LIKES
- Chunky body
- Screen-forward cockpit
- Right-sized
- Sliding second-row seat
- Lots of safety technology
DISLIKES
- Priced at a premium
- Tight third-row seat
- Some features force you to buy other features
- Infotainment takes time to learn
BUYING TIP
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class cloaks family-crossover goodness in a throwback station-wagon shape.
What kind of car is the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class? What does it compare to?
The GLB-Class taps turbo-4 power and seating for up to seven people to become one of Mercedes’ most flexible crossover SUVs. Competitors include vehicles such as the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Volvo XC60, and Mazda CX-9.
Is the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLB -Class a good car?
With refreshing style, and excellent performance and safety, the 2022 GLB earns a TCC Rating of 7.2 out of 10.
What’s new for the 2022 Mercedes GLB-Class?
Only a few minor features have been added to option packages. Otherwise, the GLB’s charming, spare SUV shape still sports the boxy outline it has since it was new in 2020. It’s graced with a few rounded corners and a glam detail or two, but the GLS-knockoff look gives it just the right hint of ruggedness. That dissipates inside where the flavor’s full-on extrovert, with twin displays atop the dash, colorful ambient lighting, and lots of metallic trim.
As long as the original M-Class but more narrow, the GLB-Class can fit five adults in its front two rows, but it helps if the middle back-seat passenger wears a size small. A couple of tiny passengers can make their way into the available third-row seat, but that space seems better suited to cargo; the GLB can carry up to 62.0 cubic feet behind the front seats.
The NHTSA gives the GLB-Class five stars overall, but the IIHS has yet to turn in its results. Along with standard automatic emergency braking and blind-spot monitors, the GLB can be fitted with a head-up display and a surround-view camera system.
How much does the 2022 Mercedes GLB cost?
It’s $39,650 for a GLB 250 with 18-inch wheels, LED headlights, and twin 7.0-inch screens. The GLB 35 AMG starts at $51,000 and gains the stronger turbo-4, sport tuning, 19-inch wheels, and twin 10.3-inch screens.
Where is the 2022 Mercedes GLB made?
In Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Styling
The GLB blurs the line between station wagon and crossover.
Is the Mercedes GLB a good-looking car?
With a fast-fashion cabin and its throwback wagon body, the GLB is also blessed with some of the swagger from the bigger GLS-Class and G-Class SUVs. We give it a 7 here, with a point each for the exterior and the interior.
The GLB’s boxy body scales down classic SUV shapes, but doesn’t leave off the elegant details. Square-jawed but user-friendly-sized, it’s no heavy-duty SUV, despite its extra-large light-up tri-star logo and upright, barely tapered roofline. It’s a classic and simple shape that Mercedes dresses up with a deep front-end spoiler or various AMG Line and Night packages that add bright trim or darken it down.
Performance
The GLB rides better with the adaptive suspension.
The GLB’s a strong performer with its base turbo-4, 8-speed automatic, and independent suspension. Acceleration is brisker with the GLB 35 and handling gets more grippy, too. We give it a 7 here, based on the GLB 250.
Is the Mercedes GLB 4WD?
All-wheel drive can be fitted to the GLB 250; it’s standard on the GLB 35 AMG. An off-road drive mode cuts down on wheelspin in slick driving situations, but the GLB isn’t really meant to be an off-road specialist.
The 221-hp turbo-4 in the GLB 250 twists out 258 lb-ft of torque, shipping it to the front or to all four wheels with a faint whirr and less of the juddery shifts that marked previous Mercedes dual-clutch automatics. Here, the powertrain launches the crossover to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds when it’s fitted with all-wheel drive; that’s impressive for a crossover that weighs about 3,600 lb in base spec. Of course, the 302-hp GLB 35 takes aim at a loftier goal: it can slip to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, though it tips the scales at almost 300 lb more.
