Mercedes-Benz GLC220 2016 News

The new Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe range will start at $77,100 when it arrives in Australia in November.

Even below six figures, there are styling and performance high-flyers.

My pick for COTY king this year is the Mercedes-Benz GLC.But it's not the COTY car or contest you might be thinking, since this is all about Bluetooth.We have 11 of the best cars of 2015 assembled for this year's COTY shootout and that makes it an ideal time and place to take a closer look at Bluetooth.The phone link has become a very big deal this year, with more and more driver distractions contributing to crashes and, in NSW, prompting the extension of double-demerit penalties.Now car testing also covers the vital Bluetooth connectivityEven the car companies are split, internally and externally, as some engineers push for more and more connectivity and others say the connected car is disconnecting people from driving and safety.Car testing has always been about comfort and safety and performance and economy — with value at the very top — but now it also covers app-friendly infotainment and the vital Bluetooth connectivity.Hyundai makes some excellent cars but its Bluetooth is patchy, at best, even on the latest Tucson. If you were choosing a phone-friendly car then a Hyundai would slip well down the list.So at COTY, with help from techno king Craig Duff, I go searching for my Bluetooth champion.The Mazda CX-3 is all right but booms in the cabin, the BMW X1 and the Commodore are workmanlike, the Jaguar XE is not great.I'm expecting a lot from the Sync system in the Ford Ranger and it's good, but difficult to connect. And so it goes. Until I jump into the Benz.The phone pairs instantly, delivers excellent clarity at both ends — I've been calling the same person to check — and the call display is good and clear. For me, it wins.

Kia's family seven-seater stands out, setting a precedent in a singular field.

There are few bad cars on the road these days, which made it tougher than ever to pick a field for CarsGuide's 2015 Car of the Year award.The process started in December last year. A week after we awarded the Mercedes-Benz C-Class our gong, we were on the launch of the new Subaru Outback.It was the first of more than 300 new cars we pored over before arriving at 11 finalists. In between there were head-to-head battles and three-way shootouts between the most impressive of the newcomers and the existing benchmarks.Comparison tests are vital because it's easy to come away from a new car launch impressed by Brand X's latest and greatest. But it takes back-to-back testing — on the same stretch of bitumen, same potholes, same freeway — to sort the winners from the also-rans.This year's COTY judging threw up a few surprises. The first was the CX-3. It felt good to drive on the launch and when we tested it against the best in its class, it also came out on top. Up against our other finalists, it felt underdone and overpriced. The conclusion? The mini-SUV may be the new "must-have" automotive accessory but none of the new breed — there have been six all-new arrivals this year — is as practical or fun to drive as a humble hatchback.Next was the BMW X1, which fellow judge Joshua Dowling called "the most un-BMW BMW I've driven". An SUV from a German luxury brand for a tad over $60,000 sounds like a good deal, especially when a Toyota Kluger can cost similar money.While much improved over its predecessors in some areas, the X1 was underdone in others. The seats, usually a BMW highlight, were flat and unsupportive, while the front suspension crashed rudely over bumps.To a much lesser extent the same criticism could be levelled at our runner-up, the Mercedes-Benz GLC. It is still an impressive vehicle but not as well sorted as the C-Class. In their quest for new buyers, are the luxury brands losing their luxuriousness?The surprises weren't all bad, though. The fact that the Ford Ranger made our final five is testimony to the huge advances made in one-tonne utes in recent years. The Ranger didn't feel a million miles off the rest of the field on our road loop.A decade ago, jumping out of a Volvo into a Ford ute would have been like trading the Merc for a Massey Ferguson. Not now.Which brings us to the last — and most pleasant — COTY surprise: the winner, Kia's Sorento. Ever since the Koreans pinched Audi's head designer, Kia cabins have looked a cut above their competitors. Local suspension tuning has made them ride better, while their diesel engines are on par with some of the best for refinement. Add an industry leading seven-year warranty and there's plenty to like.If you're put off by the badge on the nose, it's your loss. 

Mercedes has announced prices for its upcoming GLC SUV ahead of its Australian arrival in December 2015.

