Normally these aren’t exactly the kind of cars that catch my eye, but there was something about this pairing of a gen1 Honda CRV and a Mercedes GLK that…did. Oddly enough, what’s most interesting about them is just how similar they actually are, in relative terms. Just about all CUVs have become these big, round roly-poly things, yet the GLK was almost retro in its rectilinear and blocky design. And I quite rather liked it for that. Of course, that’s history now, as its replacement, the GLC, has abandoned that for the predictable roly-poly look.
The CRV was of course one of the pioneers of the segment, appearing in Japan in 1995 and in the US two years later. It and the Toyota Rav4 get credit for popularizing the craze for ‘cute utes”, as they were called back then. And the sheer number of these still plying the streets of Eugen is quite remarkable.
As are the basic stylistic similarities with the GLK, at least in relative terms.
Stephanie quite rather likes the GLK too. In fact, it’s the one (and only) CUV she’s rather smitten by. And she’s beginning to realize that the TSX wagon, her daily driver, is a bit low, long and wide in and around town. Now of there had been a Honda or Acura badge on the GLK, I rather suspect there might well be one in the driveway. We keep our cars for a long time, and I’m not quite willing to bet on a Mercedes for the long haul.
I knew someone here would appreciate the boxy GLK. They stand out in a Jeep-y, G-class kind of way and look great in the solid colors. A testament to the virtues of boxy styling.
The 3.5L must be really fast. Would be nice with the V6 CDI too. I tried to get Mom into one of these but she wouldn’t. She got the roly-poly GLC which is a very nice car. It’s the perfect size and must make selling the slightly larger GLE very difficult. If you gave me the GLE for the same price as a GLC I wouldn’t take it.
The new platform is very stiff and allows for a longer hood, compared to FWD based CUVs. The interior is really beautiful and the whole thing feels more polished than the X3. Luxury CUVs have become “the perfect vehicle” no wonder they are so popular. I think a used GLK 3.5 would be a killer DD.
This. As I struggled to determine what my answer might have been to yesterday’s QOTD about my “sole vehicle” the first gen CR-V somehow escaped my radar. I love the styling of the GLK, but of course there’s the sticker price and the complicated tech and the German upkeep costs that would scare me off of it. A *new* (or very low mileage, very well cared for “Unicorn”) first gen CR-V, lower spec LX model with front-wheel-drive and a 5-speed might just hit the mark perfectly. When these were new I was driving a very practical and nearly indestructible Sentra that I couldn’t justify replacing, and just as the second generation debuted I had a hankering to go upscale and turned to SAABs for a few years, but through today’s lens I’d love to have one of these CR-Vs. Too bad they’re pretty much all used up.
Here in central Ohio, it never ceases to amaze me how many really nice gen 2 CR-Vs there are. No visible rust and shiny paint. The newest ones are getting to be 11 years old.
Gen 1 CR-Vs seem to be getting rare, with condition more of a mixed bag. Still see some nice examples, though. Those would be 15 years old or more.
It’s telling about some of Mercedes’ choices in the ’90s/00s that you’ve said before that you wish you still had your W124 but you won’t bet on a (modern) Mercedes for the long haul. And you’re probably by no means the only one!
Thanks for the tip on the TSX wagon. I thought I might look for one, and even give up a clutch pedal over it, but if it’s too big for Stephanie, it’s too big for me.
I always thought the GLK looked a little bit like a 2008 Studebaker. That’s a compliment.
Given Honda’s continuing descent into a state of obscurity my bet is on Dr. Z for the long haul. Dr. Z’s 4-wheelers will be around here in truly massive numbers till the End of Days, and they will be used as keepers & long haulers. “Regional differences”, I suppose.
Please give more insight into Honda’s descent into obscurity? If anything, they quickly turned around a ship that was merely going off course (not sinking like so many others).
