Sand Surfing Across The Dunes In The 2027 Mercedes-Benz GLC EV Will Bring A Smile To Anyone's Face

Even as more and more new car development is being done digitally, using advanced simulators and computer modeling programs in lieu of more traditional methods, automakers still put millions of miles on real-life test cars all over the world, years before anybody can actually buy them. That testing goes far beyond what any of these cars will really experience, but that's the point. If something can perform in the freezing Arctic or in the blazing desert heat, it can certainly perform as your daily driver with confidence and safety.

In the same vein, many enthusiasts love to moan about how the vast majority of new SUVs and crossovers are never taken off-road, made even more annoying when said vehicles are marketed as being serious off-roaders, regardless of how extensively engineered they really are. But still, legit off-road testing is important even for an electric luxury SUV, which is why I'm in the Dumont Dunes about two hours outside Las Vegas where Mercedes-Benz is doing final testing for the next-generation GLC EV.

Our goal for the day is to have fun while trying to get as sideways as we can, as dramatically as we can. It may seem silly for the electric GLC to even have an off-road drive mode in the first place, when a slim few will even see a dirt trail, but as we silently drift and glide and shimmy across the sand dunes (the engineers call it sand surfing), I'm thinking "maybe I would do this if I owned a GLC" the entire time. These prototypes are on normal road tires (albeit aired down a bit), and the GLC has enough range to get here and back from the city, so it's not even that far-fetched of a thought.

Full disclosure: Mercedes-Benz flew me to Las Vegas for a night so I could drive the electric GLC on the sand dunes, and other prototypes that I can't tell you about yet on public roads.

The 2027 GLC with EQ Technology (its silly official name) was revealed at the Munich auto show in September, so the cars we're driving don't have any camouflage on them, just an orange flag on the butt to make sure people can see us, and some computer testing equipment and emergency buttons inside. They're prototype vehicles with prototype software, but with the GLC set to go on sale in Europe very soon and the U.S. in late 2026, these cars are very close to what you'll be able to buy, and they're all U.S.-spec models.

Instead of this drive program being specially designed and set up for us journalists, Mercedes had us join a group of engineers that were already in the desert outside Las Vegas. We're driving the same "One Battle After Another"-esque back roads and doing the same dune drifting that the team of Germans already has been running for a couple weeks. (We drove out to the dunes in camouflaged prototypes of another vehicle that I can't tell you about until March.)

The first model of GLC to go on sale will be the GLC400, which has a pair of electric motors and 4Matic all-wheel drive. Like on the CLA, the in-house-developed motor at the rear axle is larger and has its own two-speed transmission for better efficiency, performance and towing (it'll pull up to 5,291 pounds). The front motor can disconnect at highway speeds and automatically engage when traction is needed almost instantly. Total output is 483 horsepower and 596 pound-feet of torque, even more than Mercedes initially estimated.

An air suspension system is optional, which also gets you rear-wheel steering that turns up to 4.5 degrees, but the GLC I ride in and drive has the standard setup with steel coil springs. With the standard suspension the GLC has 7 inches of ground clearance; the Airmatic system offers 6.2 inches in normal driving and up to 8.1 inches in the highest setting, and the approach, departure and breakover angles are increased as well. It'll also wade up to 11.8 inches of depth. The AMG Line car I'm in has 21-inch wheels (20s are standard) with the same Goodyear Eagle F1 all-season tires that will be on production models.

When zooming along in the sand, bigger impacts are prominent but not harsh, eliciting an "oof" then a laugh as we realize the car took the hit just fine. We do have to look out for some large spiky rocks, just because getting a tire changed would be a pain, but otherwise the GLC handles everything we throw at it. The air suspension should provide a much smoother ride when the going gets rough.

At first we're blasting along some of the lower dunes, like what you expect from a Baja race course, leaping over some lower hills, drifting along the crests, and racing down the paths between them. But then we come upon a truly gigantic dune, surely a couple hundred feet tall, the sort of thing that would make most people think "no way can a normal-ass crossover get up there." Mercedes already had to rescue a poor Cadillac XT5 rental from sand in the flat section near our camp, and all the other vehicles tackling the dunes on this day are serious off-road vehicles designed for the desert.

We go one at a time as a passenger up the epic hill, giving me a few opportunities to watch from afar before it's my turn. Even with its regular tires, the GLCs rocket up the dune without breaking a sweat, deftly gliding sideways for a long while before calmly coming back down the hill at a quick but controlled pace. It kicks up huge waves of sand, a great contrast against the sleek, bright bodywork and that in-your-face grille.

It's one thing to stand at the base of the dune watching from a bit far away, and another to be in the car when it's driving up the seemingly impossibly steep hill. When the driver drifts the imaginary corner to run horizontally across the dune, we're already at a steep angle up that feels more than mildly unsettling, but the GLC never loses stability or starts sliding in a wayward direction.

Inside it's downright calm, even. The cabin is super quiet, with only a bit of whirring from the electric motors making its way to my ears. The electrochromic roof does a great job of beating the heat, and the air conditioning is always primed and powerful. You can get an optional Burmester 3D surround sound system, there's a lot of interesting materials and design elements like the door panel grab handles, and the dashboard-spanning seamless 39.1-inch looks phenomenal and has games for me to play or movies for me to watch. I'm getting a massage. What more could you possibly want?

Now it's my turn to get behind the wheel, though on a much smaller dune, which I am totally fine with. I start out in Terrain mode with stability control fully turned on, which does more than just adjust the ride height. With Terrain mode activated the front motor is always on, and torque distribution between the axles is constantly being adjusted. The traction control system adapts to speed, wheel articulation, traction levels, and throttle and steering input. It simulates the behavior of a differential lock and allows for more drive slip, which helps when "churning" on loose surfaces. Terrain mode also adjusts the anti-lock brakes for optimal deceleration and linear pedal travel depending on the surface, taking steering angle into account for increased safety, and the regenerative braking paddles on the steering wheel are used to control the hill-descent control. Terrain mode will remain engaged until you pass 68 mph, which is more than enough for this desert driving.

Mercedes says the GLC400 will hit 60 mph in 4.2 seconds, and it doesn't feel like being in the sand slows it down that much. Accelerating from a stop is punchy and totally stress-free, with no issues in the deep sand. I take a few runs at the dune, able to pull off some subtle, controlled drifts that are fun but not very showy. Once I'm used to how the car performs, we put the ESP in its off setting and the fun really begins.

My passenger-seat instructor emphasizes how easily the GLC will rotate just by using the accelerator, encouraging me to drive mainly with my right foot. The engineers have been using this trip to fine-tune the throttle control, so it knows when you're accelerating harder and wanting to get silly with it. As I approach the dune's peak at near-freeway speeds, I give the steering wheel the lightest of flicks and mash the right pedal, and the GLC's tail energetically kicks out, whipping us into a lurid drift that results in huge plumes of sand and even bigger laughs.

Using mainly just the throttle to drift instantly feels natural, and it only gets more enjoyable the more I'm out there. I attack the dunes dozens of times, from different angles, at different speeds, and with different levels of sideways aspirations in mind. The GLC takes it all in stride, and I'm grinning the entire time. I hoon around some flat sections of the desert as well, chaining slides together and creating figure-eights in the sand. Doing this sort of dune driving can be daunting, especially if you're not in a "real" off-roader and are trying to actually have fun and go kinda fast, but the GLC makes it easy. "OK, I'm just gonna go oooooone more time," I say for the sixth time.

On one of the runs up the big hill, while I'm standing outside watching the GLC I was in absolutely head up the hill, a group of guys on side-by-sides and motorcycles pull up. One exclaims, "You guys are frickin' ripping in these! That's awesome, it's impressive, man!" As the GLC starts sand surfing and some of the Germans are explaining what the heck we're doing here, the guys are shocked that the GLCs are not only electric, but fully stock and on those road tires. "I'm actually blown away," the same guy says.

Later, as we're breaking for lunch at a base camp set up with a big RV and all of Mercedes' test and support cars, a home-built, Chevy 354-powered sand rail pulls up, wondering what our group is out here for. As he starts chatting with Mercedes' engineers, also impressed by the GLC's performance from afar, he tosses the sand rail keys to one of them and says "enjoy!" The German takes off onto the horizon, V8 echoing across the desert.

That's a decidedly different sort of dune-driving experience from an electric Mercedes SUV, and it's pretty wonderful that both can co-exist in the same off-road park, both bringing smiles to the faces of their owners and onlookers alike. I don't know if any GLC EV customers will actually take their new SUVs to the dunes. I hope they do. But even if they don't, this testing means the GLC should be just as fun and good to drive on their local roads when it snows, or on the dirt trail leading to their weekend rental cabin.