FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe previewed

Live Amazon Music streaming will be available in the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, which has been revealed ahead of its world debut at the Frankfurt motor show in two weeks.

Due on sale in Australia from the second quarter of 2020, the new GLE Coupe is based on the latest generation (W167) GLE large SUV launched in Australia earlier this month, but again features a sleeker body, slightly less interior headroom and the choice of two six-cylinder diesel engines.

Also revealed here for the first time is the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe – the only petrol version, powered by a 3.0-litre inline turbo six – while other variants including the full-house 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4MATIC+ Coupe are yet to be revealed.

For some, the biggest news is that “in the course of 2020” Benz says it will integrate the Amazon Music streaming service into the new GLE Coupe, allowing account holders to transfer their music (up to two million songs for Amazon Prime members, or 50 million for Amazon Music Unlimited) into the vehicle via the Mercedes me ‘Online Music’ service then play them via touch or voice input.

For others, it will be the promise of more power to hustle the big SUV crossover coupe.

The Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe will deliver 320kW of power and 520Nm of torque from its turbo-petrol straight-six powertrain, which is electrified with a 16kW/250Nm integrated starter-alternator.

Helping take the six-cylinder GLE AMG to 100km/h in 5.3 seconds and to hit a 250km/h top end, it also feeds the 48-volt on-board electrical system for power-hungry systems like the suspension.

Integrated between the engine and the nine-speed transmission, the starter-alternator is also helped in the performance stakes by AMG fitting the engine with an electric compressor as well as a traditional turbocharger. The compressor is specifically designed to help build up the boost pressure from low revs or on gear changes until the turbo can kick in.

The two straight-six diesels, from the OM 656 family, deliver 200kW and 600Nm in the GLE 350d 4MATIC Coupe, or 243kW and 700Nm in the 400d 4MATIC Coupe, with no AMG badges in sight.

For reference, while the new GLE 300d starts at $99,900, the outgoing GLE Coupe opens with the 350d at $125,970 and closes with the 63 S AMG at $203,470. In between is the 43 AMG ($145,470), which the new 53 AMG will replace.

As well as being strong, Benz claims both GLE Coupe diesel sixes are economical, with both engines delivering 8.0L/100km on the WLTP cycle and 212g/km of CO2 for the junior engine and just one more for the 400d.

Both engines are linked to variations of the same nine-speed automatic transmission, with an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch in its centre differential.

They can switch their torque from zero to 100 per cent between both axles, with the driver able to adjust the fore-aft split by choosing between its driving modes.

The GLE Coupe will have steel-spring, fixed-rate damper suspension as standard, with claims of better body control, more accurate suspension attachment points and better geometry.

There is a step up (in price, too, presumably) to the optional adjustable air suspension set-up of the Airmatic system, with includes self-leveling and adjustable ground clearance. It also adjusts its damping characteristics to suit changing road conditions and bumps.

There is another step up again to the option of the E-Active Body Control (which builds on the Airmatic hardware), which can control each wheel’s spring and damper forces individually.

Benz claims it counteracts both roll and the pitch-squat forces of braking and acceleration and even brings the curve-tilting function into play, tilting the body of the car inwards slightly like a motorcycle in bends to minimise cornering forces inside the car.

It also scans the road surface and adjusts each wheel to prepare for bumps and thumps it has seen coming and Benz claims it is the world’s most intelligent suspension system.

It demands a 48-volt electrical system to gather enough energy to run it, which it can recuperate both on braking or coasting and on the movement of the suspension itself.

Sliding just beneath the five-metre barrier at 4939mm, the GLE Coupe is 39mm longer and, at 2010mm, 7mm wider than its predecessor. It also scores a 20mm stretch in its wheelbase.

The tightly sculpted Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe is larger inside than its predecessor, with seating for five adults in the four-door bodyshell.

The door openings at the rear have grown by 35mm and Benz insists its storage areas are significantly larger inside, from its 40 litres of odds-and-ends space to 655 litres of standard luggage space.

A 40:20:40-split folding rear seat can fold down to open up 1790 litres of space (70 more than before), with more than two metres of length (87mm more) and 1080mm of width (72mm more).

Even the height of the loading sill is 60mm lower than before and that can be lowered another 50mm with the option of the Airmatic rear-end.

The ‘coupe’ is 60mm shorter than the standard GLE, with Benz using the dimensions to exercise a sporty attitude that is always difficult to deliver with SUV weights.

It shares much of the GLE’s interior emphasis, with two 12.3-inch digital screens side-by-side to do double service as the instrument cluster and the multimedia screen.

The straight-six motors will slide inside engine bays built not in Stuttgart, but in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (like all large Benz SUVs), in a move that seems risky in the current US-China-Europe trade-war environment.

With its eight SUV models now making up about a third of total Mercedes-Benz sales, the GLE Coupe will join more than six million Benz SUVs already sold around the world.

"The GLE Coupé blends the imposing power of an off-road vehicle with the emotively appealing sportiness and elegance of a coupé", Daimler’s design boss Gorden Wagener insisted.

"The sensuous, reduced design idiom in combination with the extreme proportions creates a unique design statement."