Have a look here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cc-global/cc-global-2016-european-union-car-registrations-and-market-shares-des-volkes-wagen-leading-the-pack/
Yes, but your only reference is EUROPEAN registrations. Renault is #2 in Europe. Woo-hoo for them. But worldwide, Honda outsold Renault by a million-and-a-half cars in 2015. So maybe they’re not as ‘insignificant’ as you’ve suggested? After all, I’ve haven’t seen a new Renault in the US for, ahem, quite some time.
I did mention “regional differences”, didn’t I ? And yes, Honda has become completely insignificant here, just like Renault in the US.
Yeah, I’m curious too. Honda sure is selling a lot of well-made cars lately….
My partner and I took on a ’14 GLK last year, somewhat against my better judgment, having owned (or been owned by) four Mercedes coupes through the years. But this one was coming off lease from one of his real estate business partners, had been perfectly maintained, always garaged, 20K miles, certified by the dealer and looking like it had just rolled off the showroom floor. It has the AMG wheels and running boards, and is the dark Lunar Blue color with beige interior, which is uncommon, but stunning. It still had factory warranty left, and we bought the extended warranty, so we’re good for four more years (said he, hopefully). But beyond that, I am telling him we need to move on, or we’ll be eaten alive by those maintenance costs as it ages further. But we were smitten at first sight, the blocky, squarish, stocky look is so appealing, as you note, much more attractive than the GLC replacement. It drives beautifully, solid yet nimble, a perfect daily driver. My only criticism is the maze of dashboard electronic gizmos, I am so retro myself that I can scarcely figure out how to turn on the radio or A/C. But, with any luck, it will serve us well, and is a great car for his real estate business here in image conscious Palm Springs.
Hey, Don – congrats. I’ve been curious about what you bought since you mentioned replacing the Mercury (Mountaineer??). The color combo sounds fantastic. I hope the GLK turns out well for you – it sounds as if you’ve done everything possible to make it work, at least for four years! I too prefer the crisper styling compared to the current model. I’m guessing the T-Bird is staying in the garage.
Actually the GLK was one of the vehicles I recommended my parents check out when they were looking for a new one a few years ago. That and the B-class, which you don’t get in the USA.
They didn’t have a Mercedes dealer close by their house, so they wound up with a Ford Escape purchased from my father in law.
Mercedes reliability (or lack thereof) wasn’t an issue. Dad is 79 so my primary advice was buy whatever the heck you want.
I owned a 2003 ML 350 and replaced it (in the nick-of-time) with a 2010 GLK 350. I say nick-of-time because after 100,000+ miles the bigger SUV was starting to get expensive! Both were the wife’s cars. Prior to the ML she drove a Jeep Cherokee. She likes ‘boxy’ because as she says, “I always know where the corners of the car are.”
Well, we replaced the 2010 GLK 350 with a nearly identical 2015 GLK 350 (right down to the same color paint and interior). She liked the first one so much and I knew what the new GLC would look like and correctly guessed it would loose some cargo volume with its sloping roof line. Besides, you cannot get one with the 3.5 liter V6 which is a good performer indeed. BTW, the GLK has been available with a Diesel engine for sometime.
Hopefully we will have the 2015 at least five more years and this ‘swoopy SUV’ fad will have played out. I owned older Mercedes-Benz for much longer periods of time (12 years in the case of my last W124) but I’ve learned with the new ones to start looking for a replacement about the time the warranty expires.
If you think a Benz is an expensive car to buy try maintaining them even when they are reliable as mine have always been
I despise the CUV segment in no small part due to the dinner roll styling so ubiquitous with them. The 90s was the golden era for SUV and young SUV design as far as I’m concerned. The GLK was definitely one of the few modern ones I wouldn’t refer to as Jabba the Hutt as a description.
The new Benz CUV is called the GLC? Really? Should be a “Great Little Car”, or maybe “Great Little Crossover” That nomenclature will always connect to the Mazda econobox of the same name, for me at least.
