Mercedes-AMG GLE53 vs MG Im5

What's the difference?

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.

Yep, it’s like deja vu all over again! Yet another fresh name in the Aussie new-car market, but this time in the form of a sub-brand from a carmaker that itself feels like it’s only been around for five minutes (but has in fact been in market here for a decade or more).

We’re testing the MG IM5 Performance, the IM badge standing alone in other markets. There, as here, signifying a new level of equipment, performance and quality.

And we’ve been steering this top-spec, dual-motor AWD version of the pure-electric, five-door liftback IM5, priced and specified to challenge a rapidly expanding group of high-performance mid-size EV sedans now occupying local showrooms.

 So, read on to see if this premium electric performer has what it takes to tempt you into a new option from the latest challenger brand to jump into the ever-intensifying, no-holds barred contest for your new-car dollars.