What's going on YouTube?
We live in a time where crossovers are key
So brands are introducing a ton of new name plates to make sure they have something for everyone
This all-new Mercedes GL B is one of those models
Filling the space between the swoopy GLA and GL c with something boxier and unique
Now of course this review is only possible thanks to our friends at James Motor Company
So make sure to visit their dealership or check out their website if you are looking for any new Mercedes
So with that all said, let's see if this is the Mercedes crossover to get
So starting things off here with the exterior styling any similarities
It shares under the skin to other Mercedes models is certainly not reflected in the way. It looks
Besides for the flagship G Wagon
This is the only Benz that could be characterized as boxing which is seen particularly in the very upright grille design
This is the standard front end
but there is also an AMG line package offered which
Substantially changes not just the grille, but also the lower bumper areas
However, as far as the headlights their design stays the same no matter which model you choose as
You can tell these are fully LED headlights and for $900 you can add adaptive abilities and auto dimming
Standard models also have fog lights. But the AMG line does without them
As far as the rest of the styling you can really tell just how squared off things are especially in the sight profile
now dimensionally
this is sized much closer to the GLC than the GLA since it's only
1.7 inches shorter though something about the styling does make it look smaller than it actually is and
Then around back it is pretty rugged to look at with black cladding a large rear window and
LED tail lights that set low down on the body
And then finally at the bottom you do have a chrome piece with two integrated exhaust outlets
So all in all the styling of this GLB will not be everybody's cup of tea
But that's exactly the point
It is designed to appeal to a different person than the GLA, which is something I think will be successful at doing
And moving on to the wheels there are quite a few options as you'd expect
You can probably tell that these are the base
18-inch alloys but there are also three 19's options and two 20-inch options available
Heading up to the mirrors they are always heated but power folding and auto-dimming are part of the premium package
Additionally blind spot monitoring is further available for five hundred and fifty dollars
Now in regards to the other safety systems
Mercedes does also throw an automatic forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection as standard equipment and
Then choosing the drivers assistance package will give you active Lane Keeping Assist
Evasive steering assist and active BSM as well as the advanced adaptive cruise control system called active distance Assist Distronic
But anyways guys that's all there is to look at here on the outside
So now let's go ahead and see how much space and luxury is inside the cabin before we take it out for a test drive
So on the new GLB you do have mercedes latest key fobs
however
You are going to have to pay extra if you want the smart entry system as far as remote start that is include a standard
For three years via the mercedes meaning application
Now of course stick it inside the actual vehicle
So if all you have to do is just grab the handle since there is a sensor
And your ears will electrically fold out as well
All right, so taking a look here inside this brand new GLB
You're gonna notice there is some family influence from that new a-class and CLA that were introduced earlier in the year
Now talking about your color and material options. You do have quite a few since this is a Mercedes after all
So what you're going to start out with is the in VTech synthetic leather, that's what we have here. That's it
and of course a standard
You've got the option of black or macchiato colour schemes and then we go for the AMG line
You can choose between never gray or black with dynamic inserts
You also have the option of real leather
That comes in some different color
So you have black and Bahia Brown and then the AMG line has two-tone black and red or titanium grey
And then finally in regards to your different trims
You have the spiral look trim or carbon structure trim standard and then optional wood two different varieties
Now turning over here to your dorm it is very nicely appointed especially since this is the base glv
We have leatherette that goes all through here as well as across the upper part with the double stitching detail. So it looks pretty nice
Here we have some of that standard wood trim or excuse me. Standard spiral look trim
And then as far as our seats here, this is the 12 wave power adjusting seat with three person memory seating
That is of course standard equipment
You also notice we have seat heating that's available for a little under six hundred dollars and you can also add seat ventilation as well
Where your windows are one touch automatic
We come over here to the seat itself, like I said, this is the mb-tex synthetic leather
Does have a nice look you also notice you have your lumbar support as well as a manual thigh extension?
Now beyond the door trim as far as the rest of the material quality you have a pretty good selection
Even though this is considered an entry level bins
So across your upper dash here. This is all going to be finished and a soft touch plastic
You've got some more of this nice-looking trim. You also have a piece of
I guess imitation aluminum, but it looks very very realistic
Altar here is piano black trim
And then your heart touch plastics, there are some down through here. But like I said, they're reserved for all the lower areas
So you don't really touch all that often?
