[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by nitrogary

3. Delivery
The wait between the booking and delivery feels like an eternity! But the day finally arrived.

It was time

Super happy!

Now starts the real ownership experience.

Hi Nitrogary,

Congratulations on your purchase of the 3 Pointed Star!

It definitely feels special.

We bought a GLC 300 4Matic, and its definitely super cool. Its probably got a few bells and whistles which are not offered in the Indian counterparts, but none the less, its a beautiful ride. I attached a few pics of my ride

Congratulations and wishing you many many more miles of fun, happiness and safe travels.

[miharbe]

Many Congratulations Sarang. The GLC is a truly beautiful vehicle.

Personally for me there is a different lure of the 3 pointed star. As an 80s and 90s kid it can probably be blamed to the parents' generation for whom a luxury car / sense of occasion / sing of having arrived or made it big in life was synonymous with Mercedes.

While I didn't like the shape initially it is definitely growing on me. Hopefully someday I shall be on the lookout for a used GLC300 as I feel it is quite an underrated vehicle in that segment.

Your review will help many a potential buyer when considering a car in that segment. Look forward to regular updates.

P.S. I absolutely need to hear that Burmester system!

[nitrogary]

Originally Posted by nikhilarni

Hi Nitrogary,

Congratulations on your purchase of the 3 Pointed Star!

It definitely feels special.

We bought a GLC 300 4Matic, and its definitely super cool. Its probably got a few bells and whistles which are not offered in the Indian counterparts, but none the less, its a beautiful ride. I attached a few pics of my ride

Congratulations and wishing you many many more miles of fun, happiness and safe travels.

Hi Nikhilarni,

Thank you so much! Congrats to you too
Your black GLC 300 is looking magnificent. I love those alloys! Did you get the air suspension?
Is the trim different?

Originally Posted by miharbe

Many Congratulations Sarang. The GLC is a truly beautiful vehicle.

..sign of having arrived or made it big in life was synonymous with Mercedes.
..Hopefully someday I shall be on the lookout for a used GLC300 as I feel it is quite an underrated vehicle in that segment.

Your review will help many a potential buyer when considering a car in that segment. Look forward to regular updates.

P.S. I absolutely need to hear that Burmester system!

Thank you Miharbe!
My intent of writing this review was indeed to help fellow Bhpians with their GLC purchases.
Its true that people associate a different aura with a Mercedes. I never thought of it that way, but I love their cars now.
As I said, I really loved the GLC 300 and we could have gone either way. The frugal fuel economy and our predominant highway usage tipped the decision in favor of the diesel.
Pre-owned GLC 300s are going to be magnificent deals, especially the top end models. As are the GLC 43 AMGs. I am seeing quite a few of them in the pre-owned car market in the range of 40-50 lacs. This was a car which was around 85-95 lacs new.

You are most welcome to enjoy the music system. Let me know if you are in Pune, I stay in Kothrud.

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by nitrogary

Your black GLC 300 is looking magnificent. I love those alloys! Did you get the air suspension?
Is the trim different?

Hi Nitrogary,

Thanks a lot.

Mine has the AMG package, which essentially is the slightly differently styles bumbers, the bigger wheels and the AMG trim Alloys.

Here, every feature on the car is Ala-carte. There are no Trim levels or variants. Every feature like the Ventilated Seats, heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, Disctonic ( the adaptive cruise control, lane keep and collision mitigation braking ) and the Head's up display are an add-ons at the time of original purchase.

I am not sure how it's sold in India.

Originally Posted by miharbe

P.S. I absolutely need to hear that Burmester system!

Hi Miharbe,

Trust me, that Burmester system is amazing. With the surround system turned on, the drives are a super pleasure with good music.

Whether you are listening to AR Rahman's Dil Se or Hotel California, it just sounds brilliant.

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[nitrogary]

Originally Posted by nikhilarni

Hi Nitrogary,

Mine has the AMG package, which essentially is the slightly differently styles bumbers, the bigger wheels and the AMG trim Alloys.

I am not sure how it's sold in India.

There are two trim variants - Sport and Progressive along with diesel and petrol engine options. It misses out on memory seats and rear air conditioning the most. Buyers may not mind paying extra for some add ons like ventilated seats and air suspension along with a higher engine tune spec.
The interior-exterior combination is also fixed. You get black interiors only with the sliver exterior. All other colors get beige interiors. Anyone with a different combo, please post up your pics - it'll be a very rare car to see.
Occasionally Mercedes come up with some special editions which typically are
Edition 1 - for the first 100/200 cars of the particular model sold
Celebration edition - to commemorate something
Grand edition - maybe some add on features etc.

There are no 63 AMG variants of the GLC sold in India. Only the GLC 43 AMG. Some AMG accessories may be available for purchase but I don't think I'll want to go for those.
I would have preferred 18 inch alloys over 19 inch purely for the ride comfort. The 19s look pretty and I am sure 20 inch ones look even sharper, but they are suitable for smoother roads. With more and more roads getting concreted the undulations and poor texture result in faster wear of all components which have relative motion.

