2010 Mercedes GLK350 4MATIC

>> Take Mercedes C-Class and make it a crossover, that's the GLK Series. We like the new C-class. Let's see if getting all high and mighty ruins the recipe as we take a run in the GLK350 4Matic and check the tech. ^M00:00:16 [ Music ] ^M00:00:21 >> Quite the little modernist environment here, isn't it. Not the usual kind of bulbous lavish Mercedes, but more of an angular look. The technology that was a little more familiar. That's the current edition of Mercedes command interface. It's one that we've always liked. It's really well-done interface that is in keeping with the caliber of the brand Mercedes. Not every car maker gets that. Enter destination. >> Do you want to enter town first or street first? >> Enter town. >> Please say the name of the town. >> San Francisco. >> Loading town list. Is the entry correct? >> Yes. Live traffic info is available, but only via a separate $1500 option called the Universal Media Interface and not as a standard part of the navigation rig. This system has very good voice recognition and quick response. Its hard drive based. That's part of the reason. Let's dial a phone number. >> Please say the number. >> Three-four-four-two-zero-zero-zero. >> Three-four-four-two-zero-zero-zero. >> Okay. >> Dialing. >> Notice I have to use somewhat stilts at language. I could have said 3442000, it didn't get that, had to spell it out number-by-number, but not bad. And we also have the familiar Mercedes Click and Turn interface as part of command in case you don't want to use the voice control and just want to punch those numbers in. Because we have a hard drive based head unit, we also have what they called the Music Register. That's a six-gigabyte user space where you can put media. Here's a look at all my media of the digital sort. There are my six-disc slots, right there. Memory card -- never liked this one. Probably never will. But it's this PCMCIA card slot thingy down here, media interface. That guy is over here in the glove box. I pull these cables out you can see I've got an iPod adapter, and also an aux jack there. Those go into a jack on the wall of the glove box. This system also plays video on the screen when you're parked, so you got a little drive-in movie deal going on here. And in addition to this, there is a separate optional rear-seat entertainment system for this car that puts the twin 8-inch LCDs on the back of the front seat. So everyone gets their own monitor in the back. That's the way it should be done. Bluetooth hands-free is built in here. There's none of that nonsense where you can do Bluetooth or cradle or Bluetooth and cradle like a lot of other Mercedes have, just Bluetooth, it's part of the car -- period. The GLK350 is powered by a 3.5-liter V6, good for a 268 horsepower and a full some 258 foot pounds of torque. Zero to 60 in 6.5 isn't going to break any records; neither is the 16/21 mpg. One choice on the gearbox in this guy is a 7-speed Mercedes automatic. It's a work of art, it's a great automatic. It's got a shift gait here in the back. You just come all the way back to drive normally and if you want to shift, just kick it left or right for a down or an upshift and you've got a Comfort and Sport button right there, which affects the shift patterns and the aggressiveness of the gear changes and the revving. And by the way, that gait is your only shifting joy, no paddles on this guy. Under way the GLK just doesn't say Mercedes to me. The ride is too truck-like and I detect too much of the wrong kind of road feedback. Divider strips, metal grates and pavement cracks come through crystal clear. On the other hand you do get the impression this thing is built like an oil drum. Kudos to the standard MB tech's fake leather. Perhaps the smartest seat covering in the business. By the way, take a look upstairs. We have the dual pane and panorama sunroof. This is an option that comes in the premium one package. You've got a movable panel here and a fixed one for the folks in the back. Passers by may not know you're driving a Mercedes, which could be a problem for some Mercedes buyers because the GLK has a design language made up of strong creases and corners that just doesn't look like any other Benz. You almost wonder who its father was. Let's price our GLK350. With the 4Matic all-wheel drive, it's just a tick below 37,000 base delivered. Now to do it up CNET style, you got to add a couple of packages. One is the multimedia package that gets you the hard drive base navigation system, the hard drive base media system, the Harmon/Kardon audio and rearview camera. Also, the rear seat entertainment system is very tasty, dual 8-inch screens, 1880 more or be a cheapskate, get the iPod adapter for 300 bucks and keep using paper maps. ^M00:05:00 [ Music ]