GLC [First drives] Mercedes GLC Coupé

[Rainer271]

First Drive: 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC300 Coupe
A sleek roof and slick powertrain shape Mercedes’ latest take on the four-door coupe... if you’re into that sort of thing.
– Turin, Italy

The view of the car world from the editor’s chair is not dissimilar to that observed by you enthusiast readers. Growing up with storied racing legacies and classic designs dancing through our dreams, we’re often quite resistant to new paradigms, especially when they seem to play fast and loose with comforting conventions.

Sedans called “coupes” and minutely lifted station wagons called “crossovers” are easy targets for our conservative ire. And Mercedes-Benz, as much or more than any other automaker, has pushed the boundaries in this get-off-my-lawn set of segments. Thank god it has. If sales of slightly less practical versions of existing products – like this newly minted 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe – allow headroom in the budget for passion products like the AMG GT R, I’m all for them. There’s a spoonful of sugar to this sales-driven medicine, too: The GLC Coupe is nearly as entertaining to drive as any comer in the small-utility world.

Engineers have retuned the steering, making it quicker than in the standard GLC, and the result is a rack that doesn’t feel ship-like on tight mountain roads.

Drive out of Turin and into the Italian Alps, and you’ll soon find exactly the kind of roadways that we editors and enthusiasts love to talk about; the kind that a generation ago were deadly dull in a crossover. Arbors, vineyards, and sheepfolds flank these winding tracks, with switchbacks bending narrow streets into rising, falling, suspension-stressing stretches of driving gold. I’ve piloted quite a few utility vehicles that are able to stir a bit of passion out in the great wide open, thanks to all-wheel-drive grip and mighty engines, but most of them fall flat in this kind of arena. It was a bold choice of venue for Mercedes to launch the GLC Coupe.

But the slant-back vehicle surprised me, to start, by merely keeping up with the road, even at a good clip. Engineers have retuned the steering, making it quicker than in the standard GLC, and the result is a rack that doesn’t feel ship-like on tight mountain roads. The steering wheel is light in action (though it does weight up as speed increases), allowing one to alter direction quickly. There isn’t very much road feel offered up, of course, and that’s a detriment where edge-of-grip driving is concerned, but it also makes the Coupe a far more relaxed thing on the open autostrada (or the mall run) than would a more talkative tiller.

Even the tautest Sport+ setting can’t disguise the weight and body roll of the car.

Adaptive damping and the optional air-adjustable suspension also go a long ways toward giving the GLC Coupe confidence in most drive settings, though even the tautest Sport+ setting can’t disguise the weight and body roll of the car, especially in those hairpins. I was able to develop a nice, quick rhythm for coming down the backsides of slopes, but had to be patient in the effort, waiting for the machine to turn in, take a set, and then get ready to haul ass again. Not exactly a sports car experience, but a touch more involving than the original GLC.

It’s fair play to mention that the base GLC Coupe will arrive Stateside using a taller steel suspension than European units will get, and one that will likely soften up the handling a bit. Such a car wasn’t available for me to drive on this program, so I’ll have to come back to the point when we’ve parked one in the Motor1 fleet (the model goes on sale in early 2017, so it’ll be a minute).

The sole powertrain available at launch is the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that merits the GLC300 Coupe designation. Matched with Mercedes’ nine-speed automatic transmission, this is a very capable powerplant, even when asked to move 4,000 pounds of crossover bulk. Rated at 241 horsepower with a healthy 273 pound-feet of torque, the engine offered unsurprisingly strong midrange acceleration. The exhaust sound, on the other hand, was a surprise, and a pleasant one. Though the car does the hushed highway cruise thing pretty well, at the top of the tachometer in lower gears, it proved rather growling. The basso back pipes were at least worthy of the estimated mid-six-second drive from 0 to 60 miles per hour, and pressed me to pull hard out of slow switchback corners.

Though the car does the hushed highway cruise thing pretty well, at the top of the tachometer in lower gears, it proved rather growling.

The moderately improved handing and familiar powertrain may lurk beneath the skin, but cosmetically, the differences between the GLC SUV and this GLC Coupe are rather obvious. A traditionally shaped rear end and load space have been sacrificed for that coupe-like roofline, creating a sleeker, less-functional form that is, well, the whole point of this segment.

Autos-observant readers will, no doubt, have strong feelings on this genre of utility vehicle, often predicated on pre-formed opinions about the quasi-trailblazing BMW X6 (or, in the U.S. derisively compared with the poor old Pontiac Aztec). There are undeniable similarities in every current crossover coupe form, be it the roofline of the X6 or its little brother X4, or the Mercedes pair of the GLE Coupe and this new GLC.

I happen to prefer the styling of the GLC Coupe to the larger GLE version, as the smaller vehicle seems far less hulking and hunched; happier in the ground-hugging rear view, and sportier looking with its big-wheeled corners. (Conversely, I like the X6 much better than the smaller X4, so I don’t appear to be a latent size-ist.) It may be that the GLC Coupe is simply close enough to being a kind of large hatchback that its existence gets challenged less by the reptilian portion of my brain… In any case, it’s pretty attractive, and may even be best-in-genre today.

The real compromise for the Coupe’s roofline seems to be in the form of back-seat headroom, more than cargo space.

The real compromise for the Coupe’s roofline seems to be in the form of back-seat headroom, more than cargo space. Yes, maximum capacity drops from 56.5 cubic feet in the GLC to 49.4 in the Coupe, and the top part of the load space is more pinched, but it’s not something that will affect most drivers, most days. But tall adults in the rear seats – myself included – will get a kinked neck more quickly in the newly shaped vehicle, thanks to that racy rear roof. Real estate agents and UberBlack drivers, take note.

You’ll understand it by rote if you’ve been driving recent Mercedes products (or reading the reviews), but there is zero compromise for driver or passenger in the from two seats. My test car had the attractive carbon-fiber-styled center stack, flanking the palm-read COMAND controls which operate one of my favorite infotainment suites. A stitched leather dash, elegant brightwork (I love the porthole vents), and good-feeling switchgear dominate the forward view. And the two most driver-critical contact points – the seat and the steering wheel – both balance comfortable ergonomics with sporting intent. Where automotive interiors are concerned, Mercedes seems to have inched ahead of most Audi products in the mainstream-luxury race (though plucky Volvo is hard-charging from the back).

For the style-minded, or simply open-minded, the GLC Coupe looks and feels pretty all right on an Italian mountain road.

Mercedes has not released pricing for the GLC Coupe as of writing, but it isn’t too hard to read the tea leaves. The current GLC300 4Matic (the Coupe arrives as AWD only) starts at $40,950; that’s literally the same as BMW’s X3 xDrive28i. It seems a mortal lock, then, that the GLC Coupe will be within a schnauzer-hair of the rival X4 xDrive28i’s starting price of $45,250.

If you’re an insistent purist who simply can’t abide this evolving oeuvre of coupe-like things, don’t fret. Mercedes will happily sell you a C300 sedan or coupe, or a square-back GLC, in that same forty-ish price strata. But for the style-minded, or simply open-minded, the GLC Coupe looks and feels pretty all right on an Italian mountain road, which is a great fact to present about any vehicle, regardless of pesky door count.



2017 MERCEDES-BENZ GLC300 4MATIC COUPE
ENGINE Turbocharged 2.0L I4
OUTPUT 241 Horsepower / 273 Pound-Feet
TRANSMISSION 9-Speed Automatic
0-62 MPH 6.5 Seconds (est.)
WEIGHT 4,000 Pounds (est.)
SEATING CAPACITY 5
CARGO VOLUME 49.4 Cubic Feet
BASE PRICE $45,000 (est.)

Source: motor1

 

[Rolf]

Nice review (movie) as usual by Autogefuhl

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[Wolfgang]

Stylish Mercedes GLC Coupe performs
Compact SUV brings flair without compromising functionality.

VAL D’AOSTA ITALY-As I never tire of saying, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) aren’t sporty, and not all that utilitarian either. A load of spare parts for my Targa Newfoundland car which nearly filled a Jeep Grand Cherokee fit fine into my VW Jetta station wagon.

Who needs the added bulk and weight of an SUV?

But the customer is always right, even when he’s wrong; you can’t push station wagons off buildings onto unsuspecting customers back home, so SUVs it is.

At least, most SUVs look like the boxes they came in, thereby offering the most efficient use of space. But when you put a fastback-style roofline on them, originated by BMW’s unfortunate-looking X6, you reduce rear-seat headroom and cargo capacity, making them even less practical.

So, fair to say that I was not predisposed to think too highly of the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.

This is Benz’s compact SUV with an X6-like fastback roofline. Arrival in Canada is scheduled for this October.

Pricing has not been released, but the normal GLC starts at $44,950, and I expect the better-equipped Coupe will start a couple grand higher than that.

I have to say I found the lines more appealing than I expected. The unique-to-the-Coupe diamond-motif grille and sleek curves provide an expensive-looking sheen.

Open the door, and again you will find more luxurious fittings, with a wide variety of trims and upholsteries available.

Seating comfort and support are fine, although the lack of availability of ventilated seats seems a bit odd.

The chopped-off (“coupe” does mean “cut”) roofline does take away about 250 litres of luggage space, although the car is a bit longer than the GLC, so longer objects aren’t too badly handled.

Rear seat headroom isn’t as compromised as you might expect, although it is a bit snug widthwise for three adults.

Also a bit odd is the lack of a rear-window wiper. Mercedes says that rainwater does not part company with the car until it runs off the tailgate spoiler lip, thereby eliminating the need for a wiper. I’ll have to wait to try this car in the rain to see if that’s true.

A wide range of engines is available in the RoW (Rest of the World).

Initially, we will get only the same 2.0 litre turbo premium-gasoline inline four used in the normal GLC, mated to Mercedes-Benz’s nine-speed automatic and full-time four-wheel drive (4Matic in Mercedes-speak).

This drivetrain gives decent performance.

The Dynamic Select function enables a choice from a variety of drive modes to make throttle, steering, and shifting a shade sportier if that’s your wont.

