I have just one memory of my Great Grandma Martha. I am three years old, riding in the back of her red 1986 Mercedes 300E with my mom, and passing paper notes to Martha up front. As Martha is nearly deaf, the notes are our only way to communicate with her while we are on the road.
Martha passed away forty years ago, but just this year, that very same 300E was offered to me as a hand-me-down heirloom. The Mercedes sedan had proved its comfort, quality, and durability over four decades and four generations of family. And, just as the day she bought it, its red paint still makes it easy to find in a parking lot.
Martha wasn’t alive in the age of SUVs, but if she had been, I think great-grandma might have picked a Mercedes GLC 300 like my tester SUV instead of her 300E. The 1986 300E and 2026 GLC 300 are both comfortable, quiet, spacious, and built to a high standard, but the SUV is easier to enter and exit.
What would a base, $49,500 MSRP, GLC 300 like my tester have gotten her? More than she’d know what to do with!
Many modern wizz-bang features are included “for free” on the 2026 GLC 300. There is blind spot monitoring, active braking assistance, cross traffic and forward collision warnings, approaching traffic warnings when you open the doors, parking sonar, parking camera, keyless entry, push button start, wireless smartphone connectivity with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, automatic headlights, powered liftgate with kick-to-open, heated and powered seats, multicolored ambient lighting, and more.
And just think, in 1986, antilock brakes were cutting-edge!
Mercedes offers many options and packages for the GLC 300, but my example was lightly specced. It had the $1500 panoramic sunroof and a $450 winter comfort package that added a heated steering wheel and heated windscreen washers. I highly recommend the sunroof, as it brightens the cabin, and the winter comfort package would be appreciated by great-grandma on cold Illinois mornings.
My tester’s exterior and interior were staid on account of the parsimonious purchasing, with flat black paint on the outside and black MBTex vinyl upholstery and piano-black plastic trim on the inside. The lack of options-sheet creativity is somewhat ameliorated by metal accents on the dash, doors, vents, and steering wheel; the brightwork glistens nicely in the multicolored mood lighting. Even without premium leather or trim, the base GLC 300 still feels luxurious.
Though Martha would disapprove of my loaner’s ebony exterior—another spec floatsum in a sea of monochrome SUVs—I think she would find the GLC 300 pleasingly comfortable.
First, ingress and egress were easy, as the front seats are at hip height and don’t require falling into or hoisting out of. The seats are also Posturepedic correct and seemingly infinitely adjustable; their ample padding supports even the boniest butt. (Mine, not hers.)
On the move, the GLC 300 was well-hushed, which would increase Martha’s likelihood of catching a snippet of conversation (if shouted) or a strain of symphony music (if overbearingly loud, like Mahler’s Symphony No. 8).
Martha might have been perplexed by the MBUX infotainment system. Mercedes moved the radio and heating controls onto the central display, so if the cabin is too cold or the windshield is fogged, it takes screen taps to fix it. The radio volume, drive modes, and backup cameras are controlled by a strip of capacitive touch buttons that would be equally foreign to Martha; would she know to swipe along the black plastic surface to adjust the volume? Probably not. She and I would both prefer a traditional knob.
But tech-savvy buyers will find the MBUX’s iPad-like interface easy to learn. The icons are large and uncluttered, making them easy to use on the go. The portrait-layout screen is taller than it is wide, which is the proper orientation for driving directions, and makes space for a row of ever-present climate-control “buttons” along the bottom of the screen.
The drivetrain is much more advanced than anything available to Martha, too. In the GLC 300, a refined turbocharged 2.0L inline four-cylinder with mild-hybrid assistance is mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission. Torque is laid on thick at low rpm, and gear changes are barely noticeable. The base GLC 300 drives its rear wheels, with 4MATIC AWD offered as an option. My tester wore 235/55 R19 Michelin Primacy All Seasons that gripped well in the corners.
Motivated by 255 premium-powered horses, the GLC 300 whisked smoothly through traffic and leapt confidently across intersections. Somehow, the 4,167-lb SUV still managed a respectable 24 city/32 highway in the EPA test cycle.
Old or young, everyone can appreciate the GLC 300’s well-judged suspension. The chassis tune prioritizes comfort over sport, yet the SUV nevertheless zigged around obstacles and avoided floating over large undulations.
Sure, the pickiest customers (me) might poo-poo the GLC 300’s shocks. No, they don’t polish roads smooth like the AMG GLC 43’s electronically-adjustable dampers and give a magic-carpet ride like an air-suspensioned Mercedes GLS 450, but the GLC 300 was still undeniably comfortable in the city and composed on the highway.
And if Martha had wanted to take her loved ones on a three-hour road trip to her North Woods cabin—which is exactly what my family was doing in my early memory—the GLC 300 would be ready for the passengers and luggage. The SUV’s rear seats offered plenty of leg and head room, and the trunk could easily accommodate four large 26” suitcases or six 22” rollerboards.
(The GLC 300 hid a spare wheel, jack, and battery under the trunk floor.)
Yes, this is a Mercedes that great-grandma would have appreciated, but not in this hue! Pay the extra $1,750 and get your GLC 300 in metallic red. You’ll appreciate it every time you walk out of the grocery store, and with luck and care, your great-grandchildren might still be driving it in 40 years.
P.S.: Option the $600 DISTRONIC adaptive cruise control for more relaxing highway help, the $300 advanced USB package for rear-seat charging ports, and any console trim other than my tester’s smudgetastic piano-black plastic!
P.S.S.: There were a few minor niggles with my GLC 300 tester. The engine start-stop system was overeager, turning off the engine at 5 mph when slowing for a stop, so I frequently disabled it. And the wireless phone charger was buried behind the cup holders, where my coffee cup blocked access. I did appreciate the SUV’s tight turning radius and supremely comfortable seats; the driver’s seat is better than every chair in my house!
Mike's Steering Column 