Have you ever wondered how there are some people that never have a bad photo taken of them? Their social media feeds or even family pics for that matter always seem to catch these people at their best. Well rest assured, like everything else; for most of them it takes work. From Models and wannabee models, to instagram, Snapchat and FB feeders (even your ‘good looking’ friends and their selfies) they have all worked out how to face the camera to get their best angle. Take a closer look at the shots and you’ll see that they almost always stand to the same side, face/pose the same way, hold their heads up and pout to accentuate the positives (Zoolander called it Blue Steel) it’s not wrong or unfair, let’s just call it good camera awareness. Then of course there are some lucky subjects that for whatever reason naturally don’t have a bad side, (sigh) yeah those.
Let me get this off my chest right off the bat, to me; the Mercedes GLC Coupe styling is glorious. It’s a natural good looker; it and the camera seem to have a mutual admiration club thing going on with it rarely taking a bad picture. Its lines flow like a great Coupe should with a strong silhouette offering a proud dominance as it rests up high on (in this case) AMG 20 inch 5 twin spoke feet.
Mercedes-Benz NZ gave me their 250 to step out with and it looked stunning in its Metallic Canvasite Blue (aka Blue Steel) attire with jet black leather interior – The result is an SUV that’s a real head turner. There is something about its kerb presence that immediately grabbed my attention and then held it for much longer than I realised. It’s not supercar stunning or all angular and ‘yelly’, it’s more like the attractive girl next door that you make any excuse to talk to.
The GLC 250 Coupe is not all looks though, it has plenty of ‘substance’ about it too. With 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive it promises to stick by you through thick and thin (well certainly most of the weather/road conditions that NZ will throw at it) plus it has a reasonable heart that’s easy to fall for. At 7.3 seconds the 0-100kph time isn’t blistering but it’s quicker than you’d expect from a 2L turbo engine inside the sizable frame (the 155kW and 350Nm would do that). Rolling her up to Sports + mode will add some spice to the drive too; while under comfort, the Coupe will sip fuel at a reported combined rate of 7.4L/100km. The 9G-TRONIC performs as I have come to expect and to be honest negates the need for the silver paddles it has on the wheel (but I’m still glad it has them – it’s a control thing).
When it comes to the upholstery, quality leather fills the cabin and Black Ash open pore wood takes up its fair share of the console and trim – it’s modern, smart and easy on the eye. MBNZ had added the COMAND package (21.3cm TFT colour screen, Navigation and 10GB of music memory) and the Vision Package (Sunroof and head up display) to the model I took out and both options are certainly warranted.
Parked up at home, the Coupe took up an impressive amount of my driveway but it also seemed comfortable being there. Facing the house; the rounded rear end merges in well with our modern architecture while round the other way its face offers the neighbours a welcoming greeting. On the road it feels fulfilling, by that I mean it gives you both the impression that you are taking up plenty of space between the white lines while being nimble and maneuverable to dance between lanes when needed. Off the main motorways it feels reassuringly heavy into corners, but even taking them with a certain gusto it was hard to make it squeal. On daily family duties, the luggage (grocery) space seems to go on forever and there is plenty of room in the back seats for adults to sit in comfort but just be wary and warn them when getting in and out (the run of the roofline can catch out the unaware – no not me this time)
Although it has car like lines and a responsive enough powertrain (personal preference is AMG intervention) it’s not a sports car and doesn’t claim to be either. What the GLC 250 Coupe is, is a piece of aesthetically pleasing automotive artistry with all the practicality, technology and luxury of a Mercedes-Benz SUV. And, unless you want to stand in front of the mirror and spend hours practicing your Blue Steel look (maybe you’ve perfected this already) I recommend you get behind the wheel of the Mercedes GLC Coupe and let the naturally good looking SUV grab the majority of the attention while you take the credit for having great taste in vehicles.
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