Stuttgart - Mercedes-Benz is working on a new family-sized SUV based on an enlarged version of its A-Class platform, Germany's Auto, Motor und Sport reports.
A rendering in the German magazine shows a chunky SUV with a resemblance to the G-Force design study of 2012, which itself envisioned a future G-Class mud-plugger. The GLB even features the signature wing-mounted indicators of the latter, but the car has softer lines overall.
Badged as the GLB, the new car is expected to be priced at around 30 000 euros (R450 000) when it debuts in 2018, making it much cheaper than the E and C-Class models which might appeal to buyers with one or more children, not to mention their GLC and GLE SUV equivalents.
While the new 4.6-metre-long seven-seater will offer more space for the price than traditional Mercedes products, it could have a less premium feel to it than its snazzier siblings.
The GLB mark the company's decision to not go ahead with a pencilled-in family of cars based on the next-generation A and B-Class hatches, said the journal.
Mercedes-Benz did not comment on the report.
IOL & DPA