And everything does fit together very well
Of course you do have standard push-button start
And when you start up here you're going to notice
Not one, but two displays now these two displays are part of your brand new MB UX system. Just like in the a-class
So what you have standard is two seven inch displays, but if you go for the premium package, which our model does have
Both of these displays get upgraded to ten point two five inches to make this very nice long looking seamless looking display
Now focusing on the gauges here exclusively
This is the latest version
So what you do is just control with this little touch sensitive pad and all three of these sectors. Here are fully customizable
So you can just swipe through and as you can see, you've got a ton of different things you can put into each section, basically
Even swipe over here and change different display modes, like for instance now we are in a full-screen mode kind of futuristic looking
So like I said in past Mercedes with this system, this is one of the very best
Reconfigurable gauge clusters in the business because there's just so many different options
Now you could also get a head-up display. But on this lower end model, we do not have it
Now coming back to your steering really do have electric power assisted steering and all models will come with a leather wrap steering wheel
As you can see you do have like I said, they touch sensitive buttons
Up here for this side and then these are for the other display
We also do have standard rain sensing wipers on every model
And the steering wheel itself is manually tilt and telescoping heating is available as a two hundred and fifty dollars standalone option
Now as far as the shifter just like every Mercedes model you've got the column-mounted shifter
So for drive you just push down
As you can see we do have paddle shifters. These are standard across the board
And then for reverse you just push up the opposite direction
Now in this specific model here we do have the regular back up camera with active trajectory
however, if you go for the driving assistance package
You'll have a 360-degree camera system as well as the ability to automatically park in both vertical and parallel parking spots
and for park just press the P and
There is an electronic parking brake right over here
Now kind of related to that shifter is the amount of storage you have here in this vehicle because
It's out of the way. So it frees up all this area in the center console
So we'll start out just right underneath here as you can see. This is quite large
It goes down a really decent amount of space there and it is felt lined
There is one USB port inside of it as well
Up in front of that. You kind of have some blank space if you have your cup holders right here
And then you have a really large bin up here in the front. This is also very deep. It has nice
rubberized material right there
So things won't slide around and then you've got a 12-volt outlet as well as your second USB type-c port
Wireless charging is also available as a standalone option
All right, so heading back here this is your MB UX controller one of these several ways you can control the system
What I'll focus on is not that but our audio controls right over here now
On standard on the base model, which is what we have here is a pretty much an unspecified
Sound system. They don't really go into the details about it. But you also have the ability to get a
590 what twelve speaker BER mister sound system if you want to have a more powerful system
But let's go ahead and sample this standard version
So overall, I have to say sound quality of this system is very good certainly doesn't sound basic or anything like that
All right, so now we'll go ahead and roll on up here to our dual zone automatic climate control system
This of course is very simple. It looks pretty much identical to what we saw on the a-class
So you just adjust your temperature with this toggle right there and it does appear if they're on the display
Most of the controls are located physically here
However, there are a few that you'll have to press the menu button for and that's where it will all come up here digitally
So you can make adjustments up here if you prefer to do that for whatever reason
Now this model here does not have the advanced ambient lighting with 64 colors, but if you did have that
Of course, you'd having ambient lighting all around the cabin, but the coolest trick would be that these vents would be lighted as well
So when you adjusted the temperature to be hotter, they would glow red and colder if they would glow blue
All right, so now that brings us up here to our ten point two five inch main MBU X display
So we'll go ahead and take a look through a few of the features
now we'll be
Super detailed about it in this video because we will have a dedicated tech help video
Available if you want to learn more about the system and a link to that is going to be in the video description
But basically this is just the all-new system
You have brand new graphics everything about this system is brand new
Like I mentioned a big thing about it is it's a touch display
You can control on the steering wheel the touchpad or via some really really good AI voice commands
what I mean by AI is you can just talk to it with phrases like your hey Mercedes that's the launch phrase and
Then it will respond to different types of queries that you ask it in natural language
Of course, you do have standard apple carplay and android auto both onboard
On this particular model, we're missing navigation. That's part of a additional package the multimedia package
But when you select the optional navigation system, you will get the augmented reality
navigation
Which as we've shown you and a few other Mercedes models
basically
it just shows you a live camera feed of what you're looking at out in the street and then overlays the
Instructions right on to it different arrows and street numbers and things like that very very neat. Very handy system
Now coming on up here
We do have the optional auto dimming mirror you could do also have optional garage door openers, which we do not have
And then looking up here you'll actually notice we are missing a moonroof
There is no standard sized moonroof offered so you go straight to a panoramic option available for $1,500
But anyways guys that is going to conclude all of the front areas here in this all-new GLB
So now go ahead and hand it off to Mason who will check out the back seats
So checking out the new GL B's rear door trim surprisingly you are going to have materials that do follow through from the front
So all this area is leather padded and even the upper portion is also a soft touch leather route with stitching going through
Down below that you have your door handle as well as a large amount of drawer storage. I
Do want to point out before I get in that the seats can slide back and forth
Now here in the center area even though this is a cheaper mercedes-benz product they don't really skimp on the features
So all GL B's will come with a rear vents as standard equipment
Down below that you have this little storage compartment and further below that you will find these pop-out outlets
So you have a 115 volt household stock outlet back here as well as two USB type C's
And here in the center area
You have any their traditional armrest with pop-out cupholders in the end
And up top, of course you do have an assist crypt as well as a cookbook
Now as far as the rear legroom is concerned in this new GLB
This is one of the areas that I'm actually very impressed with it actually comes in larger than the Mercedes
GLC at 38 inches of rear legroom and 39 inches of rear headroom
Which is quite a bit larger than its main rivals like the Audi q3
It's actually about 2 inches larger than that
And as you can see behind Dru sitting position I have about I would say
10 inches of rear legroom and my feet definitely don't have any issues sliding up under the seat. So I'm definitely very comfortable back here
Now one of the things that I that is very unique about this car is that you can actually get a third row option
As you can tell this particular model does not have that third row option
However, if you do get that, I would expect the third row to have a pretty small amount of space. It's rated at 29 inches
And also it's worth noting that if you get that third row, the second row is reduced by two inches as well
Now heading around to the tailgate a power one is standard across all GL B's
And it's also hands-free if you opt for the premium package
So all you have to do is wait for it under the bumper to open it up
And once inside the gops trunk you are going to find a surprisingly good amount of space
you're going to find 24 cubic feet of space behind the second row seats and that expands to
57 cubic feet if you fold the segment row now how that compares to other mercedes-benz models
That's right in line with the GLC and quite a bit above its main rivals once again
however, if you opt for the third row option
It is worth noting that you're gonna have five cubic feet of space
If behind that third row, if you go for that option and down below we do have a good carpeted floor board
As you can see it pops up and you do have quite a bit of storage up under here
I don't know how much of this will be usable because it doesn't look like there's a floor
But it does have quite a bit of smoke
And off to the side you do have a little cup cubby over here as well as a cargo cover
and some lighting
Now looking at the passenger seat you do have your lumbar support right here and you do also have your standard
12 Y power adjusting seats right here as you can see
Memory seats are also thrown in standard across the board as well
And in front of the passenger you have this nice little area right here
Down below that a really quite large a glove box. I'm very impressed
It goes back quite deep ways and it is also felt lined as well as illuminated
And up top we do have a Sun Visor with LED illumination a mirror
And it does also detach. However, it does not have an extension
But anyway guys that sums up all of the rear stuff about the new glv
So now let's go ahead and take it out in the road and see how it performs there
Now before we really get started here I just want to go ahead and apologize we're having some technical
Difficulties today, so we're down to only one GoPro. And as you guys know from earlier in the video, we don't have a moonroof
So that's why you could just kind of looking at the angle directly on us. We normally don't
Like to do that really we want to keep it facing out the windshield, but that's not an option today who our faces
Yeah, you get to get to look at our face today
unfortunately
Alright so that was our basically first acceleration here and the 2020 glb
Idea why I keep getting focused I never get any phone calls. I just keep getting repeated over and over phone calls from different numbers
anyway
As I'm trying to say, this is just everything's going bad today
