In less than a month, we've heard of the Porsche Cayenne Diesel and of the Audi Q5 TDI. And now, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 Bluetec.
In this case, Mercedes-Benz will be obliging Canadian GLK-Class buyers with a twin-turbocharged 2.1L 4-cylinder diesel mill. Fist pump!
This move is wholly logical as Audi is bent on introducing a TDI version of their popular Q5 sooner rather than later. We can therefore expect a similar move on behalf of BMW but we'll have to wait and see.
The GLK 250 Bluetec will be delivered with an identical 7G-Tronic Plus 7-speed automatic transmission as does the V6 350 GLK-Class. 4MATIC permanent AWD will also make its way under the vehicle's under-carriage.
Essentially, both 2013 Mercedes GLK-Class luxury CUVs are identical, save for the powerplant. That's a whole lot of win.
The 2.1L puts out 190 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, 1 pound over Audi's 3.0L TDI. In fact, the 2.1L trumps most other turbo 4-pot diesel engines in both respects.
Acceleration times are impressive. The 1,925 kg (4,235 lb) CUV reaches 100 km/h in only 8 seconds all the while consuming an expected average of under 7L per 100 km.
As a side-note, the 2013 GLK 350 will run the direct-injected 3.5L V6, good for 302 hp, up from 268 from the non DI 3.5L V6. This is the same lump as the SLK and E-Classes and others.
Production of the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 Bluetec begins in October of this year.
