, we got 0 to 60 in 13.4 seconds there. So, a lot slower, more than double the time. And that’s because it’s h it has less the p or half the power. But at the same time, because it’s electric, uh the electric motor delivers all that torque instantaneously. It actually feels pretty quick when you first put your foot down. It’s also very quiet. You don’t hear that four-cylinder buzzing away in the background, which is not a horrible sound because it’s at least paired with a N-Speed auto. But what’s interesting about a N-Speed auto with an electric motor is you have the because the electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and the transmission, you have to go through the gears. So, you can’t actually feel the electric uh componentry shifting when it’s in that mode. But, let’s go ahead and switch it back into its uh hybrid sport mode. I also want to point out when it’s in electric mode, the gas pedal gets noticeably stiff. And I think Mercedes does that to kind of entice you to drive more efficiently. It kind of gives you a little bit of push back pressure, which is kind of annoying when you’re trying to accelerate quickly, but I can see why they do it. When you put it back into its sport setting, it basically just lightens up the gas pedal and it feels normal again. The brakes in this car, it’s got a combination of friction and regen braking, and it’s a little grabby at first, but once you kind of get used to it, it’s not bad. The the brakes themselves feel pretty steady. They feel like they have good stopping power. What I definitely noticed though is the in the handling is the extra weight. That rear air suspension is supposed to help quell the additional weight in the back, but you can feel the rear end gets a little bit I don’t know what how to describe it. It just feels like it there’s like a lot of weight in the back there. So, it kind of feels like it’s being tossed around as I drive this vehicle. Uh which is, you know, something that you have to get used to. It’s not horrible, but um for those of you who drive a GLC 300, then you get into a 350e, you’re going to notice the extra weight. The ride quality, thankfully, even though we’re on these 20-in wheels, is still very good. The um ride in this vehicle is comfortable and supportive. The steering also is pretty quick and responsive. Not much in terms of feedback. So, the GLC is not the sportiest SUV in the segment. You’re going to be looking at the BMW X3 or an Alpha uh Romeo um Stelvio to kind of, you know, get the sportiest or Porsche Macan, but this is certainly kind of in the middle. It’s got the luxury that you’re looking for. It’s got a smooth and quiet ride. It’s got a really quiet interior as well, especially when you’re driving it in pure EV mode. It just is dead silent, which is exactly how you’d expect a luxury, you know, SUV from Mercedes-Benz to be. But let’s try one more 0 to 60 run here. This time it’s in sport. See if we can get a slightly faster time. Brake torque. O, it’s not a bad sound. [Music] 5.95 seconds there. I don’t know why Mercedes whatever here was listening to me. I hate the MBUX sometimes. It’s super annoying. Um, but I’m listening. Cancel. Please repeat. Cancel. My gosh, that thing is so annoying. 5.95 seconds there. So, that’s the quickest time. Again, it is practically identical to the regular 300 model. So, if you’re not planning to plug this thing in, don’t even bother get the plug-in hybrid model because it’s the same speed. It sounds the same. It doesn’t handle quite as the same because it has the extra weight, but at least it rides nice. So, most of the times drive this vehicle in pure EV mode. You’re not going to hear any noise and this vehicle feels very much like a luxury car. The seats are comfortable and supportive. Um, visibility in here is also good. I can see out of the front, the side, and the rear easily. There’s no issues that I have looking out of the back window because it’s a big window as well. There’s no digital camera view mirror obviously, but my test car does have the driver assistance package which rolls in adaptive cruise, traffic assist, lane keep assist. That’s technically an extra 2,000 bucks. It’s not standard even though it should be even if you go for the top pinnacle trim, which is kind of annoying. Um, but this is an easy SUV to drive. U, especially when you drive it in pure electric mode, it’s it’s definitely going to, you know, make you think, hm, I could make the full switch to EV. Although, again, if you guys are coming from a full electric vehicle into this car, you’re going to notice it feels significantly slower than your EV, your full EV when it’s in pure electric mode. But when it’s in hybrid mode, it certainly has the power that it needs. But I just kind of wish that it wasn’t so darn heavy. But that’s kind of a side effect of the very large battery package. By the way, let’s go ahead and talk about the uh range for this car because it’s rated to get 54 mi on a full charge. The EP the trip computer was showing actually 72 miles. I was shocked when I saw 72 miles. Now granted, I am in the ideal testing conditions. It’s literally like 70 or 80° outside, perfectly sunny weather. You know, it’s it’s it’s just the perfect testing conditions for range. In my week’s worth of testing, I got a little over 60 mi of range. The it kind of varied. I could get as much as like 64 miles of range. And on the low end, it was like 59 mi of range. Depending, of course, if you’re doing more highway range or more city range in the city, it’s obviously going to do better with stop and go traffic and the regen braking usage. But that is very shocking to me. It’s easily twice the range of most of the vehicles in the segment. So, bravo Mercedes for really giving people the range that they’re looking for. I mean, I think 60 mi of range is plenty. that’s going to be enough for most people. Even if your commute to work is like 25 miles, you could do it on a full charge, which is just incredible. But again, the trade-off is the additional weight, the cost, and complexity. And at that point, you know, if you got this big old battery pack, why don’t you just make the switch to the full EV? But, you know, when the vehicle is low on energy or when you use up the battery pack, um the EPA says you’ll get around 25 MPG combined. In my week’s worth of testing, when it was completely depleted, I got around 26 MPG, which is not