LHD GLC also experience tyre skip, as do other Mercedes models and cars from other manufacturers. It’s reported more in the UK because we don’t have any legislation to ensure use of winter tyres (or all season tyres) in winter, and the winter weather isn’t severe enough in most of the UK for drivers to choose to use winter tyres (or all season tyres) in winter.
It’s not just a RHD thing, nor is it a 4matic or just a 4WD thing. It is not just a GLC thing nor just a Mercedes thing. It happens to many cars fitted with very wide, very low profile, high performance summer tyres with stiff sidewalls in cold weather. In cold (and wet) weather road driving they are unable to warm up sufficiently to reach and stay in their operating temperature window.
As a result the compound makes stiff tyres even stiffer, and the lack of sidewall and width of tread means that the tyres is unable to full absorb the lateral forces to to flex progressively enough for the tyre to slip smoothly on the road surface. Instead the lateral forces are released in high frequency bursts and hence the tyre jumps causing the vibration sensation and understeer.
