2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e: A GLC Hybrid With Huge EV Range

Mercedes continues to add electricity to its lineup in a big way

written by Nick Yekikian^{Senior News Editor
Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the Senior News Editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.}
3/20/2024
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The Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e is a new plug-in hybrid SUV.
It has a huge claimed EV-only range of more than 60 miles.
It also supports DC fast charging.

The GLC is a staple of the Mercedes-Benz lineup, doing battle with the Audi Q5 and the BMW X3, which is no small task. And now the GLC is the latest in the automaker’s lineup to take on electrification, but at a lower price of entry. Still, the big news isn’t that the 2025 GLC 350e’s plug-in hybrid powertrain boosts the GLC's horsepower and torque numbers, it's the electric-only range figure that really has our attention.

The GLC 350e will go up to 81 miles on just electric power. That number is the WLTP rating, which is always more generous than the EPA's rating will be, and we expect the EPA to give it an EV-only range closer to 65 miles. Even so, that is a ton of range for any PHEV, let alone one that comes in the GLC's more compact dimensions. Not only that, but the GLC 350e also supports DC fast charging at up to 60 kW whereas most PHEVs make do with just Level 2 charging. At that rate, Mercedes says a full charge can be had in just 30 minutes.

For reference, there is not one mainstream plug-in hybrid that has a claimed EV range of more than 60 miles at the moment. The plug-in that gets the closest is the Range Rover Sport PHEV with an EPA-estimated EV-only range of 53 miles. That puts this GLC in some seriously rarefied air and makes the proposition of owning a PHEV significantly more enticing because it allows buyers to charge less frequently or go much farther on electric power alone (which helps keep ever-costlier gas station visits to a minimum).

Beyond the downright impressive PHEV credentials, the GLC 350e is much the same as the standard GLC. It takes the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that powers the standard GLC and augments it with an electric motor that pulls from a big-for-a-PHEV 24.8-kWh battery. Power is sent to all four wheels. It also comes in three trims that consist of the base model, the Exclusive and the top-of-the-line Pinnacle. The 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, 11.3-inch portrait-style center touchscreen, 16-way adjustable heated front seats, 64-color ambient lighting, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and blind-spot warning (among other nice to-haves) are standard. The Exclusive model adds a Burmester audio system, surround-view camera, and anti-theft and anti-tow-away features. The Pinnacle trim throws in heat- and noise-insulated glass as well as a head-up display and Dolby Atmos.

Pricing for the GLC 350e hasn't been announced yet, but we expect it to start at around $55,000 when it goes on sale in the second half of 2024.

Edmunds says

We'll be sure to put the new GLC 350e's range to the test once we get one in our garage.

by Nick Yekikian

Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the Senior News Editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.