great. When you have it charged up, however, and you have it in hybrid mode, the trip computer was showing around 37 miles to the gallon. So, that number is not really accurate in my opinion because you’re constantly using a combination of the engine and the electric motors, which is going to inflate the EPA or the gas mileage rating. That’s where that silly MPG rating comes in. But electric motors are measured in kilowatts, not in MPG. That’s what that’s a gas thing. Now, with its uh very small 13gon fuel tank, you’re you’ll be you’re you’re looking at around just 320ish miles of range, although the trip computer was showing around 390 when they first dropped this vehicle off. I didn’t get a chance to drive the vehicle until a full empty ch tank because I was mostly using the battery pack. But I’d say with the battery pack and the gas engine, you could probably do over 400 miles of range in this car. That seems very feasible. So, again, it’s definitely the efficiency king in the segment. And you know, the electric only range is very impressive. But remember, you really need to keep this vehicle plugged in if you want to get the maximum usage out of it. Uh, in pure EV mode, I find this vehicle to be pretty satisfying to drive with its, you know, instantaneous torque. But again, unlike like a Lexus NX, if you put your foot down all the way, the gas engine wakes up. But I think for most of you, if you drive it in just hybrid mode, it’s going to feel very much like a traditional GLC 300. Just feels like it has a little extra fat in the back end. Now, with just over 64,000 units sold last year, that makes the GLC the second bestselling Mercedes model here in their North American lineup, it also makes the GLC about the third bestselling vehicle, right behind its rivals like the BMW X3 and of course the Lexus NX, which is the best seller in the compact luxury SUV segment. Now, one of the key factors that makes the GLC such a a success for Mercedes is the fact that they offer so many different variants. So, after spending a full week with the plug-in hybrid version known as the 350e, I have to say this is exactly what Mercedes-Benz needed in order to compete because, as you guys know, the NX offers a plug-in hybrid, Volvo offers a plug-in hybrid, Audi offers a plug-in hybrid, although technically it’s on the old Q5. But, this model here with its up to 54 miles of all-electric range, and we easily got around 60 mi, gives it the best all-electric range you’re going to find in the segment. And that’s really a great thing for those of you who are interested in kind of dipping your toes into the EV space, but you aren’t quite ready to make the full leap into an all-electric vehicle just yet, because you can easily do a few days worth of your work commute without even have to plug it in. But again, most people are just going to plug this in either at work or at home. But really, I will advise you to get the actual usage out of this model, you need to actually plug it in to utilize the all-electric range. Because if you don’t, you’re essentially carrying around an extra 800 lb of weight because this car, as you guys saw, is not really any quicker than the base GLC 300. It’s also not really any more fuel efficient unless you plug it in. So, again, if you’re going to buy the plug-in hybrid model, make sure you commit to that. And that’s basically what I would give you, what I would advise you if you’re also considering the Volvo XC uh 60 plug-in hybrid and of course the Lexus NX plug-in hybrid, which the NX for me was always the top model. This vehicle here certainly offers more range than the Lexus, but I also find the all-electric mode to not be quite as refined. It won’t allow you to drive on pure electricity alone if unless you or even if you floor the vehicle, the gas engine will come on versus in the Lexus, it’ll actually remain a pure EV. So, that’s something where I noticed there’s a couple of issues where I prefer the Lexus there. The N-Speed auto is a smooth transmission, but I do believe an ECVT is a better partner uh for a hybrid drivetrain like this. But overall, it offers basically the same drive experience as the GLC 300. But as long as you’re plan to plug it in, it’s going to offer you um of course that additional benefit. And with its additional suspension upgrades that they made, the ride quality remains comfortable. It’s a quiet, refined vehicle. The tech is basically good. Uh and then space is on the average side. Now, of course, if you’re interested in buying the plug-in hybrid model, it is going to cost you a pretty penny, about $8,600 more versus a comparable GLC 300 formatic. So, keep that in mind as well. You’re going to have to spend around $59,000 for the base version of this car. Of course, my test car here, it’s a Mercedes. It has a ton of options on it. Uh, basically, when you factor in all those options, like the ex exclusive package, the AMG sport body style, the upgraded wheels, the upgraded interior, you’re looking at an asested price of around $74,000. So 74 grand definitely makes this pretty expensive. You could save around $10,000 less by going with an NX450h plus which I might consider doing so unless you really want the additional electric only range and you also want the benefit of just saying you drive a Mercedes. But again, there’s so many choices in the segment. It’s really hard to choose. But if you’re interested in the GLC, the plug-in hydra model is worth a look as long as you plan to constantly plug this vehicle in. But with all that said, hope you guys have enjoyed my full overview on the brand new 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e. If you’re also looking to see latest cars I’m testing, be sure to follow me on Instagram at redline_reviews. Like us on Facebook, and as always guys, please keep subscribing to the Redline Reviews YouTube channel for all the latest reviews. Thank you so much for watching. I’ll catch you all in the next video. [Music]
The #MercedesBenzGLC has been the C-Class of SUV’s in the #MercedesBenz lineup since 2015. When the all-new version showed up a couple years ago. For 2025, the electrified #MercedesBenzGLC350e returns and this time, the #GLC350e brings class-leading range with over 50 miles of driving on pure electricity. It’s designed to offer the best combination of power and efficiency within the #GLC family.
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