SPY PICS: Mercedes-AMG GLB 35

We saw the latest official teaser of the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class this week  and the Shanghai show concept car that previewed it in April; now here’s our first look at the AMG version.

The Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 was spotted in the car park of AMG’s Affalterbach HQ in Stuttgart this week. Just a week out from the official world debut of the Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class next Tuesday (June 11), the place was crawling with them.

Wearing an aggressive body kit that made the all-new small SUV look even bigger and boxier (but still more rounded than the new G-Class ), the Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 rode on 20-inch wheels and featured seven seats across three rows.

In lieu of a Mercedes-AMG GLB 45 powered by AMG’s record-setting new four-cylinder turbo engine, the GLB 35 will be the most powerful version and should share its engine with the upcoming A 35 warm hatch and CLA 35 sports sedan due on sale in Australia in September and October respectively.

That means the 35 gets AMG’s M260 225kW/400Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, rather than AMG’s new top-shelf 310kW/500Nm four.

All GLBs are expected to be all-wheel drive and lesser variants will offer turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines from the A-Class.

Differentiating the Mercedes-Benz GLB from the smaller GLA and larger GLC wagons, however, will be more off-road capability and the practicality of seven seats and a sizeable boot.

In line with the GLB’s marketing slogan, ‘Intelligent like a smartphone and as practical as a multitool’, the small Mercedes-Benz SUV will also be available with the same MBUX infotainment system and large digital displays as seen in the latest A-Class and new CLA.

The basic specs of the GLB have already been revealed via the Concept GLB shown in China. Compared to the GLA, it rides on a 130mm-longer wheelbase (2829mm) and is 210mm longer (4634mm) and 86mm wider (1890mm).

Mercedes-Benz is yet to reveal the GLB’s cargo capacity, but just as its overall length is only 22mm shorter than the GLC mid-size SUV, its luggage space is expected to be closer to that of the GLC (550 litres) than the GLA (421).

The backrest of the middle seat row is 40:20:40 split/folding and can be folded down to create a level load surface and reclines in eight stages, while the seat bases are split 40:60 and can slide fore/aft across 140mm.

Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman Ryan Lewis said the GLB was odds-on to come Down Under.

“There’s no reason we wouldn’t offer it in Australia if it was available to us, but it’s too early to say if or when that would happen,” he said.

We expect the GLB to be available in Australia by mid-2020.

The GLB will be Mercedes’ fifth compact model line after the A-, B-, CLA- and GLA-Class, which already comprise a quarter of the German car-maker’s volume with more than 600,000 sold in 2018.

It will also be Mercedes-Benz’s sixth SUV model line after the G, GLA, GLC wagon/coupe, GLE wagon/coupe and GLS. Last year Benz sold more SUVs than cars, with 820,000 sales.