It's fitting that Mercedes-Benz can call a four-door SUV a "coupe" and get away with it. After all, this is the company that ignited the dubious trend to deem nearly any car with a tapering roofline a coupe with its fastback-style, four-door CLS more than a decade ago.
The coupe distinction was once reserved for cars with two doors, but the lines have blurred. Today, several Mercedes models use the label, including the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe. Despite its name, the GLC Coupe is a bona fide four-door SUV but with a sleeker and less boxy look than most SUVs. And whatever you might think of the misuse of the nomenclature, the coupe is nearly as easy to live with as its standard GLC counterpart.
Like the standard GLC, the GLC Coupe features a top-notch cabin fitted with soft leather, decorative wood and metal accents, and some of today's most advanced entertainment technology. For 2020, the GLC Coupe comes with the new MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) voice command system, which can recognize most natural-speech requests to control phone, navigation, media and cabin functions. It'll even tell you jokes.
If jokes aren't your thing, you can also bypass MBUX and go straight to Siri or Google Assistant through Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which are now included as standard features. Also standard: a larger 10-inch touchscreen infotainment display (also operable by a touchpad in the center console). Other changes for 2020 include new grille and headlight designs and more power.
The GLC Coupe offers its same trio of engines as before, only now the punchy turbo four-cylinder gets 14 more horsepower, and the heavier-duty V6 gets 23 hp more (gains of around 6% and 7%, respectively). The two recklessly powerful V8 engines carry over unchanged, with the mill in the AMG GLC 63 S making more than 500 hp. Few other compact SUVs, luxury or otherwise, come with such a blistering engine.
The GLC Coupe's downsides mirror those of most four-door sedans and SUVs that pose as coupes. There's less maximum cargo space (49.4 cubic feet in the coupe, 56.5 cubic feet in the standard GLC) and less rear headroom. You also need to consider the coupe's significant price premium over the regular GLC.
But if you don't mind the compromise in utility and prefer the coupe's sleek looks, the extra cost for the GLC Coupe's comfort, luxury and performance will be worth it.
Notably, we picked the 2020 Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 63 S Coupe as one of Edmunds' Fastest SUVs for 2019.
The 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe is a compact luxury SUV offered in four trim levels: GLC 300, AMG GLC 43, AMG GLC 63 and AMG GLC 63 S.
2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class Coupe
2020 Porsche Macan
What the Macan lacks in "coupe" style, it makes up for with its own unique flair. The Macan's roofline slightly tapers toward the rear — nothing as dramatic as the Mercedes but enough for its own sleek, handsome and decidedly un-boxy look. Where the GLC deftly blends comfort and performance, the Macan leans toward sporty and engaging handling. You'll feel more of the road in the Macan but nothing objectionable. Both models line up well on paper, so choosing one really comes down to comfort priorities and brand preference.
While the GLC Coupe offers an impressive blend of power and performance, the X4 leans more toward athleticism, with sharp and impressive handling. It, too, offers powerful performance from turbocharged four- or six-cylinder engines, but it adds an element of engagement. It isn't just a practical SUV, but it's one you'll also want to drive quickly on a curved road. Although the X4 shares most of the same downsides as the GLC — tight rear headroom, reduced cargo capacity and pricey options — it may be the right pick for drivers who like more spirited motoring.
The F-Pace offers its own take on incomparable Jaguar style, this time in an SUV configuration. But panache alone isn't quite enough to elevate it to the same level as the Benz. The interior materials are disappointing, the infotainment needlessly fussy, and the cabin noisy at highway speeds. But the F-Pace does exhibit impressive quickness and betters most of its rivals on cargo space. It even offers a diesel engine option if long-range fuel economy is a priority. It also costs less than the GLC.
Based on the standard GLC SUV, the GLC Coupe features a sloping roofline to give it a sleek and sporty profile. (It still has four doors, so Mercedes-Benz's "coupe" nomenclature is a misnomer.) In exchange, the GLC Coupe surrenders some rear-seat headroom and cargo capacity. You also give up the option of a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
Over the past decade or so, more and more people are moving from sedans to SUVs and crossovers. Some shoppers want the benefits of an SUV — a high seating position, more passenger space and increased cargo volume — without giving up sporty, youthful styling. Most luxury automakers are offering sleek, fastback SUVs such as the GLC Coupe. The AMG variants, the GLC 43 and GLC 63 S, also offer much of the same performance as their C-Class sedan counterparts. The 2020 model simply improves what was already one of our favorite luxury SUVs.
The most obvious competitor is the BMW X4, a coupified version of the BMW X3. Like the Mercedes, the BMW comes in both standard and performance trims, the wildest of which is the X4 M Competition. The Porsche Macan is a similarly swoopy SUV, though unlike the Mercedes or BMW, there's no official "coupe" version of the Macan. You might also consider the Jaguar F-Pace. It doesn't have the fastback roofline of the GLC, but it's no less stylish. The more traditional shape helps it beat the GLC in terms of both cargo and passenger space, too.
Exactly how you would like a Mercedes to drive. It's quiet and comfortable, with a smooth powertrain that generally goes about its business without fuss. This new 2.0-liter makes 255 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. That's more power than last year's model, but thanks to improvements with the new engine, fuel economy has increased, too. All GLC 300 coupes come with a nine-speed automatic and Mercedes' 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. In Sport mode, the GLC moves with some verve, but in the standard Comfort setting it can feel a little sluggish off the line.
So far, we've only had an opportunity to drive the top-of-the-line AMG 63 S model. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 makes 506 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque and is connected to a quick-shifting nine-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to help send the GLC 63 S to 60 mph from a dead stop in less than 4 seconds. That's true sports-car territory in a vehicle that can haul four people plus cargo. It sounds mean, too, with a deep, smooth exhaust note that's come to define most of AMG's top-tier models.
In short, phenomenal. It's mostly carried over from the pre-refreshed model that debuted in 2016, but that's hardly a bad thing. The fit and finish is exactly what you would expect from a Mercedes-Benz product, and new upholstery and trim options improve things even further. There are a variety of wood trims available. But if that's not your thing, you can opt for aluminum or carbon-fiber accents, though the latter is only available on AMG models.
That shapely roofline might look killer on the road, but it significantly cuts into both passenger space and cargo capacity. That said, it can still comfortably fit two adults in the rear, though it won't be quite as comfortable as the standard GLC. The real loser is cargo capacity. It's near the bottom of the class, even compared to other SUV coupes. The hatch opening is both narrower and taller than the standard model, meaning you can haul around less stuff, and the things you can carry are more difficult to put inside. That's the price you pay for style.
If you don't like the shape of the GLC Coupe, the GLC SUV is basically the same vehicle with more space for both passengers and cargo for significantly less money. Unfortunately, you can't get the high-performance AMG 63 S model in the SUV, just the regular non-S AMG 63 and V6-powered AMG 43 models.
Edmunds saysThe Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe was already one of our favorite luxury SUVs, and the updates for 2020 only improve things further. Competitors may offer a few things that outshine the GLC, but few, if any, put it all together in such a compelling package.
According to Edmunds’ car experts, here’s what’s new for the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class Coupe:
The least-expensive 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class Coupe is the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class Coupe AMG GLC 63 4dr SUV AWD (4.0L 8cyl Turbo 9A). Including destination charge, it arrives with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of about $76,500.
Other versions include:
