MONSTER ENERGY

The monster-sports car experience, courtesy an AMG and a Porsche

- SIMRAN RASTOGI

The best way to describe the sight of the GLE 53 Coupe closing in on you, getting ever closer in your rearview mirrors, is of impending menace.

You notice the scowling LED DRLs first, angry even from hundreds of meters away. As the dark, hunkered down shape moves in closer, you notice the gaping grille. It even looks like it has a handy filter across it to keep smaller cars from being vacuumed as a whole. It’s the signature AMG look, you realize, but there’s something different about it. Ah, yes. It’s sitting about two meters off the ground, and looms ever larger. It’s enough for my gut to kick in and tell my brain to begin to switch lanes, even though I know who’s behind the wheel! The Mercedes-AMG GLE Coupe is back, and it’s better than ever.

It seems this time around, Mercedes has upped the ante, with the 53. Previously available as the GLE 43 Coupe, it was the best-selling AMG in India, despite looking like a CLA on jacked-up suspension. Let that sink in. For everyone that thinks the SUV-coupe is just a blip in the automotive timeline, globally, their numbers are rising ever higher, especially in recent years.

Thought the BMW X6 that introduced the concept in 2008 was niche? BMW has three of them, in different sizes now. As does Mercedes Benz. Audi has its various Sportbacks, VW has the Tiguan X and more manufacturers are seeing the (illogical?) benefits of having an SUV that tries its darndest to look like a coupe.

Coup d’état