SUV-fication continues.
Mercedes-Benz isn’t content with its 7-strong SUV offensive it seems, and has fast-tracked development of an all-new GLB, designed to more accurately take on luxury-compact SUV contenders like the BMW X1, Volvo XC40, and Audi Q3. Interestingly, it’s suggested that the GLB will take on a more distinct design approach than most of the present Mercedes SUV range, putting it more in like with the mac-daddy G-Class than the rest of the pack.
Trademark filings by Mercedes-Benz reveal that there will be GLB 200, 220, and 250 variants, suggesting that an engine lineup will largely mirror the available mills from the smaller A-Class range. Like the B-Class, the GLB aims to offer more practicality and a less dramatic design, with Autocar even going as far as to suggest that it’ll be a “heritage-themed SUV.”
The original timeline for the GLB’s introduction wasn’t publicly known, but it’s rumoured that Mercedes-Benz has kicked the models’ development into high gear, moving the timeline up to have the GLB on the market by 2019. This is in keeping with what Mercedes boss Dr. Dieter Zetsche said at the Detroit motor show earlier this month, that there will be a family of 8 compact models before the end of the decade.
Prices of the GLB should sit comfortably between the smaller GLA and the larger GLC, offering a natural step up between the variants. Design-wise, the GLB is expected to display a clear lineage to the G-Class, and is said to draw heavily from the Vision Ener-G-Force concept car that was first seen in 2012. If it does indeed shape up that way, we wonder how many people will be caught saying ‘Honey, I shrunk the G-Class!’
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