The GLC, a good-looking competitor for the strong-selling Audi Q5 and BMW X3, was unveiled in Stuttgart last week. It goes on sale in Europe from September but won't be here until December at the earliest.In Europe and elsewhere, the GLC will replace an existing model. The GLK, introduced in 2008, became Benz's best-selling SUV worldwide. But the company designed it only for left-hand drive. This, officials admit, was a bad blunder.The new SUV's name makes clear its close relationship to the fine C-Class sedan and wagon.Initially, the GLC will be four-cylinder only and Australia will get 2.1-litre turbodiesels (125kW and 150kW) and a 2.0-litre turbo (155kW), teamed with a Mercedes-made nine-speed auto and 4Matic all-wheel-drive.It's expected to outsell its obvious German rivalsThe technology and performance top-liner is unlikely to make it to Australia. The GLC 350 e is a plug-in hybrid, with an electric-only driving range of 34km and an 85kW electric motor to work with the 2.0 turbo.Combined power output of 235kW can push the SUV from rest to 100km/h in just 5.9 secs, yet the vehicle also has a scooter-like thirst: 2.6L/100km.Mercedes-Benz Australia will almost certainly wait for the even faster and much thirstier GLC 450 AMG, powered by a 3.0-litre V6 turbo (270kW), to top its range. Already used in other models, this smooth, strong performance engine will have strong appeal in Australia.With its elegant exterior and broad engine choices, it's expected to outsell its obvious German rivals. Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman Jerry Stamoulis says the GLCs will be priced accordingly.There will be a less useful version of the GLC in 2016. It will be a production version of a concept recently shown in China. "There will also be two variants," says Benz SUV boss Wolf-Dieter Kurz, the first being the wagon-like version in a couple of months. "In 2016 it will be followed by the extra sporty Coupe, which we showed as a study at the Shanghai motor show." The GLC Coupe is likely to go on sale in Australia later that year.

The concept unveiled at Beijing motor show previews the styling and mechanical package expected to feature in the German marque's upcoming 'MLC' SUV. Based on the practical ML, the Concept Coupe SUV adopts a more unique and sporty appearance similar to that of Mercedes' most recent coupe models rather than its bulkier high-riders. At the front a large grille with an oversized badge, combined with a three-dimensional lower valance and chiseled bonnet, give the concept a look which is clearly derivative of the new S-Class Coupe.The Beijing concept features a low sloping roof, which will likely compromise rear passenger headroom over the boxier ML. The swoopy roofline does however gives the SUV Coupe greater visual presence and style over its staid sibling.The rear of the car has been designed to look elegant and sporting with the design finding influence in the new S-Class Coupe which features similarly thin taillights and a rounded off rear window. The vehicle number plate is also incorporated into a heavily sculpted rear bumper, giving the rear tailgate a smooth appearance. Flared wheel arches, integrated tailpipes and stylish air 'vents' also add aggression and athleticism to the design.The concept rides on 22-inch wheels shod in massive 305/45R tyres which give a mean look while hinting at the car's dynamic intentions. The Coupe SUV concept is 4935mm long, 2208mm wide and 1739mm tall, making it slightly larger in every dimension than the current BMW X6 – which is due to be updated later this year.It is understood the design of the 'MLC' production car will not differ dramatically from this concept, though the show car's wheels, door-handles and mirrors will be swapped for more feasible items.The concept also debuts with Mercedes' new 3.0-litre twin turbo V6 which will also be available in the upcoming facelifted version of the existing ML as well as the MLC. The new motor uses direct injection and produces 245kW and 480Nm of torque.The Coupe SUV uses the German brand's new 9G-TRONIC PLUS nine-speed automatic gearbox with five different modes – Comfort, Slippery, Sport, Sport+ and Individual. Mercedes' 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system also features, along with racey carbon ceramic brakes.The MLC SUV will use a development of the ML's chassis architecture. While the wheelbase dimensions will be the same on both models, the sportier coupe will have wider front and rear tracks to give a more assertive stance. The model will be available with air suspension and adaptive damping, plus active roll stabilization, which tilts the car into the corner to reduce lateral forces on the vehicle's occupants.The production-ready MLC SUV Coupe is expected to arrive during 2015 with a high performance AMG-tuned version likely to follow. 

When BMW first launched the X6 coupe-styled SUV, one pundit tagged it "the answer to a question nobody asked". Move on six years, and Mercedes-Benz is offering an answer to the X6's success after launching in 2008.At Beijing motor show, Mercedes will unveil its own coupe crossover concept, with a similar swooping rear roofline to the X6. The teaser sketch shows it from a front three-quarter view, but the angle of the roof clearly shows the intentions.It sports the Mercedes family face, and gains some crossover accessories in the form of side rails and front skid plates for the show stand. But this is more than just a motor show design exercise. Based on the M-Class platform and tipped to be called the MLC when it hits production, the vehicle has already been spotted testing in mule form around Europe.Engines and transmission are likely to echo those of the more practical end of the M-Class at initial launch, but you can also later expect to see a MLC AMG powered by a handbuilt twin-turbo 5.5-litre V8.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott