Mercedes GLB-Class

The 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB is a small crossover that slots between the company’s smallest SUV offerings yet, the 2019 GLA and the 2019 GLC. The 2020 GLB is based on the new platform underpinning the latest A-Class and B-Class, and was previewed by the 2019 Concept GLB at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show. The GLB stands out compared to the GLA and GLC due to a much boxier design. The crossover is often referred to as the baby G-Class, despite sharing underpinnings with the tiny A-Class and B-Class hatchbacks.

Rumors about a new compact SUV surfaced all the way back in 2012 when Mercedes unveiled the Ener-G-Force Concept at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Created by the company’s Advanced Design Studio in Carlsbad, California, it looked like a futuristic version of the G-Class and had a hydrogen-powered drivetrain. The rumors turned into certainty when a small but boxy crossover was spotted testing on public roads, but the hydrogen drivetrain was dropped in favor of conventional engines. With one in three Mercedes-Benz cars now an SUV, and one in four a compact model, Mercedes-Benz thinks that a compact SUV like the GLB "combines all the success factors of the company’s highest-volume segments." Let’s find out more about that, shall we?