Had the pleasure of attending the launch of the Mercedes Benz GLC Coupe last week in Cape Town.  Having driven the normal model GLC recently as well, I was intrigued to see the styling differences on the Coupe model.

Very sporty looking with it’s coupe sloping roofline. Not always to everyone’s taste, as it can restrict height at the rear sometimes. But my 5, 9 inch height was not a problem. It has a cool grille with charatertistic Mercedes pattern, painted roof rails in black, and it has optional running boards. The optional DIGITAL Light features daytime driving ellipses.

Into the cabin and it is pure premium, with soft touches, avant-garde seat design and door panels. Loved the dash area divided into two distinct sections and the panoramic sunroof is a feature. The MBUX system where you hail Hey Mercedes, is cool and in most cases she understands what you need. It is also now enhanced by the Mercedes me service, the tour guide acoustic travel guide.

Loved the sound system the Burmester surround sound offers 15 premium speakers and an out put of 710 watts, it is optional though.

The GLC for now, comes in two variants, namely the 220d and the 300d, both mild-hybrid units they are both 2L pushing out 145 and 198kw respectively. Probably for me the 220d is the pick, as you don’t lose too much on performance, and gain on fuel consumption.  Claimed is 5.8 and 6.1 L/100km, but this would have to be tested.

The drive over the beautiful Chapmans Peak drive was enjoyable, as the GLC handles like a dream. It has sports suspension, four-link front axle and multi-link rear-wheel axle. So it was agile and precise. Much needed on those tight bends. It has the 4-MATIC all-wheel drive system as well, so off-road is on the cards as well.

Some comfort items include the Energizing Air Control and ambient lighting, which my 17 year old loves to create her own light shows with.

Safety is taken care of by active distance control, active steering assist and traffic sign assist. Some added functions are the ‘’transparent bonnet’’ 360 deg camera and memory park assist.

Personally I think I prefer the styling of the Coupe, so this would be my choice. The GLS model is now the right size and is good value for money.

Pricing.

GLC 220D incl VAT     R1 392 350.00

GLC 300D incl VAT     R1 447 350.00