Originally Posted by nikhilarni

Hi Miharbe,
Trust me, that Burmester system is amazing. With the surround system turned on, the drives are a super pleasure with good music.
Whether you are listening to AR Rahman's Dil Se or Hotel California, it just sounds brilliant.

So true. I normally listen to Youtube music - and understand that the music system isn't being put to optimal use. I love music but prefer driving without any just for the sheer experience of driving such a lovely vehicle.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by nitrogary

Practicality & boot space

Attachment 1999514

Congratulations Sarang on a nice Car and a great comprehensive review.

Had a question for you. In the picture you have posted, are all the luggage piled on top of the spare tyre or did you manage to put the spare tyre in the space below the floor board or something like that

Overall would you hesitate in recommending this GLC 220D in your ownership experience so far (I know its a tough question to answer but please feel free, I promise not to hold you to it in any way)

Best Regards and Drive Safe

[nitrogary]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Congratulations Sarang on a nice Car and a great comprehensive review.

Had a question for you. In the picture you have posted, are all the luggage piled on top of the spare tyre or did you manage to put the spare tyre in the space below the floor board or something like that

Overall would you hesitate in recommending this GLC 220D in your ownership experience so far (I know its a tough question to answer but please feel free, I promise not to hold you to it in any way)

Best Regards and Drive Safe

Thank you so much Ram!

All the luggage is piled up over the spare wheel. I moved it to the extreme right so it is not tied down. That way, some suitcases could be kept on the floor. You can actually see some part of the wheel cover below the bag with 4 castor wheel.

Our tastes in two wheels match - Bonneville and RD 350 so maybe our tastes in cars could be similar?

I would certainly recommend the GLC to anyone looking out to buy one. Getting pre-owned cars make the deal sweeter. It is most suited for families of 4 and when you are looking to travel in a relaxed and luxurious manner. It is not really suited as a chauffeur driven car.
Alternate options which I would consider in the 35-50 lac pre-owned car bracket are
- BMW X5
- Mercedes-Benz GLE 250
- Mercedes-Benz GLC 43 AMG if you are looking for something sporty
- Volvo XC 60
- Audi Q5

[kalpak]

Beautifully written Sarang!
I had no idea you got this while we spoke about the GS at length.
congratulations 🎉

[nitrogary]

Originally Posted by kalpak

Beautifully written Sarang!
I had no idea you got this while we spoke about the GS at length.
congratulations 🎉

Thanks Kalpak
Yes, we didn't talk about cars at all actually when discussing about bikes.

Update
So the car recently covered 15k kms and now stands at 15.3k km. I missed capturing the moment where it passed the 15000 mark. Electronic odometers somehow don't have the same charm as the mechanical ones where the numbers roll up slowly in front of you! Here it just covers 14999 to 15000 within a flash.

With 15k km, I noticed some additional wear on the outside of the tires. I believe this is due to its positive camber and the way the tires scrub on the outside when the wheels are turned. They lean into the corner just like a bike!



Hence decided to get tire rotation done. Tires are not unidirectional and are of the same size all over, however there is an outside which I checked is correct on all 4 tires.

The tire shop guy kept suggesting that we should do wheel alignment. I am firmly against changing something which does not need any modification. ?

Any advice on this? The car runs absolutely straight and does not seem to need any alignment.
One problem which came up due to this was that the TPMS wasn't reading any more. The car got confused and needed to be taken to the workshop for a diagnostic check and the sensors and TPMS needs to be "re-taught" which wheel is where.
Wheel rotation = 200/-
Diagnostics = 660/-

This is how the front suspension looks like


All good now. Here are some more pics for you to enjoy!

I recently got our Ameo serviced. So me and dad drove to get the car back. He was driving ahead. I couldn't resist taking the pic. It was a beautiful evening. Just felt like driving on and on!


Another short trip with the biking gang to a nearby hill station


Beautiful views.. It was foggy and breezy, but no rain!






Another weekend spent well at our small holiday home away from the buzz of the city. Wanted this pic since a very long time! 3 good friends, 3 good cars




The GLC43 Coupe and SUV together!


A fellow rider recently treated himself with this lovely Mini. We met for a morning tea nearby. Aren't they gorgeous!

[Hayek]

Fantastic review Nitrogary - virtually Official Review standard.

They do seem to have upgraded the GLC in some ways - when I evaluated it back in 2016 (just after the original CBU lot was sold out), it lacked the electronic boot closer, and the 260 degree camera, and came with 18” tubeless tyres. I also don’t get why Mercedes does not provide memory seats in its cars - that is a very useful feature.

Glad to note you are enjoying the car - Pune is a great place to live for highway drives and this car seems to be doing well in that aspect.

[nitrogary]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Fantastic review Nitrogary - virtually Official Review standard.

