Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2022 Mercedes GLC

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Mercedes GLC has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Acadia are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLC doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The GLC doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Acadia AT4’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The GLC doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The Acadia’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLC.

Both the Acadia and the GLC have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Mercedes GLC:

	Acadia	GLC
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	23%
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	87 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	129/383 lbs.	378/445 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Mercedes GLC:

	Acadia	GLC
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.9 inches	.9 inches
Hip Force	243 lbs.	409 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	40 G’s
Hip Force	760 lbs.	787 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

GMC’s powertrain warranty covers the Acadia 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLC. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the GLC ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the GLC’s (6 vs. 5 years).

There are over 4 times as many GMC dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 220-amp alternator (155-amp - Acadia V6 and 170 V6). The GLC’s 150-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. With 29 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks GMC higher than Mercedes.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes With 3 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks GMC higher than Mercedes.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks GMC 4 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

Engine

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 55 more horsepower (310 vs. 255) than the GLC’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Acadia 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder FWD gets better fuel mileage than the GLC 300 RWD (22 city/29 hwy vs. 22 city/27 hwy).

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. The GLC doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The GLC doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the GMC Acadia uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine for maximum performance). The GLC requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 2 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLC (19.4 vs. 17.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLC (21.7 vs. 17.4 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The GLC doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Tires and Wheels

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Mercedes GLC only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The GLC doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The GLC’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Acadia SLT AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the GLC 300 4MATIC pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the GLC 300 4MATIC (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.3 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Acadia has a 2.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the GLC (7.2 vs. 5 inches), allowing the Acadia to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The GLC doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Acadia offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the GLC can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 2.2 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front legroom, 2.1 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, 2.4 inches more rear legroom and 2.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLC.

The front step up height for the Acadia is 2 inches lower than the GLC (18” vs. 20”). The Acadia’s rear step up height is 3.5 inches lower than the GLC’s (19” vs. 22.5”).

Cargo Capacity

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the GLC.

	Acadia	GLC
Third Seat Folded	41.7 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	19.4 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79 cubic feet	56.5 cubic feet

The Acadia’s cargo area is larger than the GLC’s in almost every dimension:

	Acadia	GLC
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	18.5”/48”/83”	n.a./36.6”/61.3”
Max Width	50”	49.4”
Min Width	42.5”	43.3”
Height	33”	31.1”

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Mercedes GLC is limited to 3500 pounds. The Acadia offers up to a 4000 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The GLC doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Mercedes-Benz Emergency Call can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Acadia has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLC only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the GLC because typical repairs cost much less on the Acadia than the GLC, including $388 less for a water pump, $226 less for a muffler, $65 less for front brake pads, $308 less for a starter, $249 less for fuel injection, $13 less for a fuel pump, $308 less for front struts and $96 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the GMC Acadia and the Mercedes GLC, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The GMC Acadia outsold the Mercedes GLC by 36% during the 2021 model year.

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