► Mercedes GLC nearly undisguised
► Latest spyshots reveal new GLK
► New 2015 GLC will come in RHD
Our spies have caught the new 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLC soft-roader virtually undisguised. It comes just days before Daimler prepares to whip the covers off its new GLK successor. Which might explain why the driver of this late prototype appears to be laughing as he realises he’s been caught on camera.
This new GLC is important for us Brits; we’ve always been denied the earlier GLK models since their four-wheel drive hardware made right-hand drive difficult and too pricey to engineer. But that’ll all change this time around – the GLC will come to British showrooms.
What can we see in these undisguised Merc GLC spyshots?
There is still a little camouflage shrouding key parts of the new SUV: the headlamps are lightly taped over, the lower front spoiler is partly hidden and it’s a similar story at the rear.
But we can now see the proportions and general body surfacing of this new Merc 4×4, and those Pirelli Scorpion all-seasons tyres hint at some modest off-road ability for the 4Matic all-wheel drive system. It looks a little larger than the outgoing GLK and is aimed squarely at the BMW X3, Volvo XC60 and Audi Q5 set – plugging a gaping hole in the company’s range.
It’s had no competitor in showrooms between the GLA and the GLE (née M-class). That’ll be fixed from autumn 2015, when the GLC rolls into dealerships. Right-hand drive prices and timings have yet to be announced, but we’d anticipate UK sales in early 2016.
Will there be a coupe-inspired, sportier GLC like with the GLE big brother?
No official word yet. But we’d say it’s odds-on, after seeing the coupe version at the 2015 Shanghai motor show. Just the thing to rival the BMW X4, no?