Compare the2023 Chevrolet TraverseVS 2023 Mercedes GLB

For enhanced safety, the Chevrolet Traverse’s 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 GLB doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle 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 Traverse are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLB doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Traverse 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 GLB doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Traverse’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 GLB.

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

The Chevrolet Traverse weighs 419 to 1630 pounds more than the Mercedes GLB. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Traverse the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 233 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GLB has not been tested, yet.

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

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

There are almost 8 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Traverse’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Traverse’s reliability 17 points higher than the GLB.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 42 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is ranked 19th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet above average in long-term dependability. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Chevrolet 4 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Traverse’s 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 89 more horsepower (310 vs. 221) and 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 258) than the GLB’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Chevrolet Traverse is faster than the Mercedes GLB:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Chevrolet Traverse uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLB requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Traverse FWD’s standard fuel tank has 3.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLB (19.4 vs. 15.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Traverse AWD’s standard fuel tank has 5.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLB (21.7 vs. 15.9 gallons).

The Traverse 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 GLB doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Chevrolet Traverse higher (6 out of 10) than the Mercedes GLB (5). This means the Traverse produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLB every 15,000 miles.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Chevrolet Traverse, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the GLB.

The Traverse stops shorter than the GLB:

For better traction, the Traverse has larger tires than the GLB (255/65R18 vs. 235/55R18).

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

The Traverse 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 GLB doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Traverse has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the GLB; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the GLB don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Traverse’s wheelbase is 9.5 inches longer than on the GLB (120.9 inches vs. 111.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Traverse is 4.1 inches wider in the front and 3.8 inches wider in the rear than on the GLB.

The Traverse RS AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the GLB 250 4MATIC (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

The front grille of the Traverse uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The GLB doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

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

The Traverse has standard seating for 8 passengers; the GLB can only carry up to 7.

The Traverse has 2.1 inches more front headroom, 6 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear headroom, .3 inches more rear legroom, 7.3 inches more rear shoulder room, 3.4 inches more third row headroom, 4.4 inches more third row legroom and 13.7 inches more third row shoulder room than the GLB.

The Traverse’s cargo area provides more volume than the GLB.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the Traverse High Country’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The GLB doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Traverse has a 1500 lbs. towing capacity. The GLB has no towing capacity.

The Traverse can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Traverse can be unhitched and driven around locally. The GLB can’t be towed flat on the ground.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Traverse’s available exterior PIN entry system. The GLB 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 Traverse has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLB only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

Consumer Reports rated the Traverse’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the GLB’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Traverse has standard extendable sun visors. The GLB doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Both the Traverse and the GLB offer available heated front seats. The Traverse Premier/High Country also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the GLB.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Chevrolet Traverse, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes GLB isn't recommended.

The Chevrolet Traverse outsold the Mercedes GLB by over four to one during 2022.