The transmission ratio is selected electronically via a rather dainty-looking steering column stalk, which does take some getting used to.

Left to its own devices, the transmission shifts well.

Trailer-towing capacity is given as 1,588 kg, or 3,500 lbs., which seems adequate.

Early next year, a 2.0-litre turbo diesel four checks in. I’m a bit of a diesel fan, and the vastly reduced fuel consumption will probably more than compensate for a slightly less sporting drive. It is commendably quiet at cruising speeds.

A stonking twin-turbo V6 AMG variant joins the fun some time in 2017, while a plug-in hybrid model is expected for the 2018 model year.

With the basic hardware systems lifted from Benz’s new C-Class sedan, we could be reasonably assured that the car would ride and handle well. With tauter suspension calibration and quicker steering, we were not disappointed on the twisty mountain roads in the shadow of the Matterhorn just across the Swiss border from this most lovely region of northwest Italy.

A shame that Mercedes is following BMW in chasing the false promise of run-flat tires. The roads we were on were quite well-paved; on the Baghdad-quality pavement in Toronto, they’re gonna hurt ya ...

There is just no excuse for these things.

The full panoply of Mercedes nanny systems is on board or available, most of which I and anyone who likes to drive will shut off.

After teaching people all my life to keep their hands on the wheel, I can’t bring myself to leave them off for up to 30 seconds.

That said, there’s more of them than there is of us, even if such systems are Darwin-defying.

Any coupe is pretty much by definition more of a style thing than a practical thing.

If the styling appeals to you, then the GLC Coupe manages to bridge that gap, offering a bit of flair without completely compromising functionality.

Tablet FACT BOX:

2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4Matic Coupe / GLC 300d 4Matic Coupe: Four-door, five-seat compact SUV coupe full-time four-wheel drive.

Price: n/a; estimated range $48,995 — $60,000

Engine: GLC 300 — 2.0 litre inline 4 double overhead camshafts four valves per cylinder turbocharged. GLC 300d — 2.0 litre inline 4 double overhead camshafts four valves per cylinder turbocharged Diesel.

Power/torque: horsepower / lb-ft. GLC 300 — 241 @ 5,500 r.p.m. / 273 @ 1,300 — 4,000 r.p.m.; GLC 300d — 200 @ 3,800 r.p.m. / 369 @ 1,600 — 1,800 r.p.m. 335 hp / 285 lb-ft

TRANSMISSION: nine-speed automatic.

Transport Canada Fuel Consumption City / Highway (L/100 km): n/a

What’s hot: Nice blend of style and practicality.

What’s not: Run-flat tires are always a bad idea.

https://www.thestar.com/autos/2016/08/06/stylish-mercedes-glc-coupe-performs.html

 

[Wolfgang]

2017 MERCEDES-BENZ GLC300 COUPE FIRST DRIVE
Defying logic

There are many things in this world that defy logic. Particle physics. Donald Trump’s hair. SUVs that (sorta, kinda) look like coupes. Of the latter, the 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe is the newest addition to a burgeoning automotive subgenre that already includes BMW‘s X6 and X4, Porsche‘s Macan, and, within the next few years, vehicles from Range Rover, Audi, and Bentley, too. Oh, and before Disgusted from Dayton, Ohio, fires off yet another angry email complaining that coupes cannot have four doors, forget it: Language and meaning evolve, and four-door coupe is now a term that has entered the automotive lexicon. So we’re sticking with it. OK?

The GLC Coupe is, of course, basically a rebodied version of the regular wagon-style GLC that launched in the U.S. earlier this year. Although 3.0 inches longer and 1.4 inches lower overall, it shares the same 113.1-inch wheelbase and the same front and rear track. It will be available in other markets with a 2.2-liter diesel engine and as a plug-in hybrid, but under the hood of the U.S.-spec GLC300 Coupe is the same turbocharged inline-four engine with 241 hp at 5,500 rpm and 273 lb-ft of torque from 1,300 rpm to 4,000 rpm, driving through the same smooth nine-speed automatic transmission, as in the GLC300 sold stateside.

The GLC300 Coupe also shares the same basic front clip as the GLC300, though it gets a sportier single-bar grille and a slightly more aggressive front splitter. From the base of the A-pillar back, however, the sheetmetal is unique. The windshield is more steeply raked to blend in with the lower roof, and new door skins deliver a higher beltline. New rear quarter panels meld with the steeply raked C-pillars, and the rear hatch incorporates a hint of a bustle and a small lip spoiler before dropping down to the new rear bumper. There is no rear window wiper: Mercedes-Benz claims the laminar airflow streaming over the roof does not break away from the car until it hits the lip spoiler, effectively blowing water off the glass.

It’s difficult to make something as tall and bulky as an SUV look as svelte and sexy as a low-slung coupe. The GLC Coupe carries the idea off with much more élan than its larger sibling, the GLE Coupe, though from some angles it still looks slightly bloated and overblown. It’s nowhere as lean and muscled as a Porsche Macan. That the coupe design compromises load-carrying capacity is a given: Three or four smallish soft bags are about all you’ll get in the load area if you want to keep your luggage hidden out of sight under the cargo blind. As U.S.-spec cars will have run-flat tires, there’s also additional space under the load area floor, but again, it’s really only for soft bags. If you need to carry lots of stuff, buy the GLC.

