 What is up you guys, I'll go back to another one. If you're new to the channel, I'm Goldpony, I'll do new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today, we're in the brand new 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLB250, courtesy of Mercedes-Benz of Hagerstown in Hagerstown, Maryland for more information on their inventory. Please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so we're in this one today because there's actually a couple changes for the 2022 model year. And this thing starts in the upper $30,000 range for a Mercedes-Benz. So it's actually relatively affordable as well, but really the true question is, do you buy now the 2022 or do you wait for the mid-cycle refresh for 2023? Rumor has it there isn't gonna be a whole lot of changes. Maybe the front face I've seen is definitely gonna be adjusted, but for the most part, it's gonna be relatively similar. So I'm gonna leave that question up to you and let me know at the end of the video what you wanna do in the comment section below. But ultimately in this video, we will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering full, ride quality, sound system, exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. Having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it and as always, let's start with pricing. So as you can imagine, there are a couple different configurations for the GLB. MSRP starts at $38,600. Then if you wanted to go with the Formatic all-wheel drive, that is going to start at $40,600. But regardless of which configuration that you go with, the power plant is going to be the same. Powering the Beast is a two-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder, putting out 221 horsepower at 5,500 RPM, 258 pound-feet of torque coming in at 1,800 RPM. Power sent to front wheels are all wheels through an eight-speed dual clutch with paddle shifters. Love that. We're gonna be testing out those paddle shifters here in a little bit. Zero to 60 time is going to come in at approximately 6.9 seconds, which is plenty respectable there. With MPG numbers coming in at 24 in the city, 32 on the highway for the front-wheel drive, 22 city, 30 then on the highway for the all-wheel drive. But before we do any kind of fun, acceleration test here in the GLB, I want to mention to you guys the drive modes, AKA labeled Dynamic or Dynamic Select. That button's gonna be located just to the left of the touchpad controller that gives you drive modes like Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Off-Road, adjusting things like the shift points, the throttle response, the steering sensitivity, the Eco Start stop system, and for that Off-Road mode, that actually sets you up with the 50-50 torque split. That's gonna give you the best possible traction. So that is pretty cool. I'm glad they included that mode, so I do like that. Now that we got all of that out of the way, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and find a straightaway. Let's put the paddle shifters and acceleration here to the test at the same time, and let's see how quickly we can get this one here up to speed, and let's see how quickly these paddle shifters are going to react towards here. All right, so we are in first gear. I'm pulling back out to the road. Here we go. Dang. No turbo lag. Oh, it's shifted for me. All right, so it does tell you when to shift as well, but if you don't shift, it will shift for you. But having said that, when you do shift, it's pretty darn quick, and that's to be expected because that's why I got excited when I said dual clutch, because dual clutch transmissions typically do give you pretty darn quick reacting paddle shifters, and that's definitely the case with the GLB. So big fan of that. Like I said on the initial acceleration there, there was no turbo lag whatsoever. I kind of threw my head back, which I was surprised because typically with turbocharged four cylinders specifically, you get a little bit of that turbo lag, but that was certainly not the case here in the GLB. So wonderful acceleration. You're not going to have any issues emerging onto the highway in this thing, but anyways, to go along with that acceleration as always, braking is equally important. So as expected, you will find four-wheel disc brakes coming standard, and if you were to go with the AMG line, that's where the braking configuration is going to differ slightly. It's going to be slightly improved, giving you perforated front disc with painted caliper. So a little extra performance and a little bit of show as well. So that is pretty cool. Having said that, so far as braking feel good, since there's nobody behind us, let's hit the brakes. Plenty fine. Definitely not going to have any issues there. Definitely say it's, holy cow, I'm still in sport, man, let's get out of that. Definitely say it's more on the firm side of things, which I personally appreciate. Always love a firm braking feel. And specifically in SUVs, a lot of times you will get a softer braking feel. So it definitely caters more towards the driver, which I personally appreciate with that braking feel. Then touching on suspension and handling, you're going to find a four-wheel independent suspension. And there is an adaptive damping suspension available that goes for $990 if you were interested. Essentially what that is, is it monitors each shock absorber individually, not only adjusting to the road imperfections, giving you a smoother ride, but it's also going to tighten up that