Luxury Reviews

For this week's family review I tested the Jaguar XF Chequered Flag edition. It's at the top of the 30t range and looks very swish on the road.Does it work for a family of four or five or will it forever be a 'dad' car. Yes, dare I say it, I know a few dads who drive a sporty sedan while the mums are in the SUVs, carting the children around.

Aston Martin again proves less can be more with a cool and sophisticated convertible version of its DB11 GT.

The GLC Coupe comes in three grades – the GLC 300 Coupe with a list price of $87,700, the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 Coupe for $117,400 and the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S Coupe for $168,100.All come with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 'Hey Mercedes' MBUX assistant function, sat nav, power tailgate and LED headlights, wireless charging for your smart phone, privacy rear glass, proximity unlocking, multibeam LED headlights with adaptive high beams and the 'Driver Assistance' package.The Mercedes-AMG 43 Coupe is seriously loaded up with equipment. Standard is leather upholstery, Burmester sound system, head-up display, heated front seats, 'Artico' dashboard, glass sunroof, AMG 'Night Package', AMG 20-inch alloys, sports brakes, AMG grille and black roof rails.The full-fat Mercedes-AMG 63 S Coupe steps up another level with 21-inch AMG alloy wheels and an AMG body kit complete with front apron, spoiler lip and rear apron, there’s an AMG performance exhaust system, plus heat and noise insulating glass. Coming standard inside is the AMG performance steering wheel, nappa leather upholstery and three-zone climate control.The GLC 300 has a new four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine making 190kW/370Nm. The Mercedes-AMG 43 has a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 making 287kW/520Nm while the 63 S has a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 that makes 375kW/700NmThe GLC scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2015.

You’ve found the sweet spot in the GLC range – it’s the GLC 300 and it lists for $77,700 in SUV form , $87,700 for the Coupe and if you want to do the right thing by the planet there’s a 300e plug-in hybrid for $80,400.The GLC 300 SUV is the sweet spot in the line-up because it’s only $10K more than the entry grade GLC 200 and comes with all of its standard features and adds a stack more.So, the GLC 200 comes with 'Artico' upholstery (think leather but not leather), black ash open pore wood trim, leather-clad steering wheel and dual-zone climate control.There’s also a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 'Hey Mercedes' MBUX assistant function, sat nav and a five-speaker sound system.Then there are the roof racks, agility control suspension (see driving section) and a power tailgate.The GLC 300 SUV adds wireless charging for your smart phone, 20-inch alloys, privacy rear glass, proximity unlocking, multi-beam LED headlights with adaptive high beams and the 'Driver Assistance' package which adds some great advanced safety tech.The GLC 300e has the same features as its petrol-only twin but adds air suspension, and pre-entry climate control.The GLC 300 Coupe adds 'AMG Line' interior and exterior packages.Plus, unlike the GLC 200 the GLC 300 is all-wheel drive and while it uses the same nine-speed auto and four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine it has a higher output of 190kW/370Nm.That’s for the combustion engine variant obviously. The GLC 300e is a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid and is also all-wheel drive with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine making 155kW/350Nm, plus a 90kW/440Nm electric motor.Mercedes-Benz says you can expect a combined fuel economy of 8.1L/100km from the petrol engine only variant, but the brand has yet to disclose the mileage of the hybrid.The GLC scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2015.

Welcome to the entry-point into the GLC range: it’s the GLC 200 and it lists for $66,100.Standard features on the GLC 200 include 'Artico' upholstery (think leather but not leather), black ash open pore wood trim, leather-clad steering wheel and dual-zone climate control.There’s also a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 'Hey Mercedes' MBUX assistant function, sat nav and a five-speaker sound system.Then there are the 19-inch alloy wheels, roof racks, agility control suspension (see driving section), power tailgate and LED headlights.Under that bonnet is a new four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine making 145kW of power and 320Nm of torque and shifting gears is a nine-speed automatic transmission. The GLC 200 is also the only rear-wheel drive in the range, the rest being all-wheel drive.Mercedes-Benz says you can expect a combined fuel economy of 7.8L/100km.The GLC scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2015.

Now we’re getting serious, aren’t we? If the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 was an address it would be located in the part of the suburb with the word ‘Heights’ in the name because it sits close to the top of the GLC range with its list price of $109,900 for the SUV and $117,400 for the Coupe.Coming standard is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 'Hey Mercedes' MBUX assistant function, sat nav, roof racks, power tailgate and LED headlights, leather upholstery Burmester sound system, head-up display, heated front seats, 'Artico' dashboard, sunroof, AMG 'Night Package', AMG 20-inch alloys, sports brakes, AMG grille and black roof rails.The Mercedes-AMG 43 has a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 making 287kW and 520Nm and the official fuel consumption is 10.4L/100km after a combination of open and urban driving.The GLC scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2015.

It’s the big mamma of the GLC range, it’s the GLC 63 S and it lists for $161,000 for the SUV body style and $168,100 for the Coupe version.Mercedes-AMG 63 S SUV and Coupe come standard 21-inch AMG alloy wheels and an AMG body kit complete with front apron, spoiler lip and rear apron, there’s an AMG performance exhaust system, plus heat and noise insulating glass. Coming standard inside is the AMG performance steering wheel, nappa leather upholstery and three-zone climate control.That’s in addition to a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 'Hey Mercedes' MBUX assistant function, sat nav, a power tailgate and LED headlights.The 63 S has a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 that makes 375kW/700N and a nine-speed sports auto. Mercedes-Benz says you can expect fuel economy of 12.2L/100km over a combination of open and urban roads.The GLC scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2015.

It's the C-Class of Mercedes-Benz's SUVs, that's right it's the GLC, and the new and improved one is here.

Merc-AMG's new A 35 4Matic hot hatch fills yet another niche in the three-pointed star's compact performance range. It neatly bridges the gap between the mainstream A-Class line-up and the soon to arrive, second-gen A 45 S hyper hatch. Is it hot enough to wear the AMG badge?

BMW's X3 has never had a really quick version and now, in its third-generation, has two - the M Performance M40i the freshly-bonkers X3 M Competition