DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe

Mercedes-Benz insists it is breaking new ground by smooshing coupe and SUV designs together to create next year’s GLE Coupe.

It might not be doing exactly that, with the X6 and X4 lurking fairly obviously to suggest BMW got there first, but it’s certainly breaking clear of any perceptions of stodginess.

The GLE Coupe combines all the styling features of Benz’s traditional sportier cars, including their lower, wider grilles, with a high-riding SUV stance.

It will also be the first car off the new AMG Sport production lines, with the GLE 450 AMG delivering all-wheel drive grip through Benz’s new nine-speed automatic transmission.

The turbocharged direct-injection V6 range-topper will have 270kW of power and a thumping 520Nm of torque, peaking at just 1400rpm, all punching through an all-wheel drive system designed to send 60 per cent of the drive to the rear wheels.

“The GLE 450 AMG is our first sports model and further highly emotional and performance-oriented models will follow in the near future,” Mercedes-AMG Chairman Tobias Moers said.

“The new product line from Mercedes-AMG has allows us to make true sports car technology and the fascination of motorsports more accessible.”

While that last part might be a stretch, the GLE 450 AMG uses the same long 2915mm wheelbase as its lesser GLE siblings and the bodywork stretches out to the same 4900mm overall length as well.

Sources at Mercedes-Benz insist the GLE Coupe had to be sub-five metres to give a clearer positioning in a brand already brimming with SUV models, including the GLA, the GLC (nee GLK), the GLE, (once known as the M-Class), the GLS (formerly the GL) and the Gelanderwagen, or G-Class.

Mercedes is pitching the GLE Coupe to land between the M… err, GLE and the GLS, meaning a starting price somewhere between that of the cheapest current six-cylinder M-Class ($103,430) and the entry-level GL 350 BlueTEC ($129,930).

The GLE Coupe is lower, at 1731mm, than it is wide. But it is a significant 2003mm wide, though that includes the foldable mirrors. While Mercedes-Benz hasn’t supplied a width with the mirrors folded in, its front track of 1658mm and its 1725mm rear track suggest something in the order of 1880mm.

Even that number isn’t as simple as it sounds because while the standard petrol and diesel GLE Coupe models run 275/50 R20 tyres all around, the AMG Sport version has been heavily tuned with the rubber. It sits on taller 275/45 R21 front tyres and far larger 315/40 R21 rear boots.

As for the other SUV-coupe that Mercedes-Benz studiously ignores, the X6 is just 9mm longer, 14mm narrower and sits on a wheelbase 18mm longer. And just like that, Mercedes-Benz’s claims to be first in the segment come crashing down, and the BMW even has the hide to be 42mm lower at the roof’s highest point.

While the GLE 450 AMG Coupe is the headline act, Mercedes-Benz will also launch it with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 and the direct-injection biturbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine out of the C 400.

All three models share the same nine-speed automatic transmission, with the significant difference that, without the need for the AMG Sport’s handling sharpness, the GLE 350 CDI and the GLE 400 split their torque evenly between the front and rear axles.

The GLE 350 CDI’s strength is expected to come from its 620Nm of torque, which arrives in a wave from 1600rpm to 2400rpm and that’s backed up by 190kW of power that you’ll need to build up to 3600rpm in order to find.

The GLE 400 has 480Nm of torque from its 2996cc capacity and, surprisingly, it arrives earlier in the petrol-powered car (1400rpm) than it does in the diesel. In reality, though, the diesel will have more torque at 1400rpm than the GLE 400. The headline act for the GLE 400 is its power, delivering 245kW at 5500 rpm.

While Mercedes-Benz isn’t talking about the weight of its new challenger, it’s clear that anything taking on the X6 so closely spec for spec (see table below) won’t be miles away from the BMW. In its V8 petrol form, the X6 weighs 2170kg, so deduct 30kg or so for the V6 difference and you shouldn’t be surprised if it ends up somewhere near the 2100kg mark.

One of Benz’s flagship technologies for the GLE Coupe is its Dynamic Select system that allows the driver to vary the car’s ride, handling and comfort systems. Other car-makers have similar systems and this is a refinement of existing Mercedes-Benz systems, but now it has a name.

It’s at its most prominent on the GLE 450 AMG, delivering five settings from Comfort, Slippery, Sport and Sport +, as well as an Individual mode that allows drivers to chop and change the mix to suit themselves.

Operated by the centre console’s rotary control knob, it works on all the car’s systems, ranging from the exhaust noise to the generated noise, from the traction control to the throttle response, from the instrument display to the steering feel and from the gear shifting to the fuel economy.

Its Slippery mode is the one that covers the very limited off-road use the GLE 450 AMG is likely to ever see, though it’s geared up more for snow and ice than it is for gravel or mud.

It also adopts the Active Steer and Active Curve functions from the S-Class Coupe, using the air suspension system to pump up the outside ride height so the car leans into bends to reduce the feeling of cornering force for the passengers.

That’s helped by a five-link rear suspension, complete with active anti-roll bars at both ends and though the non-AMG Sport models have steel springs, they have switchable damping stiffness. And the air suspension is optional across the range.

Inside, the GLE Coupe can be built as either a five-seater or with a through-console to make it a dedicated four-seat machine.

The rear seats fold flat to deliver 1650 litres of luggage space, though Benz’s reluctance to confirm a cargo figure with the rear seats in their standard position might not be a good omen.