“G” in Mercedes-speak is for geländewagen, which means “off-road vehicle” in German. At 41 years of age, the original G-Class is the second-oldest model in M-B’s lineup—a boxy, body-on-frame ex-military vehicle that now starts at about $130,000. The GL series, however, are crossover SUVs that are much more “accessibly” priced. The least of them, the GLA 250, starts at about $36,000 without 4Matic all-wheel drive. 

In all, there are seven GL models (in many trim levels) ranging in ascending size from the small GLA to the GLB, GLC, GLE and GLS.

Over the past 10 years or so, M-B has upgraded its smaller vehicles, the A, B and C classes, to where they now feel like “real” Mercedes-Benzes—as posh, or almost, as their bigger, more expensive relatives. Now we buy them because we want a small M-B, not because we can only afford a cheap M-B. They’re not all that cheap anymore, either, but they’re still much less than some of the big boys. 

Here, the “C” in GLC does double duty, for C-class and for Coupe. Technically, a coupe is a low-slung two-door car; our sample GLC not only has four doors, it also stands up tall. To you and me, it’s a two-row SUV. But M-B has sloped the roofline at the rear to give it a more rakish look, hence “coupe.”

BMW has done this too with some of its SUVs; those vehicles look awkward, but M-B has drawn this one right—the GLC 300 Coupe is quite attractive. 

The GLA, on the other hand, doesn’t have the sleeker silhouette—it’s shorter than the GLC, so dropping the roofline would cut too much into the headroom. Thus M-B calls it an SUV. It too is a good-looking design, especially in a dignified metallic silver-gray, which seems to be Mercedes-Benz’s natural color.   

The GLA and GLC are both 5-passenger vehicles, but the A is 10 inches shorter overall and three inches narrower than the C. Still, the GLA has more room in the back seats than we might expect, and the coupe profile of the GLC doesn’t cut into rear-seat headroom significantly. Both vehicles are very livable, and the substantial switches and buttons—plus the crisp lettering and saturated colors of the computer screens—satisfy the Merc buyer’s expectations of luxury. 

Both vehicles come with turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder gas engines, but the heavier GLC gets 255 horsepower and a 9-speed automatic transmission versus the GLA’s 221 horses driving through an 8-speed dual-clutch automated transmission. Both our vehicles have 4Matic all-wheel drive. Both feel quick and responsive, the smaller GLA a bit more lively. In both cases M-B has done fine job of smoothing out any peakiness in these relatively small engines—these Fours feel like 3.0-liter Sixes used to. (Sixes now feel like V-8s.) The smaller GLA goes farther on a gallon of gas than the two-ton GLC—33 highway MPG versus 28. 

The bottom line: With $2,350 in appearance options, our GLC 300 4Matic Coupe costs about $62,000. It has all the gravitas that buyers expect, inside and out, from a German luxury car. Our GLA 250 4Matic, on the other hand, starts at just $38,230—but then, with the features we want in a Mercedes-Benz, which here are extra-cost upgrades,  jumps up to $51,205. 

The average new car in the US today costs about $38,000; and the top of the Mercedes-Benz GL line, the GLS 63, easily reaches $150,000. In this context, our GLA and GLC both feel well-priced, with features for year-round duty in northern New England, from the supermarket to the yacht club and the ski lodge. They may be “small” Mercedes, but it’s easy to take them seriously. 

Silvio Calabi has been reviewing cars since Ronald Reagan removed the solar panels from the White House. He lives in Camden.