Going & Stopping

A 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 is standard. The engine moves the GLK350 rapidly when you want, and the seven-speed automatic transmission consistently shifts smoothly no matter if you're driving leisurely or aggressively. The transmission includes Comfort and Sport modes in addition to a clutchless-manual setting if you prefer to control shifts yourself.

The GLK350 can easily keep pace with fast highway traffic, and the V-6 still has some grunt left in it for high-speed acceleration, though not enough to take you aback. Downshifts are easy to induce by prodding the gas pedal.

It took me a little longer than normal to get used to the crossover's brakes. While there's an adjustment period when moving to any new vehicle as you adapt to its characteristics, the significant amount of brake pedal travel that's required to initiate strong braking in the GLK350 is outside the norm and took me by surprise when first driving it. The brakes have good linearity, which is something that's lacking in some of Mercedes' other models, but they'd be nicer if they were more responsive higher in the pedal's travel.

    See also:

    ECO start/stop function: significantly reduced consumption in urban traffic
    When the car is at a standstill, the engine does not need to be running and therefore does not need to consume fuel. Recognition of this essentially simple fact is behind the ECO start/stop functi ...

    Convenience opening feature
    You can ventilate the vehicle before you start driving. To do this, the key is used to carry out the following functions simultaneously: • unlock the vehicle • open the side windows • open the ...

    Activating/deactivating cooling with air dehumidification
    Important information The cooling with air dehumidification function is only available when the engine is running. The air inside the vehicle is cooled and dehumidified according to the temperat ...