Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class VS Toyota Land Cruiser

The GLB's thematic purpose in the Benz family is to be the practical option to the upcoming GLA's 'sportiness' and larger GLC's luxury. Although it's not that much smaller than the GLC, the GLB is packaged in a radically different way.

For one, it can be had as a seven-seater, and at this size there's not much that can compete in the luxury space. Again, that makes its closest rival the Land Rover Discovery Sport which is dimensionally similar and also offered with seven seats.

The next closest seven-seat competitors come in the form of the VW Tiguan Allspace and perhaps Skoda Kodiaq.

Audi and BMW don't quite have anything like it (despite fielding a Q2 and Q3 or X1 and X2 respectively... ), and that could well be the GLB's master stroke. It almost fills its own niche. Mercedes is heavy on the idea that this will be the perfect SUV in its line-up for growing families.

Like those VW group rivals, the GLB is a bit of a practicality wizard, too, able to make use of a huge 500-litre boot with the rear seats stowed, or 570 litres as a five-seater.

The second row is on rails, so you can either max legroom or max boot space respectively. I was genuinely surprised with how spacious the third row is.

The packaging is brilliant, I can fit in there, not only with my head completely upright (just touching the roof), but also with actual knee room! The second row seats are also designed as such that your feet can tuck under them, so you don't feel squashed.

Even with another adult in the rear row it's wide enough to not cause problems.

Keep in mind though, with all three rows deployed you'll almost be sacrificing 100 per cent of that massive boot. I couldn't even fit a basic duffel bag in the shelf of space left over.

The second row offers simply heaps of legroom for passengers, even with adults in the third row, and it's surprisingly wide and deep. I found the panoramic sunroof, fitted to some launch cars, ate into the headroom, although it was still more than enough.

Up front is upright, but comfortable in all grades, with the GLA 35 having the most comfortable seats, by far. There are a few trenches strewn about the place, decent cupholders and a centre console box which hosts USB ports.

Trim quality was a notch above the A- and B-Class across the dash, mainly thanks the the choice of materials in the GLB's design.

I do have a few minor issues with visibility though. The A-pillar is upright and, at times, takes up too much of your line-of-sight, especially when approaching corners.

In my seating position, the top of the steering wheel obscures bits of the digital dash, and vision out the back was okay but not stellar thanks to the GLB's almost flat rear window.

Benz' digital dash suite is capable of almost everything that Audi's benchmark 'Virtual Cockpit' does, although using it is a bit awkward, with many sub menus and odd touchpads for flicking through them on the steering wheel.

The front row is roomy and even with a co-pilot, you feel like you have yards of space to settle into. The seats offer a wide seat and plush padding, as well as heat and ventilation functions which adds comfort for longer trips.

Individual storage is good with a large glove box, two cupholders, two drink bottle holders and a large middle console that also features a 'cool box' function for drinks or snacks.

The comfort of the front is replicated in the backseat, which deftly accepts the height of my 183cm father. The width of the seat can easily accommodate three adults in relative comfort or, if you have a few tots in tow, three child seats.

Amenities and storage in the back row are what you'd expect for a top model in this class. The rear outboard seats feature heat and ventilation functions and there is dual air-conditioning and climate control, as well as, four directional air vents.

The fold-down armrest features two cupholders while the doors hold a drink bottle each and a small storage bin. There are also two map pockets and you can access the middle console cool box with a rear-mounted button.

The GR Sport does remind you that it's a big car with its 235mm ground clearance and my seven-year-old son declared I needed to hold all of his stuff this week as getting in and out is a ‘two-handed- operation'. Like him, I too am grateful for the grab handles and side steps in this car.

The technology is well-rounded and simple to use. The 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks great and is responsive to touch. It has built-in satellite navigation and a Toyota Connected Services app with three years of complimentary updates. There is also wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, AM/FM radio and DAB+ radio but there’s not much else to access in this system.

The mostly analogue instrument cluster features a 7.0-inch tech screen and this is where you can do a lot of your customisations with display and safety.

The charging options are solid up front with the choice of a USB-A and C port, 12-volt socket and a wireless charging pad. The rear gets two USB-C ports and a 12-volt socket as well.

The boot is cavernous with its 1131L of luggage capacity and that’s with all seats in use. The squared shape of the boot and the 90-degree angle the boot lid opens to are quite practical, especially when fitting bulky items or loading things in the rain.

All GR Sports come with a powered boot lid and a domestic 220-volt socket for charging larger items while adventuring.