It's been so long I don't remember, but typically if there is an easy way to disable it I will as part of my testing. THanks for watching and commenting!
That was certainly something on the early ML series, you were to turn off the ESP system when going off road, I wonder that they wouldn't do that automatically these days?
I wonder how many new owners just sit in the driveway and explore all the menus to get used to them lol. Now I know why some these vehicles have auto-stop assist, as some drivers may get distracted swiping around the screens.
That's a good point. This was my first Mercedes in quite a while and it took me a long time to understand the little bit that I finally got. I know there are a lot of things it can do that I didn't find out about.
I have seen that the Mercedes 4matic struggles when driver does not select the off-road mode. The traction control in the default comfort mode cannot cope when wheels are off the ground. Sport mode should be OK on sand dunes though
Yeah this one didn't have the off-road package and was missing the offroad mode(s). I tried all the modes it had and it seemed like Sport or Sport + was the best. I don't remember which now.
What kind of monster would drive this on a sand dune? It’s so geared to on road performance and everyone is hard on it for not being more aggressive locking down wheels that are in the air… 😂😂😂 The AMG moves even further away from off-road capability vs the non-AMG models so knowing that, I think it’s quite respectable.
Its an AMG. Its not meant for off road. AMG is the performance of Mercedes (Going fast). For off road get a non-amg GLC. If one wants an off road car from Mercedes get a G wagon. Cool video tho. Good job.
I tried a few attempts, but the video was getting long so I cut out the extras and only showed the one where I made it the furthest. I don't get to test many Mercedes vehicles and I wanted to be careful not to damage anything so I never went full send either. It's possible this vehicle could have made it up this hill, but it was definitely having a harder time that just about every other vehicle I've tested. It's an awesome sports crossover and I loved driving it on road. It wasn't designed for off-road though.
A little late to the party, but how well do you think this would handle forest service roads when going hiking? Not necessarily the steep climbing you tried but deep potholes and rocks, etc.?
Just depends on how well maintained the road is. It would be fine covering most forest roads that are well maintained. Just have to go a little slower over the rougher patches.
I drive an inherited 2000 Toyota Echo. I'm waiting for it to die, while still maintaining it, before I get a new vehicle, but it just keeps going. We have a couple other vehicles at my house as well, but that's my daily driver.
I believe that the GLC 300 has adjustable dampers, but that it doesn't have the air suspension. I'm not 100% sure on that though. It should be easy enough to turn the steering wheel all the way to one side and look at the front strut to see if it has a metal coil spring on it.
It's a 69/31 split with a RWD bias that's why the AWD system is not the best for off-roading. It's more performance oriented to get better traction on launches and feel like a RWD car on turns with the occasional slip from bad weather insured by the front wheels.
A lot of manufacturers have some king of torque vectoring system these days, Mercedes seems to be behind in the sense that you need to apply quite a lot of power to make it work, whereas others have mastered the ability to do it very smoothly with little throttle, allowing you to walk up steep slopes effectively and smoothly. Even the G Wagon seems to have the same issue, though in that case you can physically lock the diffs as well. Honestly, an old ML series Mercedes would have climbed that road with no problems.
Thanks for watching and commenting! While you are correct from a physics or engineering point in your use of torque vectoring, the automotive industry likes to use the phrase to solely describe systems that add more power to the outside (and usually rear) wheel when turning to help vehicles corner better. That said I haven't really been able to test a Non-AMG Mercedes that has the Off-Road mode. I'm not sure if that would be more aggressive or not. I haven't tested an ML so I can't speak to it's capability.
In the many dozens of roller test videos I’ve seen, I would disagree. Most seem to need quite a bit of coaxing to do what you say. I think the reason is very very few have a true torque vectoring system that does the vectoring at the differentials in the front back and mid point of the car. Most use some form of brake engagement to force torque to the opposite wheel and in most cases that seems to require quite an effort from the engine to produce enough power to 1) produce the slip and 2) apply enough brake and torque to get the other wheel to spin. In all cases more power than might be expected is needed. The AMG GLC43 does ‘brake vectoring” and has a pretty simple but effective system using a fixed front to back torque split and that’s because it’s a performance SUV, not an off-road SUV. The intended use does impact AWD systems, their design and the logic that governs it. I do which they had used an active front diff, but honestly it’s neither here nor there. It’s such a superb SUV and it’s performance is beyond respectable. It’s a genuine joy to drive.
@@TheLumberJacked Agreed. The ML was a bit weird by SUV standards, in that it had some real pretensions to being a capable off-roader, body on chassis, low range, the afore mentioned brake vectoring. They were developing it to replace the G Wagon.
