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Baby Merc SUV for Detroit

Mercedes will round off its SUV range with the unveiling of the GLK at the Detroit motor show in a few days' time. The GLK will be the baby of Mercedes off-roader line-up and is set to take on the BMW X3, though Mercedes is yet to confirm if the GLK will be sold in the UK.

The looks may be based on the butch GL-Series, but the GLK is a full 600mm shorter than its big brother. The GLK is based on the C-Class platform, so is biased very much towards on-road driving ability rather than tackling the rough stuff. However, Mercedes' 4Matic four-wheel drive system will be standard on all GLK models.

There will be a pair of petrol V6 models, with 240 and 350 versions on offer, and a complete range of four- and six-cylinder turbodiesels, which will be the big sellers in Europe. It's also likely that Mercedes will sell a Bluetec version in Europe, which uses a super-efficient diesel to lower emissions and improve economy. There's no word on an AMG version, but Mercedes insiders say a GLK 63 AMG is likely to use the same 457bhp 6.2-litre V8 as the C 63 saloon.

The GLK is expected to go on sale at the beginning of 2009, but it's uncertain whether it will be offered in right-hand drive markets due a problem with the packaging of the driveshafts that makes it tricky to switch the steering wheel to the right side of the car.

Alisdair Suttie

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