Merc GLB 200 (petrol 1.3 litre turbo) - Opinions

Merc GLB 200 (petrol 1.3 litre turbo) - Opinions

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wax lyrical

Original Poster:

931 posts

248 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
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Has anyone owned or driven one? Is the engine gutsy enough to push it along O.k.?

Thinking of buying a used GLB (2021) and want to avoid diesel.

Zippee

13,582 posts

241 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
quotequote all
I had the GLB 200D for a couple of months last year as a courtesy car, nice ish, comfy and lots of space.
It's a fairly heavy car though and the diesel struggled to get more than 40mpg and lacked a bit of guts on the road, especially on the hills in Yorkshire. I have a feeling the petrol will be even weedier but try it as it may surprise you.

joropug

2,700 posts

196 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
quotequote all
We have the A Class with the same engine, presumably the same gearbox.

1.3T 163bhp A200 - It's a Renault/Mitusbishi/Mercedes engine that seems to be pretty reliable. It feels very pokey in the A Class, but doesn't feel overly torquey - I think it might struggle a bit in the larger body. Revving it out the power is quite consistent but it is noisy.

One thing I would say is make sure you like the gearbox - We went from a Q3 with a 7 speed DSG to this, and I don't rate the gearbox very highly.

The gearbox is very smooth once it's moving but pulling away from a standstill it is quite harsh - The engagement is very harsh and the throttle very sensitive, we have found the smoothest way to pull away is to let go of the brake slightly earlier than usual (you can lift slightly and it starts to raise the RPM), then keep your foot slightly pressed on the accelerator until its moving.

Essentially the clutch(es) don't seem to slip much, it seems to be fully engaged at just a couple of MPH. There is also a slight delay from pressing the throttle to it pulling away that is widely documented. It can catch you out by pulling away too harshly, if you press the accelerator further because it doesn't feel like it's pressed enough.

From what I read (after), the A250 upwards has a Mercedes unit instead of Getrag. Not sure how it is applied in the B body.

Should also add we had the gearbox serviced as part of the warranty (as we complained about it) and it did improve a bit, so they might be sensitive to oil. Schedule is 3 years.

Once you're used to its fine though, it's my Wife's car and she doesn't do many miles.

ChocolateFrog

28,659 posts

180 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
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Same engine that's in my Duster (well slightly higher state of tune).

The Duster is circa 1300kg and it's more than fine for day to day driving.

I imagine the 160hp version in the A class is quite 'nippy'. Not sure how much heavier the bigger car is.

wax lyrical

Original Poster:

931 posts

248 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
quotequote all
Thanks Guys - appreciate all the feedback so far. The GLB is about 1600kg.

MickyveloceClassic

425 posts

66 months

Thursday 11th May 2023
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Zippee said:
I had the GLB 200D for a couple of months last year as a courtesy car, nice ish, comfy and lots of space.
It's a fairly heavy car though and the diesel struggled to get more than 40mpg and lacked a bit of guts on the road, especially on the hills in Yorkshire. I have a feeling the petrol will be even weedier but try it as it may surprise you.
We have a North Yorkshire based GLB220d which seems better than that on fuel, regularly see 47/8 mpg on shorter runs with 55ish on a longer run to Leicester the other week.

The car is bluff-fronted and (like all suvs) weighty so I’d expect a turbo petrol to be less than ideal.

The car is a quality product though.

Zippee

13,582 posts

241 months

Thursday 11th May 2023
quotequote all
MickyveloceClassic said:
We have a North Yorkshire based GLB220d which seems better than that on fuel, regularly see 47/8 mpg on shorter runs with 55ish on a longer run to Leicester the other week.

The car is bluff-fronted and (like all suvs) weighty so I’d expect a turbo petrol to be less than ideal.

The car is a quality product though.
The 220 is another 35 odd bhp so it's a little more torque on the hills. The 200 needed a little more oomph. smile

wax lyrical

Original Poster:

931 posts

248 months

Wednesday 31st May 2023
quotequote all
Hi, what's your opinion of the 220d engine in the GLB? Is it noisy? Smoothness? Does it sound like a clackety diesel?

I've always had petrol engines but there isn't a decent petrol option for the GLB, so I may have to plump for the 220d. I drove the 1.3 petrol and it struggles on motorways - better for nipping around town.

MickyveloceClassic said:
Zippee said:
I had the GLB 200D for a couple of months last year as a courtesy car, nice ish, comfy and lots of space.
It's a fairly heavy car though and the diesel struggled to get more than 40mpg and lacked a bit of guts on the road, especially on the hills in Yorkshire. I have a feeling the petrol will be even weedier but try it as it may surprise you.
We have a North Yorkshire based GLB220d which seems better than that on fuel, regularly see 47/8 mpg on shorter runs with 55ish on a longer run to Leicester the other week.

The car is bluff-fronted and (like all suvs) weighty so I’d expect a turbo petrol to be less than ideal.

The car is a quality product though.

MickyveloceClassic

425 posts

66 months

Wednesday 31st May 2023
quotequote all
All good really (the 220d engine).

It’s tried and tested in other Mercedes and seems reliable and well-regarded.

It’s nippy. The (meaningless) 0-60 is around 7.5 seconds, so way quicker than the Discovery Sport, and without the inherent weakness of the ingenium engine), and the 8-speed ‘box is unobtrusive.

Ours has a Premium Plus package which includes lane- assist and semi-autonomous driving. The first thing I do when I use the car is to turn this off, as it’s just a pain.

Other than that, it’s all positive though. When we bought ours in 2020, we considered it our last family car with a diesel engine, but that seems a dim and distant assumption now.

Edited to add that it’s a smooth and silent engine. No clatter at all.

wax lyrical

Original Poster:

931 posts

248 months

Wednesday 31st May 2023
quotequote all
Thanks for the feedback - really useful. smile

MickyveloceClassic said:
All good really (the 220d engine).

It’s tried and tested in other Mercedes and seems reliable and well-regarded.

It’s nippy. The (meaningless) 0-60 is around 7.5 seconds, so way quicker than the Discovery Sport, and without the inherent weakness of the ingenium engine), and the 8-speed ‘box is unobtrusive.

Ours has a Premium Plus package which includes lane- assist and semi-autonomous driving. The first thing I do when I use the car is to turn this off, as it’s just a pain.

Other than that, it’s all positive though. When we bought ours in 2020, we considered it our last family car with a diesel engine, but that seems a dim and distant assumption now.

Edited to add that it’s a smooth and silent engine. No clatter at all.