Design apart, the only other differences between the GLC and GLC Coupe are minor tweaks to suspension and steering calibrations to give the sportier-looking of the two a slightly sportier demeanor on the road. The steering ratio has been quickened, going from 16.1:1 to 15.1:1. Both the steel spring/adjustable shock suspension, called Dynamic Body Control in Benz-speak, and the optional Air Body Control air-suspension system, feature slightly stiffer damper rates to tighten up roll rates and body motions. In Sport and Sport+ modes the air springs will drop the GLC Coupe 0.6 inch lower to the tarmac.

Mercedes-Benz says the GLC Coupe is “the sports car among the midsize SUVs,” which suggests the marketing folks haven’t driven either the Porsche Macan or the new JaguarF-Pace. The GLC300 Coupe is a smidge more nimble, a touch more buttoned-down, than the regular GLC300, but it is no sports car. The chassis doesn’t disappoint, but it doesn’t excite, either. It’s just quietly competent. The GLC300 Coupe steers better and rides better than BMW’s X4.

Switch to Sport+ mode, and use the steering wheel-mounted paddles to run up and down the nine-speed transmission, and the GLC300 Coupe will hustle along a winding two-lane at a brisk clip, the 2.0-liter turbo-four barking crisply in the background. Push hard, though, and it’s the front end that cries uncle first, the nose running wide until you get off the gas. Dynamically, it’s pretty one-dimensional.

And, in truth, most GLC300 Coupe buyers won’t care. This car is all about image, not practicality or performance. Expected on sale in the U.S. late this year or early 2017, the GLC300 Coupe will do its best work not on the Nürburgring Nordschleife but idling up to valet parking stands in the suburbs of Los Angeles, New York, and Miami.

Fast Company: AMG versions of the GLC Coupe are coming

Nothing official yet, of course, but you can bet on AMG versions of the new Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe appearing in the near future. No crystal ball, no highly placed mole is needed to figure this out. You can set your IWC watch by the ordered cadence of launches from Affalterbach: Mercedes releases a new vehicle, and AMG versions subsequently appear. What started out almost 50 years ago as an independent Benz tuning shop is now big business for the three-pointed star, especially in America. Roughly half the AMG cars built are sold in the U.S. If the greater Los Angeles area were a country, it would be AMG’s eighth largest market.

An AMG GLC43 was shown at the New York show, so an AMG GLC43 Coupe is an absolute no-brainer. The 43 series vehicles are AMG’s new midlevel performance range, powered by twin-turbo, 362-hp, 3.0-liter V-6 engines. The 43s also run the new Daimler nine-speed automatic transmission, though shift speeds are quickened 50 percent and use the best suspension available on each model as the baseline setup.

So the AMG GLC43 Coupe will get Air Body Control, retuned to give firmer, sportier ride and handling. As per standard setup with all 43s, the all-wheel-drive system will be recalibrated to increase the maximum rear torque bias from 55 percent to 69 percent. The Sport and Sport+ settings will be more aggressively calibrated, and a different exhaust fitted.

Spy shots of what appear to be an AMG GLC63 Coupe are already doing the rounds. The twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V-8, which can deliver from 500 hp to more than 600 hp, depending on the 63 series AMG car it powers, fits under the hood. The GLC Coupe is built on the same MRA architecture as the C-Class sedan, coupe, and wagon; the front structure is essentially identical.

As with all 63 series vehicles, the AMG GLC63 will feature reworked suspension all round, particularly at the front, and the engine will drive through AMG’s seven-speed MCT transmission. Expect big wheels and tires, optional carbon-ceramic brakes, and, of course, a thundering exhaust.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/mercedes-benz/glc-class-coupe/2017/2017-mercedes-benz-glc300-coupe-first-drive-review/

 

[Wolfgang]

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/mercedes-benz/glc-class-coupe/2017/2017-mercedes-benz-glc300-coupe-first-drive-review/

 

[Wolfgang]

An enjoyable four-door coupe? We just might have found it

The idea of a four-door coupe is, to some, sacrilegious. Since the Mercedes-Benz CLS coupe sparked the trend -- and BMW continued to beat the drum with its X4 and X6 crossovers -- four-door coupes have been a polarizing topic for auto enthusiasts, partly because they’re awkward-looking. While Mercedes has its four-door GLE coupe, it needed something smaller -- something the size of the X4. The answer for Benz was to reshape the roof of its new GLC and turn it into the next four-door SUV Coupe. The difference? This looks good.

Obviously, the major distinction between this coupe and the flat-topped GLC counterpart is behind the second row of seats. The sleek roofline dips into the cargo space, but the coupe still manages to squeeze three carry-on suitcases plus a few photography bags back there, which mean your average everyday errands shouldn’t be an issue.

Aside from the cargo area, the rest of the GLC Coupe is about the same as its non-coupe cousin: the rear seats provide a surprising amount of leg- and headroom, the steering wheel, armrests and dash are all soft to the touch; the whole cabin, in typical Mercedes fashion, has a top-notch fit and finish.

