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THE FASTBACK- STYLED GLC COUPE COMPLETES THE SUV PUZZLE FOR MERCEDES- BENZ

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a less practical GLC SUV. It simply isn’t about practicality. Mercedes- Benz says the GLC Coupe, which launches in New Zealand this week and which sampled in Australia recently, is an entirely different proposition to what has become one of the German carmaker’s true success stories.

Launched here about this time last year, the mid- size GLC SUV leapfrogged several other Mercedes- Benz models to become the second- best selling variant in the range after the perennial C- Class.

That’s no real surprise to the local distributor of course, which was crying out for a more compact SUV to do battle with similarly proportioned models from rivals BMWand Audi ( the X3 and Q5 respectively).

So now we have this. A slopeybacked and distinctly sportier take on the GLC. Think fashion- forward rather than family first.

Interestingly, the boot remains quite deep and broad despite that raked silhouette behind the c- pillar. But it’ll be skis rather than strollers that get stowed there. In fact, it’s quite remarkable how different the Coupe looks when compared with the SUV, despite two- thirds of the sheet metal being nearly identical.

The Coupe is longer and lower and, even in entry- level GLC 220d guise, it arrives with plenty of bling boxes ticked. Every model ( there are three) gets 20- inch AMGmulti- spoke alloy wheels, Mercedes- Benz’s “diamond” grille and an AMGLine body kit

straight out of the box.