• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Q&A: Mazda North America’s CEO Jeff Guyton
  • Tesla Owners Stung by Capitalism
  • Mercedes Updates GLE Models for 2024 Model Year
  • First Look: Mazda’s Bigger, More Luxurious New CX-90
  • GM Net Income Rises for Q4 But Falls for Full Year 2022
  • GMC Launches Production of Hummer SUV; Needs Until 2024 to Fill Outstanding Orders
  • Vehicle Sales Up for January Despite Ongoing Challenges
  • Bidding Adieu to Bugatti’s W16 Engine
  • Ford “Significantly” Raising Production of Mustang Mach-E While Reducing Prices “Across the Board”
  • Week Ahead: Numbers, Numbers and More Numbers
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R 4x4 Super Crew
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Land Rover Defender 110 V-8
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport
    • A Week With: 2023 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe
    • A Week With: 2023 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV60 Performance
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Suburban Z71
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus UX 250h F Sport
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > reviews > First Drive: 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250

        First Drive: 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250

        A worthy entry into an increasingly crowded market.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Dec. 10, 2019
        The 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250 still features a boxier exterior style other makers are moving from.

        Gone are the days when automakers tried to make their car-based crossovers look like conventionally boxy SUVs. The industry trend has been to opt for ever more swoopy shapes that attempt to overcome the inherent design limitations of two-box vehicles.

        So, imagine our surprise upon getting a first good look at the new 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250. It’s unabashedly retro in the sense that it proudly opts for a classic, upright and boxy shape, in sharp contrast to the smaller Mercedes GLA and bigger GLC.

        That was just one of the surprises, though. Another was the fact that the German automaker managed to find yet another bit of white space between those two crossovers to fit in the new GLB. That said, we headed out to Arizona to take our first drive with a healthy dose of skepticism – but coming away with admiration for what Mercedes had accomplished.

        (Mercedes-Benz, Bosch partner on autonomous ride-hailing service)

        With a surprising affordable starting price of just $37,595, the 2020 Mercedes GLB should be a serious option for those on a relatively modest budget who nonetheless want a luxury utility vehicle that is both fun to drive and functional. There’s even an optional three-row package for those who need to squeeze in a passel of kids. And that boxy shape then proves to be a real advantage by not compromising the GLB’s cargo compartment – something that happens with many of the more stylish crossovers now on the market.

        The new GLB 250 offers plenty of interior room, including optional three-row seating.

        Visually, there’s no question that some folks might find the somewhat old-fashioned shape of the GLB a bit of a turnoff. But we were impressed that Mercedes was willing to go with a form-as-function approach. In fact, it’s quite surprising how much room – including headroom – it managed to squeeze into the package. At 111.4 inches, it helps that the crossover’s wheelbase is about five inches longer than that of the base GLA, and only about two inches less than the GLC. To put things into perspective, the cargo area can hold 10 cubic feet more than the bigger GLC.

        Inside, it’s all Mercedes, with a lavishly appointed cabin that doesn’t make one feel like they’ve compromised to meet that reasonable price tag. One of the cooler features is an ambient lighting system that can be adjusted to offer any number of different colors.

        Consider all the various standard features offered by the GLB. On the outside, that includes 18-inch wheels and LED headlamps, as well as a power liftgate. Inside, there’s keyless start, a dual climate control system, powered eight-way front seats, a 7-inch reconfigurable gauge cluster and matching touchscreen infotainment system. The latter is offered not only with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but the new Mercedes-Benz user interface, MBUX.

        This is one of our few quibbles. The system is handsome to look with and is definitely a step up from classic voice control interfaces. You can tell it to find an address in all manner of ways, much as you would talking to another human. But don’t expect MBUX to be the automotive equivalent of the Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. We couldn’t get it to tell us what town we were driving through or any manner of other question those other voice assistants could readily handle. We’re hoping future upgrades will take the system the next step.

        The GLB offers more cargo space than the even larger GLC.