suspension during heavy cornering, giving you the best of both worlds. So that is a suspension configuration I always like to recommend because you really can tell the difference with those adaptive damping suspensions, regardless of what manufacturer that you go with. And it's only $990. So if I were getting the GLB, that is definitely one I would 100% consider without a doubt. But having said that, when it comes to ride quality, Peggastown's roads are pretty darn smooth and it has been perfectly fine in my short test drive here today. As far as steering feel goes, let me put it back in sport. You can instantly tell the difference. It's a much heavier feel to the steering when you put it in that sport driving mode than when you take it out. It kind of instantly loosens up. But having said that, even comfort driving mode, the steering feel really isn't that bad. It still kind of tends to lean on the heavier side of things, which is a good thing. It gives you better driver feedback, instantly points you in the direction that you want to go. So big fan of that. As far as cabin noise goes, I'm going a whopping 17 miles per hour right now. So you're probably not getting a whole lot. But back when I was going 55 back there, honestly, it's insulated pretty well. I do have the AC on, so you might get a little bit of that coming through my camera right now. But other than that, Mercedes-Benz typically does do a very good job when it comes to insulating the cabins of their vehicles without a doubt. And don't you go with visibility? I can see pretty darn good out the back. Typically with the SUV of this shape, you're not going to have any issues there. Having said that, second row headrests are a little bit beefy, but I'm sure you could fold those down if you didn't want that to kind of impede on your visibility there. And rain-sensing windshield wipers actually do come standard on the GLB as well. So whenever this thing detects any kind of mist or rainfall, it's going to automatically turn on this windshield wipers for you. So it's just one less thing you got to worry about there as well. But that pretty much rounds up the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250. All right, so here she is, you guys, the new 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250 finished in polar white. In case you were curious of our exterior color name, exactly. Let's go ahead and start up front on this one. Silver twin-slat design to that front grille. Definitely a very nice look to that diamond block front grille though, coming with the AMG line packages, regardless of whether or not you go with the black one or just the regular AMG line, that's going to be a diamond block front grille, which is pretty traditional for Mercedes-Benz. I'm sure everyone has seen that before. To the sides, LED headlights with LEDDHM running lights do come standard, automatic feature also coming with that, meaning when it starts to get dark in at night, those headlights are going to turn on automatically for you there. Active bending headlights are available with the lighting package. The lighting package goes for $900, by the way. That also gives you automatic high beams then as well. So active bending, meaning your headlights will swivel based on the direction of your steering angle. So better help illuminating what is around the bend at night. So that's definitely a nice safety feature than automatic feature, meaning when you have your high beams on at night and the sensors of the vehicle coming in the opposite direction, it's going to automatically dim those back to low beams. Then when the vehicle is gone, it's going to automatically bump it back up to high beam sensor. Also a very convenient feature there. And of course, there is an illuminated star available that goes for $350 as Mercedes-Benz has done in the past. And again, if you were to go with one of those AMG line packages, you will get a completely re-sculpted front fascia. So much more aggressive look, I guess you could say, to the front if you were to go with the AMG line. But that pretty much rounds out the front end. And again, the front end is going to be slightly refreshed for the 2023 GLB. So beyond the lookout for that, but that pretty much rounds out the front. So now go ahead and make our way to the side of this one. All right, so now since we are around to the side of the GLB, aluminum roof rails to become standard, chrome windows surrounds also coming standard, rear privacy glass also coming standard. So body color, power adjustable side mirrors will come standard that will be heated with LED integrated turd signals as well. Taking a look down at the side skirts, they are going to be finished in matte black along with the wheel arches as well. Taking a look at the wheel setup, 18 inch double five spoke alloys come stated. That's of course what you guys are looking at right now. But there are 19 and 20 inch wheel designs available as well if you wanted to switch it up a little bit. So pretty much rounds out the side profile though. So now go ahead and make our way to the back. So now since we are around to the back of the GLB, first thing that stands out to me is there is no shark fin antenna or any bulbous kind of antenna sitting up top. So a very clean look to it. But nonetheless, all the way to the top, you will find a rear spoiler with an integrated brake light just below that rear window wiper, of course, affixiated to the rear glass. You're going to find that formatic badging if you go with the all wheel drive version of the GLB. Of course, you will find LED tail lights coming standard. Not all luxury SUVs still do that. So that is pretty cool. A little added illumination at night there. There's going to be some chrome accending down towards, well all the way to the bottom I should say. But within that rear bumper, I love the exhaust look because they are integrated. So there's going to be integrated dual exhaust outlets with chrome tips. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always here is that exhaust clip. It's open now since we are around to the back of the GLB. When it comes to opening that rear tailgate, it is a power tailgate that does come standard. There's a button on the key file. There's also a button on the driver's side door. And there of course is a button on the tailgate itself as well. And I did want to mention since we're back here, once opened up seating for seven is available. That goes for $850. It's an option if you wanted to go that route. We don't have that option today, but previously I think two years ago for the 2020 model year we did. So if you were curious what that looks like, feel free to check out my 2020 GLB review, which I'll leave a link to at the end of this video. But nonetheless, once opened up, cargo capacity behind that second row comes in at 22 cubic feet. So definitely a decent amount there. Then with those rear seats down, that is going to come in at 62 cubic feet for reference, BMW X3, the direct competitor for this one comes in at 62.7 cubic feet. So essentially the exact same size as a BMW X3. But what you can find in that cargo area, of course, cargo lighting. There is some netted storage to the sides. There are grocery bag hooks back there. There is a 12 volt power outlet back there as well. There is a cargo cover, which you don't always get. So that was pretty cool as well. And get this, if you were to lift up underneath that cargo floor, there is a ton of in-floor storage within that cargo floor. You usually sometimes find in-floor storage, but not this much. This is definitely a good bit of in-floor storage for the GLB for sure. But so they're making our way to the rear legroom. I'll start by mentioning the third row, although we don't have it today, 29.1 inches. So it's not the most rear legroom back there, but second row legroom comes in at 38.1 inches. So for reference, I'm in even six feet tall. This is how much space I have back there. There is a rear center armrest with cupholders coming standard, rear ventilation as well. There are dual phone charging ports and actually to my surprise, a 115 volt power outlet as well. So that was pretty nice seeing that. But then make our way to the front seats, 12-way power adjustable front seats with four-way power lumbar coming standard. And by the way, all those adjustments are found on the doors in typical Mercedes fashion there. Heated front seats go for $580. There are memory settings for up to three different drivers. That actually comes standard and passengers as well. So the front passenger there has memory settings for up to three different passengers. So that's pretty cool. Heated and ventilated front seats go for $1,030. Multi-contour front seats go for $590 overall. Seating was plenty comfortable because of that 12-way power adjustable setup and four-way power lumbar. So definitely no issues with that. Then taking a look at the steering wheel though, it is tilt and telescoping. It is leather wrapped. That does come standard. And if you wanted a heated steering wheel that goes for $250, then the 10 to two grips are fairly thick as well. Not as thick as BMW, but still plenty fine for the steering wheel there. Then make your way to the startup. Let me start by showing you guys the key here. Essentially, all of your buttons are located on one side of the key. Lock, unlock and that button to pop the rear power tailgate there. But it is all keyless entry with a push button start. So all I'm going to do here is simply put my foot in the brake and press that engine start button located just to the left of that center air vent there. So once started up, there will be two different gauge clusters available. You have the seven inch display, which is the standard display screen. And then there is the 10 and a quarter inch digital gauge cluster, which is what you guys of course are looking at right now. And the cool thing about these gauges is everything is adjusted, of course, using the steering wheel mouse controls on the left, but there's a little black square essentially. That's how you're going to toggle through what is on those gauges. You simply slide your thumb to the left or to the right and that is going to adjust what is on there. So I kind of like how they did that. And there's a design and display section that gives you a classic sport progressive or understated display. So completely customizes the look to whatever you prefer. And it kind of changes the look of the center infotainment screen as well when you do that to kind of make everything match up. So huge fan of the ability to do that. So gauges have pretty much everything you could possibly want because they are digital, of course. Then make your way to overall interior quality. There is a Panorama Roof that goes for $1,580. If you wanted to go that route, 64 colors of ambient lighting gives you $310. That's one I definitely recommend because ambient lighting is done better than any other manufacturer in a Mercedes Benz without a doubt. It's