They do seem to have upgraded the GLC in some ways - when I evaluated it back in 2016 (just after the original CBU lot was sold out), it lacked the electronic boot closer, and the 260 degree camera, and came with 18” tubeless tyres. I also don’t get why Mercedes does not provide memory seats in its cars - that is a very useful feature.

Glad to note you are enjoying the car - Pune is a great place to live for highway drives and this car seems to be doing well in that aspect.

Thank you Hayek!

You are correct about the changes that have been introduced in the car since 2016. I agree with your comments in your X3 ownership thread about the GLC. Without the discounts, it is not lucrative. Plus at the time, the X3 was new and makes much more sense.

The memory seats are missing still in the top end model also. I just don't get the logic! I would have highly appreciated memory and ventilated seats.

I am indeed enjoying driving the car around. Last 3-4 months we have not used it much. Maybe 1500 km max. I had so many plans and had chalked out several trips for the monsoons, but alas it will have to wait. Everyone's health and safety is much more important hehe.

[nitrogary]

As much as I was thinking we will not be able to use the vehicle during lockdown there were a few trips which we were able to do.

Pune-Aurangabad-Nagpur-Lonar-Pune (~1600 km return)

The longest was to Nagpur due to a sudden emergency.
We left Friday evening and stayed in Aurangabad for the night - traffic was heavy and we needed 5 hours to reach. Saturday was a long day. We left very early morning - 5 am car was on the road and it rained for the entire distance of over 750 km. This was a unique experience - driving 100% in rain for such a long time and distance. My mom drove half the distance (whenever it was daylight) and I think she liked the car.

You can see how dirty the car was.



We finished the work that we had on Saturday afternoon and were ready to head back to Pune on Sunday. On the way back, we stopped at Lonar lake. This is the biggest lake in Asia formed due to a meteorite impact. I loved the serenity of the place. It is stunning!



Pictures do not do justice to the grandeur of Lonar.



We reached home late - exhausted but satisfied that we did this trip. In hind sight, we could have stayed in Aurangabad on the way back but I had work Monday morning.

The bottomlines.



After long trips, bike and car both needed some cleaning and waxing. Love them like this. My kind of 50 shades of grey!



Goa trips (~2000 km total)

We did two back to back weekend trips to Goa just after the borders opened. It was heavenly. The drive was magnificent - especially Amboli in the fog was just stunning. I did not capture any pics unfortunately, was too mesmerized. I am sure we will do a few more so will remember to take pics then.

On a beautiful day, we drove around to Cabo re Rama fort. I guess its a nice idea to do all the Forts of Goa in one of the trips.



We had some excellent food in Goa.





Prawns rawa masala and surmai in Amboli





On the way back, we crossed a milestone





Khandi waterfall

This is a lovely loop near Kamshet. A recent find of our bike group and I wanted to take my family for a drive here. Beautiful small roads and in the rains they are beautiful.







For the first time in my life, I am popping my head out of the sunroof. Wanted to always know what the buzz is about. Its uncomfortable.



As it happened, we were parked next to our friend's M class. So I took the opportunity to take some pics for exterior comparisons.











They look lovely.

Signing off with some memorabilia which I have preserved since years. I occasionally take them out for cleaning and to give them some air.

This is an Alfred Neubauer signature engraved limited edition stopwatch. Its gorgeous!





I have booked service B in the last week of October / first week November. Will keep you posted on the experience and updates.

Till then, cheers!

[4WheelPilot]

Lovely review. Have driven one extensively for ~ 7000 kms and the drives feel great in this car - be it ghats or long straight line highways

[nitrogary]

Originally Posted by 4WheelPilot

Lovely review. Have driven one extensively for ~ 7000 kms and the drives feel great in this car - be it ghats or long straight line highways

Thanks for the encouraging words 4WheelPilot.
Yes the car is enjoyable to drive in almost all road conditions but it does best on smooth tarmac. It is comfort focused and spirited driving can be slightly discomforting for the passengers. I mean it does all that you ask effortlessly but why try so much in a Merc?
Please share more details of the GLC you drove and if possible share pics for us to enjoy!

[4WheelPilot]

Originally Posted by nitrogary

Thanks for the encouraging words 4WheelPilot.
Yes the car is enjoyable to drive in almost all road conditions but it does best on smooth tarmac. It is comfort focused and spirited driving can be slightly discomforting for the passengers. I mean it does all that you ask effortlessly but why try so much in a Merc?
Please share more details of the GLC you drove and if possible share pics for us to enjoy!

I totally agree with you. We have the GLC 220d facelift which was purchased in March. This was supposed to be driven to Bhubaneswar and delivered but then Lockdown was announced and the car has been with us since then. Plan to drive to Bhubaneswar from Bangalore in 1,2 months and will post a detailed thread. Have driven ~ 7K Kms in it and have been to Hassan once and Mysore twice(delightful trips). In the city and over bad roads the ride is stiff but on highways and smooth tarmac it just glides through. Will definitely share pics soon!