Used 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class Diesel Consumer Reviews
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2013 GLK250 vs X3 diesel decision maker
Mike, 07/04/2017
updated 01/21/2020
2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class GLK250 BlueTEC 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.1L 4cyl Turbodiesel 7A)
51 of 53 people found this review helpful
Although I relay on feedbacks and reviews, it took a while to decide to write one. However, I wanted to write this review for people interested in diesel cars as I was, and there weren’t too many comments in regards to diesel engines. I was in search of a diesel car that will have a high MPG and be a little bit bigger than a sedan. I didn’t care about brands in the beginning knowing that I will sort it out at the end based on price/mpg/quality, etc. After narrowing down I ended up with 2 models: BMW X3 diesel and MB GLK250 diesel. I lived in Oregon at that time and the price in NW was higher than other areas. As I had time to search and not be in rush, I found a 2013 GLK250 in California @ $28K with 21000 miles on it. PURCHASE it for my wife. 2 months later I found an X3 diesel in Texas @ 36K brand new, but with rear window busted by the hails. The dealer replaced the window for free, but I paid for fixing the wiring as the rain water affected the rear side. 1 year later, both cars have about 10k miles put on them, and I can say that MB is the best as performance. Acceleration: BMW is on 8 speed transmission and the car is slow until you reach about 30MPH. The ratio on speed changes is small and that will keep you slow. It is irritant to see all kind of other brands vehicles to be faster than your BMW car, from stop to 30-35 MPH. GLK250 instead is on 7 speed transmission but the ratio is distributed different and you have the starting speed what you’ll need. Comfort: BMW is better as the seats are a bit better built and placed. The infotainment system has more options (like a computer) while MB is pretty simple (for old guys like me). MPG: I drove the BMW from Oregon to NY with constant speeds above 80 / 85 MPH and the MPG was about 30MPG. The driving comfort was ok as I drove about 12 hours / day. It bothered when I had to go to speeds lower than 30MPH as the transmission changed gears and it seems to not catch up speed at least as fast as other cars. In the “city”: I did UBER/LYFT for about 6 months and I achieved about 28 MPG in a stop and go traffic about 8-12 hours/day (on the days I worked). During the winter (snow and ice) it performed excellent. No slips, plenty of torque on snowy hills. Now on the NY routes I am getting about 35MPG even more if there were no hills. The best was 45MPG on a 75 miles trip at 45-55MPH. The GLK250: most highway trips were between Portland and Seattle and the MPG was about 33MPG @ an average of 75MPH. In the city (stop and go) I am constantly getting about 30 MPG. But leaving from stop lights is a pleasure. NOISE: Definitely both cars are quitter than their predecessors and while running you won’t make the difference between the gas and diesel engines. However, GLK is at least 50% quitter than X3. Now if I would have to start shopping again, I will definitely not buy an X3 anymore, but 2 GLK’s. Unfortunately, MB is not making diesel mid-size SUV’s / cross-overs or at least this is what I know at this point. Breaks: I drove Toyota and Honda for many years, but BMW’s breaks are worst. You have to push hard on them is not like the other cars where you gentle push the breaks and stops without efforts. If you’ll check the forums you’ll see that breaks and rotors are a common problem for BMW’s. If you open up the CARFAX reports on autotrader, you’ll see that almost every 30k the pads/rotors were replaced. GLK has pretty much the same habit, but maybe at 45K… Hopefully this will help you take the right decision. Feel free to ask questions if you have [contact info removed]. Updates as 1.5.18... on June of 2017 the GLK had a huge white smoke coming from the pipe. I took the car to the dealer and ended up in replacing the entire exhaust system. 1.5 months later the Oxygen sensor had to be replaced. In January of 2018 the check engine light came on and when I took it in I was told that the manifold needs to be replaced. However, all of those repairs were covered by the warranty which sadden expires on June of this year. I am not going to keep this car as the expenses are out of control... current miles on the car? 31000! Mercedes is just a name tag, not quality anymore. ************************************ Update as of January 2020 It seems that the car was fixed in regards to the white smoke, however, the new issue is that every time when i did the oil change about 2 days after a warning is popping up on the board saying ... you have left 8 starts - please see dealer for the addblue fluid issues (even though the tank was refiled). Besides that the car was performing as it should and currently I have 45k miles on it.
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2500 miles in, so far so good
glayfan40, 10/09/2013
2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class GLK250 BlueTEC 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.1L 4cyl Turbodiesel 7A)
37 of 39 people found this review helpful
Have been driving the GLK250 since the end of June '13 and have had no major complaints so far. Zero problems (mechanical or electrical) encountered and it's simply a solid vehicle overall. Have been averaging 30-31 MPG after 5 fill-ups in 80/20 Hwy/City driving. That's from my own mileage calculations but frankly the on-board trip computer is not too far off (within 0.5-1MPG accuracy). I'm not exactly a lead-foot but I don't drive like a granny either (I'm 28 years old). This thing just eats road imperfection for lunch - I live in the NE region so there is plenty of that around. Can't wait to test out the 4Matic performance in the snow in another month or so.
2013 Mercedes 250GLK
jimtsang48, 06/24/2014
2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class GLK250 BlueTEC 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.1L 4cyl Turbodiesel 7A)
20 of 22 people found this review helpful
I love driving this little SUV. It has the Premium 1 package but no Navigation. I have been enjoying the diesel experience so far. After 16,000 miles, my MPG average is 31.1, pretty impressive compared to the published 28 MPG. I do not purposely drive slow to get that MPG number. I average 60/40% HWY/CiTY. My advice is to find the cheapest Diesel pump as it usually sells most diesel and keep the fuel fresh.
After 4000 miles, this SUV is perfect.
marylander3, 03/28/2014
2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class GLK250 BlueTEC 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.1L 4cyl Turbodiesel 7A)
17 of 19 people found this review helpful
I'm getting 33 mpg in mixed driving (more than the EPA estimate, which is common for diesels). The quality is exceptional. My Mercedes dealer is making sure this, my first Benz, will not be my last. No complaints. One quibble: turn the radio off and the backup camera goes off, which is crazy. Ignore that eccentricity, and this is a perfect SUV.
Tons of torque and great fuel economy
thebayesian, 06/17/2013
2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class GLK250 BlueTEC 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.1L 4cyl Turbodiesel 7A)
71 of 87 people found this review helpful
I traded in an MDX looking for something a bit smaller. I had looked at the 2012 GLK but was really put off by the cheap interior. I was happy to see that Mercedes really improved on the interior quality for the 2013 GLK. I was a bit skeptical at first about the engine seeing as though it's a 4-cylinder, but it has an amazing amount of torque and when you hit the gas you'll feel it. It has plenty of passing power at highway speeds as well. The 7 speed transmission is very smooth.
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