There's faint ticking noise in the distance and a barely audible whoosh. Must be coming from the car in the next lane, you think. It couldn't be much closer, and anyway, the engine is remarkably smooth鈥攖hink a big six with lots of torque. Except that you're on a two-lane road with no other traffic, and you haven't stopped for fuel in almost 500 miles. The GLK has been updated for 2013, but the big news is the oil-burning four-cylinder now on offer. It marks the return to the States of the Benz diesel four, and the engine will soon be available in the E-class sedan, replacing that car's turbodiesel V6. The approach is the cool part. Diesels require turbos to make decent power while remaining efficient. The GLK250's four has two turbos in series: a small one that spools quickly off idle, and a larger one that takes over at higher engine speeds and loads. This allows the little one to keep spinning, ready to attack, and reduces turbo lag. This layout isn't new (it's been seen on BMW and Mercedes diesels, albeit mostly in Europe) and has appeared here before on gas cars (Porsche 959, Toyota Supra) but never on a four-cylinder SUV. The GLK250 is slightly slower than the gas-powered, V6-equipped GLK350 (7.9 versus 6.4 seconds to 60 mph, according to Mercedes), but it uses a third less fuel. And it's easily as smooth and more torquey. This is the kind of gas-engine impostory that diesel engines needed so badly. Big, real-world fuel-economy gains and refinement to boot?
In this issue there are no fewer than three million-dollar gas-hybrid super sports cars. Think about that for a moment: Three exotics, each costing a cool mil and featuring carbon-fiber bodywork, high-tech electric motors, race-bred gas engines, dual-clutch transmissions, and carbon-ceramic brakes, will be available for purchase in the U.S. Not one. Not two. Three. So if you want the utmost in ultra-high performance that money can buy, you actually have choices. Yet, say you want a small SUV with a four-cylinder diesel engine鈥攁 proposition that, sorry, makes a lot more sense than a 200-mph hybrid for two. Your choice is not which one, but rather which color. Yep, the '13 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 BlueTec 4Matic is the only small SUV (actually the only SUV of any size) sold in the U.S. Which is unfortunate, because a compelling argument can be made for a compact crossover with a four-cylinder diesel. Two, diesels are loaded with low-end torque鈥攖he off-the-line, out-of-corner oomph that can make daily driving an enjoyable chore.
No wonder, then, that the GLK250's new 2.1-liter will also serve as the base engine in the updated (and comparatively ginormous) Sprinter van. At the test track, the diesel scooted from 0 to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds flat, which is 1.2 seconds slower than the gas GLK, but鈥攚ait for it鈥?.2 second quicker than the 2014 Lexus IS 250 F Sport. So, plenty brisk. And although it lags behind the GLK350, the gap, as I mentioned, is not noticeable in day-to-day motoring. After blowing by 60, the GLK250 continues to ride its big wave of diesel torque, surfing past the quarter mile in 15.3 ticks at 87.4 mph. Three, the GLK250 BlueTec 4Matic, unlike most diesels, costs less than a comparable gas variant. 5000 premium over the gas Pentastar. 500. Not a lot, but still. And lest I forget, the GLK250 comes in your choice of 12 colors. So, choose your hue wisely, and your car might end up being as exclusive as if you had bought one of those million-dollar hypercars.
No comments:
Post a Comment