the brightest, it looks the best. And again, 64 different color options. They're for you. Also, this ambient lighting is around the center vents here. These fighter jet style vents and there is a different color illumination around those. So that was pretty cool. Wireless phone charger is going to be available. Universal garage door openers for up to three different garage doors can be found just below the frameless rear view mirror there. Wood trim also is available. You can find that on the doors here. That definitely looks pretty good as well. It's just above the passenger side glove box, of course. Another thing I found was pretty cool. If you look up the lighting, the interior lighting of the GLB, when you actually turn that on and off, it actually fades slowly on and off and it kind of looks like little diamonds in there. It's such a cool design to it. And again, the fade effect is pretty darn cool as well. Overall, we're in a Mercedes Benz. So really I expected nothing less and the interior quality is definitely very nice in this thing. There's a good bit of storage all the way to the front. There's a 12 volt power outlet. You got your dual cup holders, of course. And within the center armrest, a decent amount of storage as well as a phone charger in there as well. So overall, everything is done very nicely. A lot of contrast stitching as well. But now it's going to make our way to that center infotainment screen. Again, you're either gonna get a seven inch color touch screen display to match your seven inch gauge cluster or a 10 and a quarter inch color touch screen display. Again, dependent upon what size gauge cluster that you go with. But Bluetooth and audio streaming coming standard either way. Android Auto, Apple CarPlay as well. You got that Hey Mercedes functionality where it essentially is going to do whatever you want it to do, which is starting to do it right now. How can I help? You see factory navigation system is going to come with a multimedia package. You can adjust your climate control settings up there as well along with your ambient lighting colors, like I've been mentioning. And of course your radio information. And so there's a couple of different sound systems for the GLB. Eight speakers is going to come standard on this one. But then there's also a 12 speaker Bermester sound system that goes for $850. And unfortunately we do not have that one with us here today. So I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. We got our eight speaker sound system. So let's go ahead and turn on the radio see what we got playing today. And let's test out the clarity of this one. Cause the unknown, the unknown's gone. I gotta be honest you guys that sound system is plenty fine for me. Definitely a good bit of base for it not being the upgraded Bermester sound system plenty of clarity honestly as well. So that was a really, really good sound system if I'm being honest for the GLB for just being the standard sound system. So well done Mercedes. But last thing I want to mention to you guys on the infotainment screen is when you do put the GLB in reverse you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board. And then if you go with the parking assistance package it gets for $1,090. Also going to get a surround view monitor then as well which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so to start front side, side curtain airbags do come standard but also driver and passenger thorax side airbags as well as a driver's knee airbag as well. There's thorax side airbags usually don't come standard. So I wanted to emphasize that in the back you're going to have latch AKA lower anchors and tethers for children for the rear car seats, rear child door locks, tire pressure monitoring system but then there is a driver assistance package that goes for $1,700 and that gives you all the advanced safety essentially. So active steering assist, evasive steering assist, adaptive cruise control, active brake assist with cross traffic function, emergency stop assist, speed limit assist, blind spot monitoring system, lane change assist and root based speed adaptation as well. So overall when it comes to my final thoughts here of the GLB, I love the price point starting in the upper 30s because Mercedes Benz typically has a very expensive manufacturer, a very expensive brand. So the ability to get an SUV like the GLB for the upper 30s, that's pretty darn cool. I like that great interior quality as well. Like I mentioned, Mercedes has the very best ambient lighting in existence, the fade in and out slowly. Also the interior lighting being that it fades in and out like everything is just done very well in the interior of this thing. Really the only constructive criticism I can think of is all that safety and named off in the driver assistance package that should really come standard as it does on manufacturers like Toyota, like Hyundai, like Honda. So all of those advanced safety you can get on the basic brands that are non-luxury but Mercedes makes you pay for them. So definitely wouldn't mind if Mercedes adjusted that maybe for the next model year. But anyways, that is about it for this one you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen if you want to see what's coming next on the channel before it gets to you to be sure to hit subscribe and the bell notification button if you're in a new car reviews that is what we do here on this channel after all. Do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay Gold.