Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 Coupe 2017 first drive

Put the word coupé into the world’s favourite online search engine and you’ll find that it means a car with a solid roof, two doors and a sloping rear. Over the past few years, that definition has changed beyond recognition – stick a fastback on anything and you can call it a coupé these days.

That brings us to the GLC 43 Coupé, a twin-turbo V6 version of Merc’s mid-sized SUV with added ‘style’. It’s good for a 4.9sec 0-62 time, a figure that’s identical to the regular GLC 43. In fact, the only thing that’s reduced is boot capacity – there’s around 200 litres less.

There have been some changes to the air springs to help deliver a more ‘dynamic’ driving experience. These are still adjustable between three stiffness levels, should you not be in the mood for rapid transit.

Slip behind the wheel, and you’d be hard pushed to notice the difference between this and the regular GLC - unless you look in the mirror. While the dash and view down the bonnet is pretty much the same, rear visibility is seriously hampered by the sloping roof and high rear window.

Start driving and you soon realise that the Coupé feels rather different to the regular GLC. Where that strikes a good balance between ride quality and body control, the Coupé is troubled by rough surfaces far more. In Comfort mode, there’s too much float and wallow over crests and compressions, while bumps and potholes still send a thump through the car.

Sport mode sorts out the body control, but you’ll feel poor surfaces even more. Body roll is at least well contained although the stiffer springing means you get jostled around in your seat by mid-corner bumps. Switch up to Sport Plus mode and things get very bumpy indeed, we suspect you’d need a track to take advantage of the added roll stiffness.

We’d be prepared to accept that if there was some fun to be had, but sadly it’s all very competent and not that much of a giggle. Yes, you can cover ground very quickly for such a big thing, but the steering proves lifeless and the variable rack suddenly speeds up with a bit of lock on.

When you get back on the power, there’s none of the playfulness you get in a Porsche Macan and the stability control is always present. The best you can hope for is a neutral balance, but understeer is never too far away.

The motor certainly has plenty of grunt, though. There’s decent torque from low down yet it’s happy to rev out if you want to enjoy its six-cylinder rasp. Stick it in Sport Plus mode and you even get some pops and crackles from the exhaust.

Inside, the interior looks great and all the controls are easy to find. The infotainment system is a little trickier to use than Audi’s MMI or BMW’s iDrive, but we still prefer it to a touchscreen. As for the back, space is predictably not quite as good, thanks to the sloping roof.

The GLC 43 Coupé is most definitely a niche within a niche – effectively it’s a big, practical SUV with much of the practicality taken out. Throw in an engine that tends to do around 27mpg even when driven with some restraint and numb handling, and it’s tricky to recommend.