        One other disappointment related to the infotainment system was the decision by Mercedes to abandon the rotary knob featured on the old COMAND technology. There’s a touchpad that can make do, but it’s simply not as effective when trying to do things like zooming in on the navi screen.

        (Mercedes-Benz pulling out of 2020 New York Auto Show)

        Under the hood, the GLB 250 is offered with a single powertrain package, a 2.0-liter turbo-four making 221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. While no rocket, it provides plenty of acceleration for the overall package, launching the compact crossover from 0-60 mph in 6.9 seconds, according to Mercedes. Top speed is 130 mph.

        The engine is paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that is, under most conditions, almost seamless in operation. We did notice that, in sport mode, it had a tendency to hold shifts a little longer than expected, however.

        The base car sends power to the front wheels, much like the Mercedes GLA. Under hard acceleration we found power could overwhelm the tires and introduce a bit of torque steer, to boot. All that vanished with the exceedingly well-mannered all-wheel-drive package, our strong recommendation for potential GLB buyers.

        The interior of the new GLB features the MBUX infotainment system.

        Meanwhile, though the 2020 Mercedes GLB might look like a classic SUV, it revealed surprisingly car-like on-road manners. Steering proved direct and precise, with just the right amount of road feel. The suspension soaked up most of the bumps we experienced on back roads leading up to hip Sedona. The $990 adaptive damping package is something we would strongly recommend.

        Other key options expand what is, to start, a long list of advanced driver assistance systems. On the whole, they are some of the best on the market and should provide particular comfort to parents using the GLB as a family hauler. Our one complain here is the lane-keeping system which uses break intervention if you start to drift across the line. It can be harsh and unexpected, rather than smooth and intuitive.

        The list of options is, as you might expect of Mercedes, quite extensive. That even includes an off-road package featuring, among other things, hill descent control.

        Overall, there are plenty of ways to tune this package to your particular needs, and that should pvoe enticing to potential buyers looking for a reasonably affordable luxury crossover.

        (Mercedes-Benz launches 3rd-gen GLC 350e plug-in hybrid)

        Sure, there are a few annoyances, but the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB is, for the money, a worthy new entrant into an increasingly crowded market segment.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        A Week With: 2023 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy

        Yesterday
        2023 Land Rover Defender 110 V-8 best front

        A Week With: 2023 Land Rover Defender 110 V-8

        Jan. 25, 2023
        2023 Honda TrailSport front 3-4 best

        First Drive: 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport

        Jan. 24, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        What Are You Looking For?

        See More
        Buying an SUV or Crossover? See our recommended reviews and guides.
        Buying an SUV or Crossover? See our recommended reviews and guides.
        Reviews and Resources For Car Buyers and Owners
        Reviews of SUVs and CUVs, Warranty and Insurance advice, all collected by the Editors of TheDetroitBureau.
        Collection
        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Recommends
        Where Can You Get the Best SUV Warranty?
        Recommends

        Where Can You Get the Best SUV Warranty?
        Recommends
        Is Full Coverage Auto Insurance Right for You?
        Recommends

        Is Full Coverage Auto Insurance Right for You?
        Recommends
        Is it Cheaper to Add a Second Car to Insurance?
        Recommends

        Is it Cheaper to Add a Second Car to Insurance?
        Close
        Reviews and Resources For Car Buyers and Owners
        Reviews of SUVs and CUVs, Warranty and Insurance advice, all collected by the Editors of TheDetroitBureau.
        Collection
        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Recommends
        Where Can You Get the Best SUV Warranty?
        Recommends

        Where Can You Get the Best SUV Warranty?
        Recommends
        Is Full Coverage Auto Insurance Right for You?
        Recommends

        Is Full Coverage Auto Insurance Right for You?
        Recommends
        Is it Cheaper to Add a Second Car to Insurance?
        Recommends

        Is it Cheaper to Add a Second Car to Insurance?
        Close
        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: