2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 AMG Coupe: All Body and Soul

by Mike Hunter

Designed to impress with speed and a sleek new design, the GLE Coupe is a breakthrough for Mercedes. This vehicle has a confident stance and is an SUV for the future. The 3.0-liter bi-turbo V6 engine empowers this new Mercedes with 362 horsepower and an impressive 384 pound-feet of torque. Its 9-speed automatic transmission coupled with all-wheel drive performance allows for best handling and quick response.

The look of this SUV “coupe” pushes the long-standing tradition of the smaller coupe and uses the coupe attributes of quick, sure handling as its influence for the broader SUV market. However, the GLE is more than a new body style and impressive engineering under the hood. This four-door coupe allows three to sit comfortably in the second-row seating and, despite its overall “coupe” appeal, is quite the SUV. It has the widest rear seat in its class, and that space can double as storage space — folding the seats down adds more than 60 cubic feet of utility or luggage space. The available panorama roof offers the sense of even more open space, making certain the roomy feel of a larger SUV is achieved.

The 4Matic permanent all-wheel drive and the Dynamic Select multimode driving program offer handling in both the sport mode and the conform mode. The technologies offer Collision Prevention Assist with autonomous braking, ensuring safety and security like no other SUV in its class.

The cabin is pure comfort. Leather throughout with trim to satisfy any taste, Mercedes uses chrome, aluminum and wood strips to enhance the stylish curves that make up the structure of this beast. The sporty appeal and easy-use instrument panels and displays mean that, for the driver, knowing the performance and feeling it can all come together on each drive.

All set atop standard 21-inch wheels, this new and unique SUV is something other carmakers will be mimicking very soon.