India won’t get the entry level Mercedes Benz crossover anytime soon.
Mercedes Benz has revealed the facelift model of the GLK-class ahead of its official debut at the upcoming 2012 New York Motor Show. As you can see in the official photos, the 2013 GLK-class is a combination of the straight lines and boxy stance of a crossover/SUV and the current design language that all new Mercedes Benz cars incorporate. Therefore what the new GLK gets is a generous dose of LED day-time running lights, redesigned headlights and taillights, optical light guides etc. with updated interiors and features.
The new GLK features a variety of petrol and diesel engine options – with the most exciting of the lot being the 3.5-litre V6 petrol that puts out over 300PS of power. All the engines are available with the 7G-TRONIC Plus seven-speed automatic transmission and the acclaimed 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system. Being a typical Mercedes Benz, the GLK comes with tons of assists and safety features like brake assist, direct-steer system, agility control etc. amongst other common safety tech.
The GLK-class competes with the likes of the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5 – which are vehicles that have tasted a decent amount of success in the Indian market. However, Mercedes Benz has missed out on this segment in India – and there is a good reason for that. The GLK-class that is being currently sold in the global market is available in a left-hand-drive configuration only. In fact, we are told that a right-hand-drive configuration wasn’t planned on this platform either.
Therefore, we don’t see the facelift version of the GLK-class coming to India. However, our sources close to Mercedes Benz tell us that the next GLK-class will be built for the right-hand-drive markets as well – which means that India needs to wait for at least three to four years more before the entry-level crossover from Mercedes Benz comes to town. Till then, the onus is on the upcoming 2012 ML-class to tackle the competition coming from the X3, the Q5 and the XC60.
Source: India.com
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