I might have to find an ML to test. The early brake based limited slip systems aren't great in many vehicles, a 4th gen 4Runner with Atrac struggled on the hard line on the steep hill climb just 2 weeks ago. I was there filming something else and my camera batteries died so I didn't get enough to film the whole climb of the 4 Runner.
@@EngineAdventures Mercedes seemed to do it relatively well, other than it kind of requires you to give it the gun to get the best results. The descent control was quite good too.
Canadians can't customize very specific options like the USA, we're stuck with a couple of very expensive packages or none. I ordered a base model with the Designo Selenite Grey matte paint and the wheels as specced on the 43 in the video-I'm buying it for the engine and the base awesomeness.
It's been long enough I don't remember, but I believe I kept it on normal height (sport mode lowers it so I manually raised it back up) for most of the tests.
The ashtray and 'cigar lighter' is replaced by a charging pad and USB-C port if you option for it. Who the heck still uses an ashtray? And you can get a spare tire for $200 if you don't trust the run-flats.
no ais suspension, it´s AMG´s ride control. I drove the ML W166 before an space for the rear passengers isn´t much less. Even the space in the trunk/boot isn´t that much less, maybe in "liters" but not much in practicality (suv) even so the coupe ´s just 50 liters down comparde to the suv style model Heated seats are opional in the back row as well as ventilated/massage seats in the front. Check the fact sheet man.... Than anker points in the rear are for shirthangers for example. The buttons in the rear are not ajusting the ride hight, they are merley lowering the level of the real axle to ensure easier loading into the boot/trunk. The raseon why tere is no emergency tire inflating spry is because of the high performance tires. One should not attempt to use that goo on these performance tirese since they even will render your tire pressure gauge useless or even desstroy the sensor. It doesn´t transfer the power super well since it´t a 4wheel sports setup which is reas biased in any mode. However you could improve the off road capabilitiy by turnig the esc completely off to adjust to slippery. Why would oyu you try to off road in sports +?????? What are you trying to proof here? Mine got 285er conti super sport in the back... do you think they where made to go off road?!?!?! It´s a performane SUV for the road. If u want to go off road, get an GLE with eletronic ride control or G class.This particular car was build and meant for the road nor gravel ... Put a WARN winch on it DUH
and this does not seem to be a real AMG? by that I mean, I did not see any name badge on the engine when he poped the hood open. I might be wrong though
I don't believe the AMG model was intended for that type of driving terrain. Low profile performance tires just cannot get traction in those loose conditions
Probably your Tiers not for off road! If you change on mud and snow Michelin , or Continental Mud and snow, you will see big difference on any all 4Matic Models! Its going easy fast with out of spending time like you on this small hill
While having the right tires for the terrain is very important, this test isn't about tires. The main focus here is to see how well the vehicle can transfer power to the wheels that have traction. If all 4 tires are spinning and the vehicle isn't climbing, then I would blame the tires, but that wasn't the case. Yes carrying more speed up the hill will give the vehicle a better chance of making the climb, but that is much more likely to cause damage to the vehicle, and it doesn't test the system as effectively. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I've done that as well. I try to test as many vehicles as I can on this course. While many of the vehicles aren't designed for off-road use, these tests do show the capability of the awd systems.
Sry but a typical bad review ita not tiny im 100 kg 192 and i can fit what are you talking about, maybe in the US people like ugly big trucks this is a great chlice for country side or city.
Nice looking SUV
This one is spec'd exactly how i would want one. sigh, my dream
Was the traction control disabled during off-road testing? I think that was the problem.
It's been so long I don't remember, but typically if there is an easy way to disable it I will as part of my testing. THanks for watching and commenting!
That was certainly something on the early ML series, you were to turn off the ESP system when going off road, I wonder that they wouldn't do that automatically these days?
I wonder how many new owners just sit in the driveway and explore all the menus to get used to them lol. Now I know why some these vehicles have auto-stop assist, as some drivers may get distracted swiping around the screens.
That's a good point. This was my first Mercedes in quite a while and it took me a long time to understand the little bit that I finally got. I know there are a lot of things it can do that I didn't find out about.
I had to do that with my AMG as well. There’s quite a lot to learn, but it becomes second nature once you do.
Curious how this glc crossover is comparable to a midsize x6??
I've got a video on the X6, you should check it out!
I have seen that the Mercedes 4matic struggles when driver does not select the off-road mode. The traction control in the default comfort mode cannot cope when wheels are off the ground. Sport mode should be OK on sand dunes though
Yeah this one didn't have the off-road package and was missing the offroad mode(s). I tried all the modes it had and it seemed like Sport or Sport + was the best. I don't remember which now.