Poised and confident, the GLB pairs electric power steering with drive modes and an independent suspension to generate a wide range of road manners, from fuel-conscious and comfort-soaked to edgy. In its standard modes, the GLB offers drivers quick throttle response and assertively weighted steering; in Sport mode those efforts pick up weight and responsiveness, but also feel more fluid and engaging to drive. We recommend the available adaptive dampers; they can be set to a softer tune through the Individual drive mode, where they do better at soaking up the impacts generated by the bigger available 20-inch wheels. So configured, the GLB’s equally adept at long-distance cruising and tight-corner touring.
The dual-natured talents grow more pronounced in the GLB 35, which gains not just all-wheel drive but also a Sport+ mode that firms up the steering and ride while it renders the throttle response even more zippy. The GLB35 hustles around cloverleaf ramps with a nimble feel though it skitters over rougher roads in firmer settings; that’s easily fixed by setting the adaptive dampers to Comfort.
Comfort & Quality
Make sure you’re in the front two rows.
Equal parts light off-roader and family station wagon, the Benz GLB has room for up to seven people. We give it a 7 here for ample cargo space and shapely front seats.
At 182.4 inches long, with a 111.4-inch wheelbase, the GLB checks in at roughly the same size as the original Mercedes M-Class SUV, if somewhat narrower.
Front passengers get the best seats in the crossover, with power adjustment and synthetic leather, and lots of range of adjustment. The GLB’s tall roof grants lots of head room, and the seats themselves have deeply pocketed bottom cushions and snug-fitting side bolsters that grow even closer on the GLB 35. Leather upholstery, heating, and cooling are options.
The space can be used more effectively for cargo. Behind the third-row seat the GLB can tote just 5.1 cubic feet of stuff, but behind row two it’s good for up to 27.0 cubic feet of cargo; behind the front seats, it has up to 62.0 cubic feet.
The GLB wears lots of plastic and metallic trim; together with its twin-screen displays, some of our editors get overwhelmed with the glitz, while others enjoy the gregarious feel.
Safety
The GLB nears safety perfection.
How safe is the Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class?
It’s a 9 here, thanks to excellent outward vision and a long list of standard and available safety features—as well as a five-star rating from the NHTSA which includes a four-star front-passenger protection score.
The IIHS hasn’t rated the GLB-Class yet. If it earns a Top Safety Pick, the GLB will be rated a 10 here.
Features
The GLB’s filled with luxury touches and touchscreens.
The 2022 GLB-Class has lots of standard features, wide-screen infotainment, and a lengthy options list. It’s an 8 for features; if its 4-year/50,000-mile warranty included free maintenance, it’d be a 9.
Which Mercedes GLB should I buy?
We’re good with the $39,650 GLB 250, which has keyless start, power front seats, 18-inch wheels and run-flat tires, LED headlights, and a power tailgate. If you need it, all-wheel drive runs $2,000 more.
Pile on options like a panoramic roof, leather upholstery, heated and cooled front seats, a third-row seat, wireless smartphone charging, Burmester audio, a head-up display, adaptive dampers, and a lighted Mercedes star logo, and the GLB’s price zips past $50,000. At that point you’d be better off with the $51,000 GLB 35 AMG, which gets the stronger turbo-4, 19-inch wheels, AMG four-piston brake calipers, and twin 10.3-inch screens.
For infotainment, the stock GLB has dual 7.0-inch screens, one that accepts touch inputs to control Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and other functions, the other that displays gauges and controls for the driver. The interface that weaves it all together also accepts touch inputs from a console-mounted pad and from steering-wheel controls. It’s a lot to digest, at first. It’s better when upgraded to the dual 10.3-inch screens that come standard with the GLB 35; that setup also takes voice commands, which understand complex natural-language commands well.
Fuel Economy
Fuel economy rises with all-wheel drive.
Is the Mercedes GLB good on gas?
Even though it can seat up to seven people, the GLB’s fuel economy shines. The front-drive GLB 250 earns EPA ratings of 23 mpg city, 30 highway, 26 combined, which merits a 5 here. All-wheel drive actually boosts its highway rating to 31 mpg. Predictably the GLB 35 rates lower, at 21/26/23 mpg.
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