The infotainment system is the same as found in the GLC and the C-Class: a 7-inch screen, controlled by the selector on the center console. The system is as snappy as ever, without any real hang-ups to note. It quickly recognizes smartphones and plays virtually anything from the device.

What's it like to drive?

The GLC is powered by the same 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 found in the regular GLC. No surprise then, that it sports the same figures: 241 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. While peak horsepower hits high in the range at 5,500 rpm, peak torque kicks in low at 1,300 rpm and doesn’t fall off until the tach reads 4,000 rpm. That power gets to the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system by way of Merc’s nine-speed 9G-tonic automatic transmission.

The engineers decided to make the GLC’s exhaust note come alive at around 4,000 rpm in sport-plus mode to give the car some kick. Unlike the GLC Coupe’s more subdued siblings, you’ll be met with a pleasant roar and the occasional pop and snarl from the tailpipe. While the exhaust note is worth switching to the gas-drinking sport-plus setting, you’ll also find that this drive mode makes the accelerator pedal sensitive to even a slight stab off the line. To say it’s touchy might go too far, but it’s a quirk you’ll have to adjust to.

If you want a less sensitive throttle and a subdued exhaust, don’t worry. The comfort, eco and sport modes are all fit for a quiet and easy-going ride around town.

Merc engineers bumped the steering ratio up on the GLC from 16:1 to 15:1 to make it feel sportier. Sport and sport-plus driving modes also firm up the steering -- making it considerably heavier than the eco and comfort modes. The added weight, combined with the increased steering ratio compared to the normal GLC, helps the Coupe feel sharper on the canyon roads we drove. Sure, it’s still limited by its center of gravity and non-aggressive tires, but compared to its utilitarian variant, it’s a step in the sporty direction.

Even with the slightly quicker steering ratio, the comfort and eco modes still provide effortless steering, and don’t really send any feedback to the leather-wrapped steering wheel.

The steel spring suspension underneath the tester sported Mercedes’ active dampening and responded to the Dynamic Select drive mode switch well -- softening in the more comfortable modes and getting firm when in sport and sport-plus. While Mercedes' Air Body Control might do a better job at absorbing shocks from potholes, the steel springs with the active dampening will be good enough for most drivers. In North America, the GLC Coupe will ride higher than the Euro-spec versions, which are offered with an off-road package. Our stateside version will have about the same stance as the 2016 GLC and will look less like a steroid-injected wagon. While this will affect the handling, we imagine it’ll still be spryer than the standard GLC SUV.

Do I want it?

The four-door coupe slashes the all-important “utility” part of the “sport utility vehicle” moniker, which makes this hard to like more than the regular GLC, BMW’s X3 or Audi’s Q5. However, if you want a four-door sports wagon-type vehicle that doesn’t have the stigma of an old-school station wagon; you’re almost stuck with one of these new coupes.

Despite how natural-looking the GLC coupe is compared to its GLE coupe cousin, and competition, we doubt that it’ll smash its standard-looking SUV in sales because people flock to those SUVs because they’re utilitarian -- not stylish. That said, it is useful enough as a grocery-getter or people-hauler, but less so than a non-coupe.

Is it better than an X4? We can’t say. Personally, we think it looks better than the Bavarian’s offering, but that’s, of course, subjective. You be the judge.

Source: Autoweek

 

[Wolfgang]

 

[Wolfgang]

2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC300 4Matic Coupe first drive review

You know that thing where we're calling things coupes, when they're not? Lay that at the feet of Mercedes-Benz.

Back in 2006, Benz started the "four-door coupe" trend with the original CLS-Class sedan. Things quickly got out of hand. All sorts of brands, from Land Rover to Mazda, started using "coupe-like" to describe the sleek styling themes of new vehicles.

Then BMW went nuclear by applying "coupe" to SUVs, when it christened the X6 and X4.

This year, the whole trend swallows its own tail. Mercedes-Benz is going after the X4 with a compact companion to its GLC-Class SUV, in the form of the GLC Coupe.

Just a refresher on what coupes are: shorter, two-door hardtop versions of sedans.

Even though it is most assuredly not a coupe, the GLC300 Coupe is what the Chopped judges would call nicely composed. It pitches the same style/substance trade-off as BMW's sex-UVs, with a better balanced shape and a more relaxed road feel.

I drove the GLC Coupe in Italy last week, with the Matterhorn looming in the background, stunning alpine vistas serving as set dressing--and nary a real coupe in sight.

Better-than-Bimmer balance

Let's not make too much of the whole coupe, though. It just means a better-looking, less roomy version of the GLC. It's at least a better design trade-off than the one made by the X4. Let's even go so far to say the GLC Coupe is the best-looking coupe-like SUV so far.

Of course, the GLC Coupe closely resembles the GLE Coupe, but more than a few of the writers gathered for this first drive agreed that the GLC does a better job fending off its BMW rival than the GLE does.

Most of the shape ahead of the front doors is common to the standard GLC, save for a grille with only a single blade and wide, straked air intakes. The glass sits a bit more upright on the Coupe, but the roofline starts its taper right over the driver's head, and it doesn't stop until it hits the rear fenders just ahead of the tail.

Elaborate details gloss over any rugged intentions the GLC Coupe might ever have. It's impossible to imagine the available perforated step rails in an off-roading scenario when they look more like a Hugo Boss sample sale.

Where it bests the BMW is in the balance of styling elements down the side. The Benz's roofline is lower, the roofline falls more gracefully, and the glass sits far enough off the tail to create the illusion of a short decklid, just enough to play up the "coupe" aspect. The GLC's surfacing is softer, and the wheelbase is long enough to play out the shape, where the X4 appears a bit more stubby and angular.

The GLC Coupe's cabin is more of the same soothing, stylish stuff found in the latest generation of Mercedes cars. It's clearly drawn from the latest C-Class and GLC, with the low dash intersecting a wide center console, the center stack banded by a row of round vents.

A sport trim package fits the cabin with a flat-bottom steering wheel, studded pedals and AMG floormats. Trimmed in metal, wood, and leather, the cabin's one flaw is the infotainment display that rests on the dash with the aplomb of a mid-priced hotel's flat-screen TV.

A softer stance

Though it'll be available in GLC43 AMG and eventually a GLC63 AMG version, I drove the version closest to what we'll see here in the U.S--a GLC300 Coupe with all-wheel drive and a turbocharged 4-cylinder.

It's close but not identical: my car was tuned to European ride-height standard, while U.S. versions will ride a few inches higher, mostly to conform to EPA truck-classification rules. My impressions of handling were generally good, but they're bound to change with ride height and tire specifications distinct to American versions.

Hustling through Italy's Aosta Valley is no easy task for an SUV, but the GLC Coupe turns it into easy work. Oxygen is thin, the roads are narrow, the drop-offs are huge, the elevation changes are spectacular, and the GLC Coupe doesn't feel like a clumsy utility vehicle.

It's no AMG GT, either, but with its frisky drivetrain and quickened steering, the GLC Coupe softens our stance on the C-word, at least a little.

The core of the Mercedes lineup these days is its latest 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. Here it's good for the same 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque it makes in the GLC, C-Class, and the new E-Class. It has all the torque accessible at a diesel-like 1,300 rpm, and hooks up well with the 9-speed automatic.

Acceleration, by the seat of the pants, is mid-7s strong, via an all-wheel-drive system with a 45:55 torque split front to rear. The powertrain is responsive and gutsy, and the 9-speed doesn't rummage around through its gears as much as we've found in other 9-speed applications. But the GLC Coupe's 4-cylinder is gruff under full throttle, and the stop/start that helps it save fuel can restart the SUV abruptly.

Playing with the rocker switches on the gorgeous console yields some useful alternatives. The transmission and throttle can be spun from Eco to Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Individual modes. Sport+ cracks the whip on shift speed and throttle, turning the paddle shift controls into useful little cattle prods, while Eco mode lightens the consumption by letting the car coast briefly.

The EPA hasn't yet rated the GLC300 Coupe, but last year's equivalent GLC was pegged at 21 mpg city, 28 highway, and 24 combined.

Sheep-stirrer

With quick steering and absorbent ride, the Euro-spec GLC Coupe handles better than it probably has to, to justify its boutique shape.

The basics are common to the GLC. Mercedes will sell the Coupe with either a conventional multi-link independent suspension and adaptive dampers, or an air suspension with adaptive dampers that can lower the Coupe by about a half-inch at highway speeds for better handling and fuel economy, or more (up to 1.6 inches) for easier loading of cargo.

We've driven the air-suspension GLC wagon, and found it rode with a calm, flat composure that almost removed too much of the information gleaned from body roll.

In the Coupe, I spent two half-days in vehicles fitted with summer tires and the steel suspension, as well as the quicker steering rack that differentiates the Coupe from the wagon (with a ratio of 15:1, versus 16:1 in the GLC wagon).

The Coupe doesn't have much steering feedback, like its wagon counterpart. Even big wheels and summer tires don't produce the kind of judder and patter that pinpoint the wheels' precise location on the road. It's tuned to be isolated, but the GLC Coupe still has good weight in its more sporty driving modes, and tracks well on center.

The sport suspension doesn't betray the fact that this is a Mercedes, and by nature, it's more compliant than a comparable BMW. There's a suppleness that's complemented by softly upholstered seats and lots of sound deadening, to mute the driving experience in the right ways without isolating it entirely.

Yes, it's a lifted and raised hatchback with all-wheel drive, but the GLC Coupe blurs the body-style distinctions even more as I get higher and higher into a grey area above the tree line, somewhere in a three-country pile-up. It's light on its feet, dips down two or three gears on command, and complies willingly when you want to chase some Puntos and Citroens up a skinny sheep trail.

Cargo matters

I'm not mad at all about the way the GLC Coupe's roofline cuts down on the cargo hold. It's not as useful as the wagon, sure, but like the X4, the Coupe still has decent passenger space, and enough of a cargo hold to bring four people and their roll-aboards on a long weekend trip. If you believe the stock photos above, it can even hold a skateboard, which makes me think the photographer had really low expectations.

The GLC Coupe actually is longer than the wagon, but it's all for appearances, and doesn't improve on interior space in knee room or leg room. Since the GLC Coupe's roofline is lower overall, it should come as no surprise that the headliner in the back seat dips down just behind passengers' heads, and will touch the pates of taller riders in a way the wagon's headliner would not.

The slimmer space is more in evidence when you power open the tailgate and try on the shallower cargo hold for size. Or when you attempt to read traffic over your shoulder: Vision to the rear quarters is not good, which is why the available surround-view camera is such a necessity.

Prices for features like that, and base sticker, haven't been published yet, but the GLC Coupe will come standard with all-wheel drive and a steel suspension, as well as 19-inch wheels, a power tailgate, a multimedia interface, a rearview camera, pushbutton start, and man-made upholstery. The drive-mode selector is also standard, along with a sunroof, a power driver seat, and power-folding mirrors.

Major options will include adaptive cruise control with lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitors, and adaptive cruise control; ventilated and heated front seats; an upholstered dash; heated rear seats; ambient lighting; a head-up display; the air suspension; and an 8.4-inch infotainment display with navigation and a touchpad for inputs.

The GLC Coupe will go on sale right at the end of a year or the beginning of one, depending on how you look at things. Call it a tall, lively Coupe with all-wheel drive, or just consider it a streamlined SUV with its styling priorities in order--again, it's all in how you look at things.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1104725_2017-mercedes-benz-glc-300-4matic-coupe-first-drive-review

 

[Wolfgang]

MB Passion drives the coupes: the GLC 250, the GLC 300 and the GLC 350d. They prefer the later, with Air Body Control set to "Comfort".

http:///2016/08/erste-fahrt-im-aostatal-mit-dem-neuen-glc-coupe-als-250-300-und-350d/

 

[Wolfgang]

A few pictures from the ChasingStars 2016 roadtrip. They arrived in Hungary.

GTspirit.com

Mercedes-Fans.de

fuenfkommasechs.de

 

[Wolfgang]

From the GLC Coupe #ChasingStars roadtrip. After visiting the G-Class factory in Graz, they arrived in Budapest, Hungary, on their way to the Transalpina, the highest road in Romania.

More pics at this link:

http:///2016/08/der-roadtrip-rollt-richtung-bukarest-im-glc-coupe-von-graz-nach-budapest-chasingstars/

 

[Wolfgang]

 

[Mick Briesgau]

I really like this GLC. Esthetically the choice above the GLE Coupé imo ...

 

[Wolfgang]

On the Transfăgărășan in Romania.

 

[Monster]

Australian launch, as predicted the "250" engines are not sufficient for a car this size and weight.

2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe review

The ability for Mercedes-Benz to seemingly have an answer for every automotive question has been further illustrated by the local launch of the 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.

It’s the second SUV coupe derivative for the German manufacturer, and the fourth act of coupe-ness in the current lineup, following S-Class, GLE, C-Class and now the GLC.

The new SUV is available in three models from launch: the 125kW/400Nm 2.1-litre turbo diesel GLC220d, 155kW/350Nm turbocharged 2-litre petrol GLC250, and the 150kW/500Nm turbocharged 2.1-litre GLC250d diesel.

The 270kW/520Nm 3-litre twin-turbo V6 AMG GLC 43 Coupe will follow in February 2017, although you can get in early and order one now.

We sampled both ‘250 Coupe variants on a day drive around Kinglake National Park and Yea, north of Melbourne.

Style-wise, the GLC Coupe is most assuredly a product of current Mercedes-Benz lineage. From the front it appears very much like its wagon sibling, while from the rear it shares a near identical look with the larger GLE Coupe.

High rump? Check. Long LED tail lamps? Check. Mercedes-Benz badge that hides the rear-view camera? Check, and with an added party trick of being the ‘secret’ boot-release button as well.

Here’s a tip, too: you can’t open the boot if the reverse camera is activated, unless you do so from in the cabin. Not sure that one comes up very often in your day-to-day car use, but now you know!

you can read the rest of the review here

http://www.caradvice.com.au/497331/2017-mercedes-benz-glc-coupe-review/

 

[martinbo]

Saying this purely for the purposes of contextual comparison and not wanting to descend into combustibility...

As someone who leans toward BMW, I have to say that the GLC Coupe looks miles - no, leagues - better than the X4 (which is patently hideous).

 

[braaf]

Saying this purely for the purposes of contextual comparison and not wanting to descend into combustibility...

As someone who leans toward BMW, I have to say that the GLC Coupe looks miles - no, leagues - better than the X4 (which is patently hideous).

Agreed. It even looks better than its big brother. But again the cookie cutter was used which is a turn off for me.

 

[Rainer271]

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[Wolfgang]

Move Over SUVs, ‘SACs’ by Mercedes and BMW Are Killing It
Sports activity coupes aren’t great for driving, but wealthy young couples love them.
By Kyle Stock -- Bloomberg

In four days of driving, the new Mercedes GLC300 Coupe incites a common refrain: “That thing is sexy; what is it?”

