What is it?
Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid
What's special about it?
Mercedes-Benz has been talking about combining diesel and hybrid technology for years, and here at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, all that talk will give way to an actual vehicle: the Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid. This SUV is officially a concept, but with "Vision" in its name, what you're really looking at is the 2009 Mercedes-Benz GLK220 Bluetec Hybrid. It goes on sale this fall in Europe and will likely show up in the U.S. sometime in 2009.
What's most interesting about the GLK Bluetec Hybrid is that it's the sort of hybrid we thought manufacturers had pretty much given up on. It's a mild hybrid, which means the electric motor provides some propulsion assistance but never acts as the sole source of motivation.
It's likely that Mercedes has drafted this disc-shaped electric motor for duty in the GLK primarily to help with emissions, specifically those of the nitrogen oxide and particulate variety. It resides ahead of the automatic transmission and aft of a 2.2-liter turbodiesel inline-4 engine. The two power sources generate a combined 221 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. The electric motor itself contributes 118 lb-ft when you floor the accelerator off the line, while also functioning in the typical starter-generator role. The GLK is the first vehicle in volume production equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack.
Note that this is the same diesel we saw in the Vision GLK Freeside Concept shown earlier this year at the Detroit auto show. It's a sophisticated engine that uses twin-stage turbocharging, where a small turbo spools up quickly to provide meaningful boost at low rpm and then gives way to a larger turbo for high-rpm operation. Piezoelectric injectors spray fuel directly into the cylinders, achieving an injection pressure of 2,000 bar (about 29,000 psi).
This is a lot happening in a small SUV, even one with a luxury badge, but the results should be worth it. Mercedes claims the GLK Bluetec Hybrid will return 40 mpg (which would be tops among all SUVs currently sold in the U.S.) and spew the least CO2 of any SUV sold worldwide — 157 grams per kilometer.
The company's claim of 0-60-mph performance in the range of low 7 seconds is less earth-shattering considering how much torque is on offer, but with diesel hardware, a hybrid battery pack and an all-wheel-drive system onboard, the diesel hybrid GLK is undoubtedly carrying around a lot of weight. We're hardly surprised to see that this SUV has what Mercedes calls an "agility control suspension," which surely indicates the presence of adaptive dampers to keep body roll in check around corners.
Finally, the Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid is clean enough to meet the elusive U.S. Bin 5 tailpipe emission standard — provided it receives the prescribed AdBlue urea injections.
"With the refinement, driving pleasure, outstanding economy and effective environmental friendliness that is typical of our brand, the Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid ideally represents our ideas on future model generations in the world of SUVs," Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Mercedes-Benz board of directors, says.
If that's the case, don't expect SUV curb weights to come down anytime soon, given all the bulky high-tech stuff onboard this five-passenger, compact sport-utility.
What's Edmunds' take?
An SUV capable of returning 40 mpg in the hands of a normal, fallible human driver would be a serious milestone, no matter how much technology you have to pack into it. And since Mercedes plans to use this drivetrain in other models as well, perhaps the company can price the 2009 Mercedes-Benz GLK Bluetec Hybrid at a level that won't be too scary for U.S. buyers. — Erin Riches, Senior Editor
Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid
What's special about it?
Mercedes-Benz has been talking about combining diesel and hybrid technology for years, and here at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, all that talk will give way to an actual vehicle: the Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid. This SUV is officially a concept, but with "Vision" in its name, what you're really looking at is the 2009 Mercedes-Benz GLK220 Bluetec Hybrid. It goes on sale this fall in Europe and will likely show up in the U.S. sometime in 2009.
What's most interesting about the GLK Bluetec Hybrid is that it's the sort of hybrid we thought manufacturers had pretty much given up on. It's a mild hybrid, which means the electric motor provides some propulsion assistance but never acts as the sole source of motivation.
It's likely that Mercedes has drafted this disc-shaped electric motor for duty in the GLK primarily to help with emissions, specifically those of the nitrogen oxide and particulate variety. It resides ahead of the automatic transmission and aft of a 2.2-liter turbodiesel inline-4 engine. The two power sources generate a combined 221 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. The electric motor itself contributes 118 lb-ft when you floor the accelerator off the line, while also functioning in the typical starter-generator role. The GLK is the first vehicle in volume production equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack.
Note that this is the same diesel we saw in the Vision GLK Freeside Concept shown earlier this year at the Detroit auto show. It's a sophisticated engine that uses twin-stage turbocharging, where a small turbo spools up quickly to provide meaningful boost at low rpm and then gives way to a larger turbo for high-rpm operation. Piezoelectric injectors spray fuel directly into the cylinders, achieving an injection pressure of 2,000 bar (about 29,000 psi).
This is a lot happening in a small SUV, even one with a luxury badge, but the results should be worth it. Mercedes claims the GLK Bluetec Hybrid will return 40 mpg (which would be tops among all SUVs currently sold in the U.S.) and spew the least CO2 of any SUV sold worldwide — 157 grams per kilometer.
The company's claim of 0-60-mph performance in the range of low 7 seconds is less earth-shattering considering how much torque is on offer, but with diesel hardware, a hybrid battery pack and an all-wheel-drive system onboard, the diesel hybrid GLK is undoubtedly carrying around a lot of weight. We're hardly surprised to see that this SUV has what Mercedes calls an "agility control suspension," which surely indicates the presence of adaptive dampers to keep body roll in check around corners.
Finally, the Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid is clean enough to meet the elusive U.S. Bin 5 tailpipe emission standard — provided it receives the prescribed AdBlue urea injections.
"With the refinement, driving pleasure, outstanding economy and effective environmental friendliness that is typical of our brand, the Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid ideally represents our ideas on future model generations in the world of SUVs," Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Mercedes-Benz board of directors, says.
If that's the case, don't expect SUV curb weights to come down anytime soon, given all the bulky high-tech stuff onboard this five-passenger, compact sport-utility.
What's Edmunds' take?
An SUV capable of returning 40 mpg in the hands of a normal, fallible human driver would be a serious milestone, no matter how much technology you have to pack into it. And since Mercedes plans to use this drivetrain in other models as well, perhaps the company can price the 2009 Mercedes-Benz GLK Bluetec Hybrid at a level that won't be too scary for U.S. buyers. — Erin Riches, Senior Editor
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