20 CARS FOR 2020
The i10 will offer a 1,2-litre engine as well as a touchscreen to control the infotainment system
01 MERCEDES-BENZ GLB
ETA 2020
What is it? A premium midsize seven-seater SUV.
Why we’re excited: We like that the GLB favours family-friendly practicality over style-driven compromise.
THE fresh-faced GLB is the first in its midsize segment to be offered with the option of seven seats. Benz claims the two retractable perches in row three can be used by people up to 1,68 metres in height. Passengers back there gain cupholders between the seats as well as two stowage compartments on the left and right in the load compartment trim, each with a USB port.
Slotting neatly between the GLA and recently facelifted GLC, the newcomer measures 4 634 mm long, 1 834 mm wide and 1 658 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2 829 mm (that’s some 100 mm more between the axles than the latest B-Class, in case you were wondering).
Mercedes claims headroom in the first row is a best-in-segment 1 035 mm, while the five-seater model offers a generous 967 mm of rear legroom and luggage volume from 560 to 1 755 litres, depending on the position of the seats. Optionally, the second row can be longitudinally adjusted and, as standard, the backrests are adjustable in several increments.
The GLB draws its power from a range of familiar four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines already used elsewhere in the brand’s compact vehicle lineup. The GLB200, for example, employs the 1,33-litre petrol unit (co-developed with Renault) offering 120 kW and 250 N.m to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The GLB250 4Matic, meanwhile, uses a 2,0-litre four-pot worth 165 kW and 350 N.m, directed to all four wheels via an eight-speeder. Then there’s the 2,0-litre turbodiesel in the GLB200d and GLB220d (each featuring eight-speed gearboxes) churning out 110 kW/320 N.m in the case of the former and 140 kW/400 N.m when installed in the 220d. AMG models will follow (starting with the 225 kW/400 N.m GLB35).
An Off-road Engineering package will also be on sale for models equipped with 4Matic, featuring a driving mode that adapts the engine’s power delivery and the ABS control to “ease off-road terrains away from tarmac roads”. The package includes an “animation of the driving situation” in the media display, a downhill speed regulation function and (in combination with multibeam LED headlamps) an off-road lighting function.
The GLB will be built at Mexico’s Aguascalientes plant (and in Beijing for the Chinese market).
02 HYUNDAI GRAND i10 NIOS
ETA Q2
What is it?
Hyundai’s stopgap between the budget-conscious i10 and more sophisticated i20.
Why we’re excited:
The urbane current Grand i10 has been a runaway success and the newer model promises more of the same.
original Atos and subsequent i10 models have been a major success here in South Africa, with buyers appreciating the value for money, high equipment levels and frugality of Hyundai’s smallest cars.
