Test drive Mercedes Benz GLK class X204 since 2008 SUV

All photos of the Mercedes Benz GLK class X204 since 2008

Mercedes GLK VS Volvo XC60

Boxing is effective. Aikido is beautiful, but Bezontovo. This is what our comparative test drive Mercedes GLK and Volvo XC60 ... Mercedes-Benz always released premium, and few people need to explain this. Unless to the Germans, because they have Mercedes-Benz, this is a rubble diesel taxi of the color of the washed diaper.

In more developed countries, such as Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Russia, Mercedes-Benz replaces the Caesar's rod, as well as his throne and laurel wreath. Only individual auto -journalists have doubts about the quality of these products: whether the plastic is in the cabin, whether the review is good, is the trunk volume, is the front panel convenient and whether, without tearing a jacket, to squeeze into the second row ... Since journalists never were the main customers of the brand, Mercedes-Benz never reacted to us. It is impossible, being in their right mind, to teach the Germans to do premium.

Elite
The higher the lanterns, the more difficult it is to break them. This is well known about Volvo

However, you can. The arrogant Swedes made their Volvo with the correction of errors that irritated the insignificant part of the Mercedes-Benz audience. The move is suicidal, given that the Chinese in the person of Geely now own the company, and the premium performed by the Chinese is like Mongolian nanotechnologies and Chukchi top models. Nevertheless, the Swede-Chinese never confused it. But it became extremely interesting for us to compare Mercedes-Benz GLK and Volvo XC60 and understand whether one of them can successfully replace the other.

There, there must be caught in that turn of Volvo, and Mercedes itself passes

Grin on an unshaven face
No matter how funny it is, but in the person of Mercedes-Benz GLK you get a rather small trunk and a cramped passenger row, to squeeze out to which narrow rear doorways interfere. So it should be. After all, this is Mercedes-Benz, a classic, and the classic layout implies a longitudinally located engine. Which, in turn, leads to a long hood. It looks unusually stylish outside. It is because of it that there is little space left inside ... The upstarts from Volvo decided to fix it. In the XC60 crossover, the motor rests across the hood, saving living space and allowing designers to add air in the cabin, expand the opening of the rear doors and increase the luggage compartment. True, the transversely located unit excessively loads the front axle, unlike the Mercedes-Benz layout with its aged balance and controllability balance. However, who will notice this? Thin experts? These people closed their eyes to much more serious German shortcomings for a million years, will they really not forgive the safest brand in the world some small shift in the bowels of the chassis? Unfortunately no. Even the Gopnik submiscouped (and I checked it), transplanting from GLK to XC60, makes a dissatisfied grin on his unshaven face and, shaking the seeds from training, notes: there is a volvo one, and Mercedes himself passes.

The Volvo company became interested in the living space, forgetting that a person is such a creature that gets used to everything, and even more so to low ceilings and narrow corridors. And the Germans, meanwhile, improved the gearbox, and here is the result: with the same GLK engines, accelerating, tearing XC60 into small pieces. This, of course, is a cheap trick, but isn't it on such whales that the entire world autolux is worth?

Sports package. If there is stupidity in the world, then this is practice to import cars to Russia in versions with a reduced clearance

Megaprosvet. Volvo never suffered from insufficient geometric patency

The world is not perfect enough
Volvo will never replace Mercedes-Benz. It is obvious. But not at all because of the above technical reasons. I got to the truth after a weekly test drive. A person who saddled XC60 believes that the world can be changed. He sees a lot of opportunities around. The huge windshield of the car helps this, opening the view to the sky. If the driver of Volvo is engaged in struggle, then this is aikido. Therefore, he never drilles the flow of cars in the front, but politely waits for them to rise or ram each other. A person from Volvo will definitely listen to news on the radio, will be outraged by violations in the elections and, perhaps, will even go vote. He loves the world with all its shortcomings, realizing that there is no ideal, but you can move towards it.

Child fashion designer
One of the few interiors in which you can really feel the style without gloomy show-offs and attempts to look gorgeous

Specific design
This interior is not far to futurism: simple, rude, angular

The owner of GLK had never seen the sky and was unlikely to ever think of him. He looks at the narrow loophole of his low lobbye strictly towards the ground and drives into the damned street, pushing overellies of the radiator with a branded grille. In the trunk he has boxing gloves, and when they transfer something about politics on the radio, he turns it off. For him, the world ends outside the car. Because the world is not perfect enough.

Antresol. A lot of space eat puffy wheel arches and a high floor hiding the spare

Whose more? VOLVO trunk is significantly more spacious than Mercedes

The German, of course, conquers. And on the asphalt and on the off-road. It is helped not only by an effective permanent all -wheel drive, but also by extremely competent electronic imitators of inter -long locks. Therefore, it leaves the Swede with an automatically connected all -wheel drive far behind. Looking back at the off -road back, the GLK driver sees hysterically shining XC60 an upstart in the world of the premium, even despite a giant clearance of 230 mm, does not have time for a colleague.

Two eyes. One monitors speed, the other for engine speeds

STRUCKULE Three wells. Protect us from petty digitization and multi -colored illumination

Sandwiches and pies
So what to choose? Volvo is not the best rival for Mercedes-Benz, but it is so alive and made with such care that it brings up memories of the times when mom made a sandwich and put you in a portfolio so that you eat it at school. It was impossible to come up with anything tastier, and one sandwich was enough for half a day, because they made it with love. Mercedes-Benz is also not an insensitive apparatus, but it was as if dad bought you the fourth iPhone. You can live without an iPhone, but life is no good without mom's sandwiches.

- Hotel, yacht, bar, club ... and a little car. It is beautiful, comfortable and spacious here
- A victim of beauty. The legs for the legs of the rear passengers were exchanged for a beautiful long hood

Caution, technical details
The Volvo XC60 is equipped with an all -wheel drive system Instant Traction: Using a full -wheel drive controlled electronics controlled, the engine cravings between the front and rear axles and between the wheels and between the wheels. The system of dynamic stabilization and traction control reveals a car trend towards skidding, maintaining its stable position. The descent control system (HDC) regulates the speed when driving down a steep descent. Volvo Cars managed to improve the D5 engine, increasing performance and torque from 205 liters. p./420 nm up to 215 liters. p./440 nm, simultaneously reducing fuel consumption by eight percent.

GLK 220 CDI 4MATIC is equipped with an economical diesel engine with a capacity of 170 liters. With. AKP 7G-Tronic constantly provides an optimal speed level. Seven steps mean the brevity of the intervals between transmissions, which increases the smoothness of the car. The distribution of the torque between the axes in the proportion of 45:55 in combination with the intellectual operation of the ESP stabilization system, the anti -operating system (ASR) and the electronic control system of the 4TS traction force provides confident and stable behavior of the car.