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The Mercedes-Benz GLB 250 SUV holds down a unique spot in the Mercedes lineup. For many, it’s like a Goldilocks SUV, bigger than a GLA and smaller than a GLC. It’s one of the best ways to get into a three-pointed star for less than $40,000. However, the GLB will get a facelift for 2024.

The Mercedes-Benz GLB was launched in 2019

Mercedes-Benz found success with smaller SUVs in the early 2010s with the blocky GLK-series SUVs. Then, with the launch of the GLC, it established itself as a real player in the SUV compact SUV game. That SUV was a huge hit and has become Mercedes’ best-selling SUV to date.

In its ever-expanding list of SUVs in 2019, Benz launched the GLB to slot between the tall, sedan-like GLA SUV, based on a car, and the GLC. But, unlike those and most others in this class, the GLB 250 can be ordered with a third row. It’s one of the smallest SUVs with an optional third row, but it will hold some smaller folks in a pinch.

For 2024, it will get its first major facelift

The Mercedes-Benz GLB has remained basically the same since it launched in 2019. According to Autoblog, the new facelift will update the front-end styling of the GLB. It will most likely share a family resemblance with the all-electric version of the GLB, the EQB. It could also add Mercedes’ 48-volt mild hybrid system, which doesn’t add much horsepower but provides the electricity to run the new tech Mercedes adds to most SUVs. But we are hoping it stays less than $40,000.

It may resemble the EQB all-electric SUV

Speaking of the EQB, that SUV shares several body panels with the GLB. The grille, however, takes on the cliche of the electric vehicle’s smooth front end. It’s hard to see beneath the camouflage of Mercedes’ testing mules what the new GLB will look like, but it will likely take cues from the EQB’s front end. It has the twin cockpit that Mercedes is pushing in almost every other SUV the company builds.

The GLC recently got a major update too

The new Mercedes-Benz GLC in in silver driving in the mud
Mercedes-Benz GLC | Mercedes

For 2023, Mercedes-Benz significantly updated the GLC. The major refresh updated the styling, the engines, and the interior. Mercedes also added some goodies that off-roaders appreciate, like a trail cam and a beefier all-wheel drive system.

It remains to be seen if the new Mercedes-Benz GLB will get those off-roading updates, but the GLB has slotted in the lineup as more of a luxury people hauler as opposed to a rough-and-tumble SUV. 

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Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.