I’m sure their target demographics is probably too young to remember that?
We have a 2001 Subaru Forester that we cherish for any number of good reasons, the foremost being that it is almost exactly the right size, plus we love its stubby, unassuming looks. But I remember a few years ago in a parking lot, when we pulled in next to a GLK. My wife had not seen one before, and said, “What a gorgeous car! What IS that?” I had seen a few by then, and was tickled that she shared my appreciation of what I considered the sharpest M-B since the first-gen SLK. And I still do. Like the older Foresters it’s just the right size for what used to be the family “wagon”, especially if said family is basically two to four people and their stuff. It also shares a nice square profile, and plenty of glass for good sight-lines … and it is the kind of handsome that just gets better every time I see it. I was aghast at my first sighting of its boiled-dumpling replacement, and although I now think it looks okay from behind that’s hardly a compliment!
Does anyone else think the GLK looks like a shrunken 2001-2007 Toyota Highlander?
I always though the SLK looked like it was Mercedes’ take on a first generation Subaru Forester.
Oops–I meant GLK.
Was just going to say that. Take away the badges, tell me it was a Subaru and I’d believe you.
I thought four-door Geo Tracker/Suzuki Sidekick myself.
Count me as another who appreciates the GLK’s relative lack of curves. It’s around the same size as the vehicles we’ve been considering as the Forte Koup’s eventual replacement (Sportage/CR-V/CX-5) and I’m starting to think that a CPO example with the extended warranty might be a competitor in that race. My wife is in the car all day for work so whatever we get probably wouldn’t be kept much past the end of warranty anyhow…
I absolutely LOVE the looks of the GLK. Sadly, they never engineered it for RHD so it didn’t make it to Australia.
Mercedes design language of this era was on point! The W212 E-Class, pre-facelift, was a really sharp looker. The previous-gen C-Class was neat. The first-generation GL was an excellent looking SUV.
Then, Mercedes started to transition to a curvier design language. Don’t get me wrong, I love the new C, E and S, even if they all look much the same. But the in-between models, like the ML/GLE and the facelifted E? They were awkward, adding curves to an angular body. Fortunately they didn’t try to do that too much to the boxy little GLK.
The GLC is nice, though, if less original. But the GLC Coupe and GLE Coupe are HIDEOUS. I used to blast the first-generation BMW X6 but I think even it is better-looking. And as I was saying to Brendan the other day, the new X6 is actually quite a looker!
GLC – isn’t that 3-letter combo an old Mazda? 😉
The GLK’s looks are what drew my mom to it over every other compact luxury SUV she was looking at (X3, Q5, RDX, XC60) at the time. Having driven the new GLC 300, it’s a much better driving car (in terms of dynamics), but it sadly looks too much like other crossovers.
Paul – give Stephanie 2 more years in the Acura and by then the new Forrester will be out.
I really loved those first gen CR-Vs – they and their Odyssey stable mate would sure market well today….
I currently drive a 2003 ML350 with 130K miles. Despite all the negative reviews of this car, I think it is better than a lot of American and Japanese SUV in the same vintage. It is also reasonable reliable — no major problem so far, I would like to keep it running until it dies. Like some its better brothers and sister, it feels solid even it is 15 years. My wife loves this car claiming its brake is superior and save her from mishaps several, this is probably due to its EBA (emergency brake assistance) features. It is dated by today’s standard, so I have been notice the GLK because of its unique square looks, and its 3.5 liter engine — the improved version of the mine, I think it is has twin cams or maybe even direct fuel injection depending on the model year. Small car with large engine is a good formula for spirit driving.
It is truce the first generate CRV is very reliable (because it was made in Japan?) , you can see they are around very often in New Jersey, but the driving pleasure is not matching for GLK. According to Consumer Report, GLK reliability is not bad. It actually rates the new GLC reliability is above average, but the look of GLC is too generic in my view.