Mercedes-Benz India have launched the new GLE Coupé in in its most powerful V6 guise – the 450 AMG 4MATIC, priced at Rs 86.4 lakh (ex-Mumbai).
The new GLE Coupé is the sloping-roof four-door coupé iteration of the GLE-Class, set to take on the BMW X6 (as well as the Acura ZDX in North America) head on. The market for a large SUV that wants to look and behave like a sports car is greater than many first imagined. The GLE Coupé gives those who wanted an X6 with a three-pouinted star on the bonnet exactly what they had in mind.
The GLE Coupé packs all the kits you would expect of a Mercedes-Benz AMG line model, balancing luxury and sporty credentials. The sloping roof means rear headroom is limited, but the front seats offer good support and room. The large wheel arches hold equally large 21” wheels wrapped in amongst the widest rubber on offer, and similar to the competition with 275-sections at the front and massive 315s at the rear.
The ‘450’ is, in fact, a 3.0-litre biturbo V6 petrol making 367 PS between 5,500 and 6,000 RPM, with a credible and much needed 520 Nm arriving between 1,800 and 4,000 RPM. Figures that are enormous by themselves but dwarfed only by the 2,220-kg weight, making them rather essential. The company’s new 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic sends the power to the 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system. The claimed 0-100 km/h dash is just 5.7 seconds. Electronic aids include the usual fair of active and passive stability and safety aids as well as a Curve Assist function which mitigates body roll and allows for sharper cornering. The Continuous Damping Control from ZF also reacts almost instantaneously to changes in road surface allowing for maximum grip and control.
We’ve driven the GLE 450 AMG 4MATIC Coupé in this month’s issue of Car India, on track in Germany, no less, putting to test the claims that this is an active sports crossover capable of track action as well as on- and off-road activity.
The GLE 450 AMG 4MATIC Coupé, interestingly, won’t compete with the diesel X6 40d, or the 575-PS petrol-powered X6 M, it will slot in rather conveniently between the two and offer buyers an interesting alternative.
Story: Jim Gorde