@@EngineAdventures In Europe besides off-road mode the gle and gls have low range and air suspension also!
That would be nice to have here!
@@EngineAdventures You did not made any mention about the disabling the traction control. Did you disable it?
What kind of monster would drive this on a sand dune? It’s so geared to on road performance and everyone is hard on it for not being more aggressive locking down wheels that are in the air… 😂😂😂
The AMG moves even further away from off-road capability vs the non-AMG models so knowing that, I think it’s quite respectable.
Its an AMG. Its not meant for off road. AMG is the performance of Mercedes (Going fast). For off road get a non-amg GLC. If one wants an off road car from Mercedes get a G wagon.
Cool video tho. Good job.
I agree, I want to test the regular version that has the offroad drive mode.
At that price point it should without any questions. Especially when KIA and hyundai can!
@@mydevices768 and What type of KIA and Hyundai are we talking about, sport versions or normal ones
Can one program the auto start-stop thing to be off all the time?
Not that I know of from factory, but there is probably an aftermarket solution to this.
Why did you do only one attempt?
I tried a few attempts, but the video was getting long so I cut out the extras and only showed the one where I made it the furthest. I don't get to test many Mercedes vehicles and I wanted to be careful not to damage anything so I never went full send either. It's possible this vehicle could have made it up this hill, but it was definitely having a harder time that just about every other vehicle I've tested. It's an awesome sports crossover and I loved driving it on road. It wasn't designed for off-road though.
They couldn’t throw in seat ventilation at that price? 😳
I was surprised by that as well!
A little late to the party, but how well do you think this would handle forest service roads when going hiking? Not necessarily the steep climbing you tried but deep potholes and rocks, etc.?
Just depends on how well maintained the road is. It would be fine covering most forest roads that are well maintained. Just have to go a little slower over the rougher patches.
May I ask what car u drive? Just a random thought.
I drive an inherited 2000 Toyota Echo. I'm waiting for it to die, while still maintaining it, before I get a new vehicle, but it just keeps going. We have a couple other vehicles at my house as well, but that's my daily driver.
Please test de 2020 Glc 220d Off Road kit
Sorry, we don't have that model in the US!
Hey I have a question! Does air suspension come standard on every GLC or it just for the performance models. We just got a GLC 300
I believe that the GLC 300 has adjustable dampers, but that it doesn't have the air suspension. I'm not 100% sure on that though. It should be easy enough to turn the steering wheel all the way to one side and look at the front strut to see if it has a metal coil spring on it.
It's a 69/31 split with a RWD bias that's why the AWD system is not the best for off-roading. It's more performance oriented to get better traction on launches and feel like a RWD car on turns with the occasional slip from bad weather insured by the front wheels.
Thanks for sharing!
A lot of manufacturers have some king of torque vectoring system these days, Mercedes seems to be behind in the sense that you need to apply quite a lot of power to make it work, whereas others have mastered the ability to do it very smoothly with little throttle, allowing you to walk up steep slopes effectively and smoothly. Even the G Wagon seems to have the same issue, though in that case you can physically lock the diffs as well.
Honestly, an old ML series Mercedes would have climbed that road with no problems.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
While you are correct from a physics or engineering point in your use of torque vectoring, the automotive industry likes to use the phrase to solely describe systems that add more power to the outside (and usually rear) wheel when turning to help vehicles corner better.
That said I haven't really been able to test a Non-AMG Mercedes that has the Off-Road mode. I'm not sure if that would be more aggressive or not. I haven't tested an ML so I can't speak to it's capability.
In the many dozens of roller test videos I’ve seen, I would disagree. Most seem to need quite a bit of coaxing to do what you say. I think the reason is very very few have a true torque vectoring system that does the vectoring at the differentials in the front back and mid point of the car. Most use some form of brake engagement to force torque to the opposite wheel and in most cases that seems to require quite an effort from the engine to produce enough power to 1) produce the slip and 2) apply enough brake and torque to get the other wheel to spin. In all cases more power than might be expected is needed. The AMG GLC43 does ‘brake vectoring” and has a pretty simple but effective system using a fixed front to back torque split and that’s because it’s a performance SUV, not an off-road SUV. The intended use does impact AWD systems, their design and the logic that governs it. I do which they had used an active front diff, but honestly it’s neither here nor there. It’s such a superb SUV and it’s performance is beyond respectable. It’s a genuine joy to drive.
