Ferrari 296 vs Mercedes-AMG GLE53

What's the difference?

I know, picture Ferrari and you'll likely be conjuring images of potent V12 or V8 engines, a scenery-shaking exhaust bark on start-up and a fuel bill that would make a Sheikh wince.

But this one, the 296 GTS, doesn't have, or do, any of those things. In fact, it doesn’t so much explode into life as it does kind of whirr gently, as though you’ve just switched on a photocopier.

And yet, people I trust on these matters reckon this just might be the best Ferrari to have ever worn the badge. So, I guess we better get to figuring out what the hell is going on with this plug-in Prancing Horse.

You might have some traditional notions of what a 'sports car' is.

Low and light, slick and aerodynamic, purely mechanical and centred around the driver. These notions may have held true for a long time, but in an age where Lamborghini makes a Touareg-based super SUV is there room for those parameters to move?

Especially with consumer sentiment indicating the somewhat oxymoronic idea of a low-slung coupe SUV with an AMG powertrain is more than just a niche.

Mercedes told us the previous generation GLE coupe was a major success, amassing up to 25 per cent of the model line's sales split, and its research indicated  a buyer of this massive SUV was drawn to its "performance, style and technology" and was even "a motorsport fan."

Sounds like this buyer would have once been looking for a 'sports car' and like it or not, performance coupe SUVs are here to stay. But does the new GLE 53 Coupe really make for a compelling experience behind the wheel? We found out at its local launch.