You’ve been waiting for a proper BMX X6 rival for ages, haven’t you? Well, here it is in all its splendor, coming 7 years after BMW started to manufacture the X6. Despite the timing fail, the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe has good points and two bad points.
Starting with the biggest bad point of the two, what the fudge was the exterior design team on when it penned the humpback whale styling? Most people say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, while others say that ugly is too. We agree with them.
To sum up what the GLE Coupe inspires at first glance, that’s a vehicle that’s been developed to fill a niche that hasn’t been exploited to its fullest.
In addition to this, Mercedes’ idea of a sport activity coupe is made from various bits and bobs which were lying around in the automaker’s parts bin.
Up front we’ve got headlights inspired by the S-Class, an AMG C63-alike front bumper adorned with three pieces of what looks like chicken wire, while the taillights have some AMG GT to them...
About the other bad point we identified, just look at that dashboard’s overall design and tell me those central air vents haven’t been inspired by the Porsche Cayenne and the steering wheel has nothing to do with the W205 Mercedes C-Class...
Until the GLE 63 AMG Coupe comes, the fastest variant around will be the GLE 450 AMG Coupe, which is the first ever AMG Sport model made by the three pointed star’s skunkworks division.
Slotted neatly between the full-on AMGs and the so-called AMG Styling Package, these vehicles are said to offer both everyday drivability and on demand oomph.
Twin-turbocharged 3-liter V6 with 367 horsepower and 520 Nm (383 lb-ft). That's it!
That power is sent to all four wheels via a 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic. The Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 AMG 4Matic Coupe does naught to 62 mph (100 km/h) in... oh, right, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer thinks this car is so cool, it didn’t even provide acceleration figures.
Nevertheless, if the uninspiring AMG Sport model isn’t floating your boat, then maybe the entry turbo diesel will do. All things considered, the GLE 350 d 4Matic Coupe will be the model that will sell best.
Fuel economy may be a mystery right now, but if you don’t go for the full-on GLE 63 AMG Coupe, then why bother with anything in between the range-topper and the down to earth diesel? On an ending note, the oil burner boasts with 100 Nm (73 lb-ft) more torque than the GLE 450 AMG Coupe.
Check out the press release for all there is to know about the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, as well as the photo gallery below, then tell us if your money would go on this Mercedes or the BMW X6 (F16).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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