Review: 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupe

2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC300 4MATIC Coupe 5

by Larry Printz | May 27, 2024

A sporty, but still practical, take on the GLC300.

Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupe’s sloping backlight lends it a whiff of sportiness.

Would you pay more for something less practical? Of course you would – if it’s good-looking.

That’s why Mercedes-Benz manufactures the Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupe. Starting at $57,000, a cool ten grand more than its square-sided, upright sibling, the Mercedes-Benz GLC 300, the Coupe plays the part of the more fashionable, less practical sibling. You know, the one that eats dessert first.

It’s so pretty

Having undergone a spa treatment for the 2023 model year, the 2024 GLC 300 4MATIC Coupe emerges much as it did last year. It’s now 1.2 inches longer, allowing for an additional 1.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, now rated at 19.2 cubic feet.

It’s shape doesn’t suggest practicality, but it is.

While reshaping its skin, designers improved its aerodynamic profile, now measuring 0.27 Cd, down from 0.30. And that shapely sheet metal can be finished in new paint colors and accessorized with new standard 19-inch wheels. It’s spotlighted courtesy of standard LED lighting.

You can even order your GLC with a transparent hood. In reality, this is meant for off-roading, where the center display shows what’s under the front of the vehicle. Other exterior options include an intelligent lighting system, digital light with projections, a night package, brushed aluminum running boards, and a Class II trailer hitch.

The inside story

The instrument panel gets a revised center-mounted touchscreen much like the one in the S-Class.

But the makeover didn’t stop with the exterior. Inside, there’s a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 11.9-inch center touchscreen much like the one in the S-Class. This seems far more tasteful in scale than the Hyperscreen used on Mercedes-Benz EV models, which resembles a Times Square billboard and is every bit as distracting. The revised display runs the latest version of the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotainment system software and it proves every bit as involving as before. It’s not always intuitive, and it can take a few taps to get what you want. Thankfully, this latest version can be controlled through voice command by saying, “Hey Mercedes.” Just don’t ask for a joke; microchips have no sense of humor. You also get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Inductive Wireless Charging, NFC Pairing, and a Burmester surround sound system.

The center console and instrument panel lend the front seats a decidedly cozy feel.

Other standard niceties include heated front seats with memory and lumbar support, panoramic sunroof, multifunction leather steering wheel with touch control buttons, 64-color ambient lighting, dual-zone automatic climate control, power liftgate, and 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats. Options include a dashcam, MB navigation, augmented video for navigation, heated rear seats, ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, Head-Up Display, and a USB package.

Being a Coupe, the cabin feels cozy, even up front. Given its persona that’s fine. You might expect legroom to be dear in the rear, and it is, as it’s dependent on the kindness of those up front.

And the Coupe’s sloping roof has less of an impact on rearseat headroom than you’d expect.

Other updates

Mechanically, the GLC Coupe continues with its new-for-2023 four-link front suspension and multi-link independent rear suspension mounted to a subframe. Otherwise, the vehicle carries over unchanged.

There’s more cargo space than you might expect, and the rear seats fold down to expand hauling space.

Power comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with an integrated starter-generator mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission with standard all-wheel drive. It’s rated at 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Mercedes-Benz states this powertrain is good for a 0-60 mph time of 6.2 seconds, the same as its less-sporty sibling. Fuel economy is rated at 24 mpg city, 30 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined.

The GLC 300 4MATIC Coupe does get the sports suspension, which makes for agile handling and a decidedly firm ride. The steering is responsive, but lacking in feel – as is typical these days. Still, this is a fun nugget to toss around on your way to the Piggly Wiggly. Throw this puppy into Sport driving mode and snarling sound effects kick in. Certainly, you won’t need the paddle shifters, as the transmission shifts exactly when it should and never when it shouldn’t. Other aspects of the GLC prove how well engineers tuned this ride, with pedal effort being exactly what you want for delivering a jerk-free ride when putting this puppy through its paces.

Practical? Yes. But pricey.

It may cost more than its boxy brother, but it has sportier manners and a look that makes it easy to find in the Costco parking lot. But such wonderfulness doesn’t come cheap. Our $57,000 base price test car came with optional upgraded paint and leather trim, summer tires, 20-inch AMG black wheels, a black headliner, Driver Assistance Package, Night Package, AMG Line trim package, and Pinnacle Trim, bringing the total to $69,580.

But looking good always costs more.