@@TheLumberJacked Agreed. The ML was a bit weird by SUV standards, in that it had some real pretensions to being a capable off-roader, body on chassis, low range, the afore mentioned brake vectoring. They were developing it to replace the G Wagon.
I might have to find an ML to test. The early brake based limited slip systems aren't great in many vehicles, a 4th gen 4Runner with Atrac struggled on the hard line on the steep hill climb just 2 weeks ago. I was there filming something else and my camera batteries died so I didn't get enough to film the whole climb of the 4 Runner.
@@EngineAdventures Mercedes seemed to do it relatively well, other than it kind of requires you to give it the gun to get the best results. The descent control was quite good too.
Does this have the exhaust package?
This one did have the exhaust baffles that can be opened for a more aggressive sound. Not sure if that's what you were talking about.
@@EngineAdventures Yes it was, thank you for the info!
Canadians can't customize very specific options like the USA, we're stuck with a couple of very expensive packages or none.
I ordered a base model with the Designo Selenite Grey matte paint and the wheels as specced on the 43 in the video-I'm buying it for the engine and the base awesomeness.
It has an amazing engine, I hope you love it!
Did you raise the ride height? Most people don’t know you can raise an inch or so for off road
It's been long enough I don't remember, but I believe I kept it on normal height (sport mode lowers it so I manually raised it back up) for most of the tests.
My friend you need a gle coupe .
I've tested a GLE63, but not the coupe version.
The ashtray and 'cigar lighter' is replaced by a charging pad and USB-C port if you option for it. Who the heck still uses an ashtray? And you can get a spare tire for $200 if you don't trust the run-flats.
Thanks for the tips!
no ais suspension, it´s AMG´s ride control.
I drove the ML W166 before an space for the rear passengers isn´t much less. Even the space in the trunk/boot isn´t that much less, maybe in "liters" but not much in practicality (suv) even so the coupe ´s just 50 liters down comparde to the suv style model
Heated seats are opional in the back row as well as ventilated/massage seats in the front.
Check the fact sheet man....
Than anker points in the rear are for shirthangers for example.
The buttons in the rear are not ajusting the ride hight, they are merley lowering the level of the real axle to ensure easier loading into the boot/trunk.
The raseon why tere is no emergency tire inflating spry is because of the high performance tires. One should not attempt to use that goo on these performance tirese since they even will render your tire pressure gauge useless or even desstroy the sensor.
It doesn´t transfer the power super well since it´t a 4wheel sports setup which is reas biased in any mode. However you could improve the off road capabilitiy by turnig the esc completely off to adjust to slippery. Why would oyu you try to off road in sports +?????? What are you trying to proof here? Mine got 285er conti super sport in the back... do you think they where made to go off road?!?!?! It´s a performane SUV for the road. If u want to go off road, get an GLE with eletronic ride control or G class.This particular car was build and meant for the road nor gravel
... Put a WARN winch on it DUH
and this does not seem to be a real AMG? by that I mean, I did not see any name badge on the engine when he poped the hood open. I might be wrong though
Same kind of logic, why would you choose a four wheel drive SUV to only drive on the road?
I don't believe the AMG model was intended for that type of driving terrain. Low profile performance tires just cannot get traction in those loose conditions
Definitely not, the regular, non-AMG, versions have an off-road drive mode if you get the right packages.
Id still perfer the GLA45s
Probably your Tiers not for off road! If you change on mud and snow Michelin , or Continental Mud and snow, you will see big difference on any all 4Matic Models! Its going easy fast with out of spending time like you on this small hill
While having the right tires for the terrain is very important, this test isn't about tires. The main focus here is to see how well the vehicle can transfer power to the wheels that have traction. If all 4 tires are spinning and the vehicle isn't climbing, then I would blame the tires, but that wasn't the case. Yes carrying more speed up the hill will give the vehicle a better chance of making the climb, but that is much more likely to cause damage to the vehicle, and it doesn't test the system as effectively. Thanks for watching and commenting!
超越者！
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Take a lifted Wrangler to the track instead,,,
I've done that as well. I try to test as many vehicles as I can on this course. While many of the vehicles aren't designed for off-road use, these tests do show the capability of the awd systems.
Sry but a typical bad review ita not tiny im 100 kg 192 and i can fit what are you talking about, maybe in the US people like ugly big trucks this is a great chlice for country side or city.
I guess size is relevant and for you this isn't a small vehicle. Sorry that's all it takes for a review to be bad for you.
Were you worried about tipping over during your test?
Not at all, the side angles in my testing aren't that high.
@@EngineAdventures I was glad to see the curtain side airbags didn't deploy..
@@Kiss__Kiss haha, I've been nervous about that happening!