Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
As the saying goes, ‘you never forget your first’. While the context may be slightly different and with a bit less nudging and winking, this is certainly true of my first Mercedes test drive experience.
I turned up to the German marque’s showroom in Tubli unsure of which car I was going to be granted the keys to. I thought a little surprise might make the treat more delightful, and so it proved.
My one wish above all was that it would be a silver arrow, so I could imagine myself as F1 driver Lewis Hamilton as I darted around the highways of Bahrain and mimicking the precision of Valtteri Bottas as I hit the apexes of the labyrinth of chicanes that surround the GulfWeekly offices in Hoora.
Sure enough, my wish was granted as I was bestowed with the GLC300 Coupe, a mysterious beast that emanates both a feeling of sporty sleekness and hulking muscle.
The 2017 version of the car is a completely new model, based on the regular GLC-Class but differentiated by a sloping roof that gives it a profile like that of a coupe.
Slipping into the driver’s seat, I was hugely impressed by the futuristic cabin, with its stylish leather seats and celestial buttons. After acclimatising myself to the marque’s intricacies, such as the gear lever being on an indicator behind the wheel and the handbrake button under the dashboard, I was on my way.
The GLC is a pleasure to drive thanks to a mixture of its engaging feel and the power under the bonnet. Considering its size, it is easy to control and handling is impressive, especially around tight and twisty turns where you’d expect it to have a far larger turning circle than it does.
Even with the relatively small 2L four-cylinder engine, which perhaps doesn’t befit the stature of the vehicle, it feels quick. It still produces 245BHP and is capable of the 0-100kmph sprint in 6.5 seconds. Furthermore, the nine-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly and ensures the GLC is great off the line.
This is one of the quietest and most comfortable vehicles amongst its peers. The front seats provide good lateral support and excellent road-trip comfort over the plethora of potholes and speed bumps that line the kingdom’s roads, while the GLC’s suspension keeps things smooth along the way.
Of course, a car is only as good as its features, and the GLC300 is packed with them. These are accessible by the most peculiar-looking set of dials and switches I’ve ever seen. What is supposed to be a circular mouse wheel and a touchpad actually looks something akin to the Starship Enterprise.
This controls the central display using finger gestures and subtle movements, which admittedly is a little tricky to get used to but becomes intuitive after some time. The screen itself is more like a tablet blu-tacked on to the dashboard than an actual integrated screen which is peculiar, but its crystal clear display and menu layout makes up for this.
The whole spectrum of features is accounted for here, from AUX, USB, FM radio, to Bluetooth, navigation and driver information.
Best of all is the parking pilot and the 360-degree camera, which with the flick of a button will provide a full birds-eye view of your surroundings to help you reverse out of tricky gaps and get into that last pesky space.
Overall, the GLC300 Coupe is an excellent addition to the Mercedes roster. Offering a sporty, nimble look but packing plenty of roomy cabin space and a ton of technological features, this is going to be a popular contender in the market - a winner with both the business executive and the family.
The 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC300 Coupe is available now from the Mercedes showroom in Tubli. The starting price is BD28,900. For more information, call 1778454.