This from a self-identified “car guy” outside a fishing shop in upstate New York, though variations emerged from all types of folks. At gas stations, stoplights, and even in brownstone Brooklyn during a dodgy parallel-park, curious passersby invariably gaped at the strange, buggy Benz. I’ve driven six-figure, carbon-veined sports cars that turned fewer heads.

So what’s the answer? What is this machine? It’s a master class in curb appeal. A cure for SUV fatigue. The latest entry in a strange genus of automobilia that makes little sense, but lots and lots of money.

The GLC Coupe joins Mercedes’s larger GLE Coupe and BMW’s X4 and X6 in a burgeoning class of vehicles that have the height and weight of an SUV, but the shape of a sports coupe. They don’t drive quite as well as their lower-slung siblings, and they don’t haul as much as their full-sized twins. These rigs are the vehicular equivalent of Tim Tebow—not particularly great at anything, but boy, is he athletic.

“[Buyers are] really drawn to the vehicle, based off of exterior styling and the image of the car,” said Keith Edwards, a Mercedes product manager for the GLC line. “A coupe, at the end of the day, is about showing off.”

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG calls these Teutonic moon rovers “sports activity coupes”—SACs, if you’re into acronyms. It’s an SUV with a little less “U.” BMW started this segment-within-a-segment in 2009, when it chopped the booty off its X5 and rolled out the X6. In 2014, it followed with the X4, the coupe-fied version of its smaller X3 SUV. Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz got in the game the following year with its GLE Coupe and released its smaller, cheaper GLC Coupe in January.

Hustling the machine along a sinuous interstate, I get the appeal. It’s an exercise that is equal parts Mad Max and Star Trek. With its height and hunched stance, the rig seems ready for a race through the desert. Yet its squat haunches and wide tires arc the big machine through corners with futuristic grace. The body hardly leans, despite its elevation, the steering is tight and the cockpit, with its click-wheel entertainment controls and jet-engine vents, is the spaceship trim standard on all Mercedi these days.

The small, slanted window in back is a constant reminder that it’s not an SUV—at least not quite. The GLC Coupe can still be had with a trailer hitch good for hauling up to 3,000 pounds.

Even so, our fearless pooch Woodrow just didn’t get it. Sure, as a teenage Lab he’s a bit of a dim bulb. But plopped into the way-back with the tail-gate open, his head cleared the roof-line. His crinkled eyebrows asked: “How is this going to work?” Sure, the back seats lie flat, but that’s where the kids and the gear go.

Woodrow, typically an SUV fan, was confused by the GLC Coupe’s cramped “SAC” trunk. Photographer: Kyle Stock

However, this, too, syncs with the intent of the vehicle. These machines embody consumption at its most conspicuous—vehicles for customers who want to drive a hulking SUV but don’t want anyone to think they need one. The Costco crowd need not apply. The dogs will have to wait for their walkers.

“I look at these things as almost presaging SUV fatigue,” said Bill Visnic, editorial director at the Society of Automotive Engineers. “It is sort of irrational, but irrationality is kind of a big part of it.”

And then there are the specs. The new GLC Coupe will get up to 60 miles per hour in 6.4 seconds, not one tic faster than the standard GLC SUV. Meanwhile, it offers 13 percent less space and has a starting sticker price 10 percent higher.

The size-to-cost discrepancy is even starker in the BMW line. The X4 and X6 each have one-fifth less space than the X3 and X5 and the get-in cost can be as much as 19 percent higher. BMW says its X4 and X6 buyers tend to be couples, whereas those buying their SUV siblings have families. Mercedes, meanwhile, says its elevated coupes draw a slightly younger and more affluent customer.

It's a form of young love and, as such, predictably expensive. These SACs are money machines. They are cranked out on the same assembly lines as their SUV counterparts, using the same platforms and parts for the most part. Only the styling, skin, some tuning and extras are different.

In short, most of the price premium is pure profit.

the X2, a sports coupe iteration of its smallest SUV, the X1.

As I loaded up my fishing gear and goosed the car down a knobby dirt road, I wanted a little more space for rod cases and other paraphranelia. When I hit the interstate and zoomed back to Brooklyn—dogless—I wanted the car to squat a little closer to the ground. Still, when I stopped for gas, I once again became an unwitting Mercedes salesman.

Here’s the dirty secret in the auto industry, one clearly illustrated by the so-called SAC: Car customers aren’t all that rational. Sure, they know what they should buy, but the best laid plans of deep internet research are quickly trumped by what speaks to them from the show floor. It's animal spirits manifest in horsepower. What else explains the millions of proud F-150 owners who never need to haul a thing, let alone 5,000 pounds? Or the legions of casual stop-and-go commuters sitting in machines that can zip to 60 in three seconds? Despite all the autonomous driving algorithms buzzing in the dashboard, buying a car is still an emotional transaction.

Mercedes says a huge portion of its SUV coupe customers go into dealerships with the intent of buying something else entirely—something bigger, something less “expressive.” Then they see the Mad Max version of a sports car and ask: “What is that?”

 

[Wolfgang]

Photos: Gijs Spierings in Milan