The Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe, the more stylish if less practical liftback version of the German car maker’s mid-sized SUV, is set to be replaced by a new second-generation model in mid-March.
Shortly before it is unveiled, however, we’ve been invited to ride along as Mercedes-Benz’s test engineers put the final miles on lightly disguised pre-production prototypes of the Audi Q5 Sportback and BMW X4 rival, which predictably boasts many of the same developments brought to its more upright Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV sibling launched late last year.
First introduced to the Mercedes-Benz line-up in 2016, the GLC Coupe was conceived from the start to be more sporting in nature than the GLC SUV. This holds true with the new model, says Peter Kolb, the head of development for Mercedes-Benz’s mid-size cars, including the GLC.
“The emphasis has not changed a lot. We have once again developed the new GLC Coupe to be the more dynamic model in the line-up. The difference between it and the GLC SUV is not great, but it is subtly more sporting in terms of driving characteristics,” he says as we head out of Mercedes-Benz’s Immendingen test centre in Germany onto public roads.
The GLC has quickly established itself as one of Mercedes-Benz’s most important models. Since joining the German car maker’s line-up as a replacement for the short-lived GLK, it has regularly headed the company’s sales charts. Up to now, it has racked up over 2 million sales worldwide, some 20 per cent or 400,000 of which are said to have been for the coupe.
The design changes brought to the new model, codenamed C254, are quite evolutionary in nature; there’s a general sharpening of the exterior styling, with a new-look grille and thinner LED headlamps (optional with Mercedes-Benz’s Digital Light functionality) together with defined swage lines along the flanks and doors as well new-look tail lamps at the rear.
As before, the GLC Coupe is differentiated from the GLC SUV by its rounded roofline, liftback style tailgate and arguably more stylish rear end. Dimensionally, it has grown. But not by much. Kolb says it is now 32mm longer overall at 4763mm, with the wheelbase extending by 15mm to 2888mm.