Acceleration is definitely pretty good. It really has a more scoot than I thought it was going to
This engine is shared with the CLA, it's actually a different version than our
American version of the a-class so it is more powerful than that now as far as the actual numbers themselves
looking at
221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque from a 2 liter turbocharged four-cylinder and
It is worth noting that the GLB 35 AMG will be coming that's said to have 302 horsepower, but that's not out
right now yeah, there will be a
2021 and that would be at the end of next year. So you have a full year if that's tomorrow
wait out wait for
And just kind of
Cruising down the road. We're going around 45 miles an hour
This is where I kind of imagine most gops will end up being kind of in the city. Just kind of a little city car
And you know, it does handle it very well. You know, I'm going to say that the ride quality
It does feel pretty distinctly different than most mercedes-benz is still smooth and still quiet
I just does have a little bit more of a rugged feel as you would expect from the outside styling
But it still is very comfortable in here
So that was our auto start/stop system just now engaging and in typical Mercedes fashion
It's it's excellent. If refire is really fast really smooth. I
Say I think Mercedes generally is best at the business
Now as far as the transmission
unlike a lot of the
things in this vehicle that are shared with a class and CLA and the other compact models this actually
Uses an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission versus the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and the SIP dance
One thing I haven't discussed yet is the steering setup
When you're going low speeds is extremely light like in the parking lot you could turn the wheel with just one finger
Once you get up to speed though, it does tighten down and as you can see it's very fast responding
So it does feel nice while you're up to speed
And like I said, it is very maneuverable in parking lots as well. Overall it, you know, it's certainly light
Matches with the theme of this, you know, like Mason says this is kind of going around the city
Crossover, you know even though it's boxy and square
It's not really an off-road type of vehicle. It's more of just something that's going to look rugged
So you have real light steering a super tight turning circle you can turn around in just about any amount of space
So that's certainly very nice for having a compact crossover in the city
You know and with that another thing that might be really important to you for that type of
Vehicle is fuel economy. And this car does very well with that
So for the two gia the GLB 250 front-wheel drive, you're going to be looking at 23 City 30 highway 26 combined
And then for the oh-oh wheel drive model that's actually gonna have a little bit of an increase in fuel economy
So it's gonna be 23 City 31 highway
26 combined
So, you know, there's no penalty for the all-wheel drive and that's also a pretty good fuel economy to start with
this time
So overall a lot of you guys might be wondering you know, why why is the GLB exist
You know, I was wondering the same thing myself
But after driving it, I think I understand
Basically
Where the GLA is?
Kind of the very urban looking vehicle, you know
It's going to be very sleek and appeal to people that like that type of design
this pairs
The driving dynamics the compact footprint the really good urban
You know package, but with kind of a more rugged more masculine a little bit of cooler looking
styling
You know
So that's basically why it exists is just because we live in this landscape
Now where crossovers are king and in the same way that mercedes has spent past all these past years
You know getting filling out every little niche of you know sedans
We're kind of seeing the same thing happen here. We're now gonna have a crossover for every type of taste and this is
their crossover here for
You know ultimate urban performance while still having a rugged design
All righty, so you might be curious as to how this new GLB is positioned in a Mercedes lineup price-wise
And I'm going to tell you it's between the GLA and the GLC as you would
Guess from the name
So for the gob 250 front-wheel drive that's going to start at thirty six thousand six hundred dollars
And then you have this one here, which is the GLB
250 4matic for a thirty-eight thousand six hundred dollars
now at the beginning of the production run it does seem like
Mercedes is shipping out the more basic GL B's so that's what we have here
We only have a few options
so we have the Blind Spot Assist for
550 bucks as well as heated front seats for 580 and the Premium Package for
$1,650
and then all told once you add the
995 destination charge this particular model as equipped comes in at forty two thousand three hundred and seventy-five dollars
Which is definitely not a bad price point you are getting a Mercedes SUV
With you know, it is on the more basic end
We don't have a moonroof, but you are getting you know, the shell and a really premium
environment and it is worth noting that if you want to go for a higher-end model the GLB does top out around
Sixty thousand and that can give you all of the goodies if you want to go that
Well, Desmond enjoyed watching the first in-depth look at the all-new
2020 mercedes-benz gob
We really appreciate you watching and be sure to hit those like and subscribe buttons if you haven't already and we'll catch you next time
Is a sample more of the latest automotive delicacies?