• Familiar C-Class-based dashboard
• High-quality materials in the most part
• Commanding driving position

The Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe is now the sixth bodystyle to receive the C-Class dashboard that first debuted in the saloon back in 2014. As such it remains good to look at, is well-built and is constructed from largely high-quality materials – that cheap-feeling cupholder remains under the flap at the base of the centre console, though.

Everything feels clear and logical in look and layout, although the infotainment controller for the excellent MBUX set-up is fiddly in your initial operations. However, it soon becomes easy to navigate without looking down at what your hand’s up to. Just a pity the tablet-like screen dominates your view, and it lacks a little of the elegance of Mercedes-Benz cars of old.

Trims and colours are largely tasteful – although there’s something a little bit 1980s hi-fi about the silver switchgear – and everything’s laid out in a sensible, ergonomic fashion.

Dashboard trims are a mixed bag in terms of effectiveness: the open-pore wood finish looked stylishly contemporary but is marred by a cheap-looking brown plastic edging strip. The instrumentation itself is an object of clarity and can be complemented at extra cost with the superb head-up display (HUD) projected onto the windscreen.

Comfort

• Spacious cabin despite sloping roof
• Adaptive suspension boosts ride comfort
• Quiet interior, despite engine gruffness

Proof, if ever it was needed, is provided by the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe that sportiness and comfort can be happy bedfellows, albeit with the caveat that it’s even better with the optional Air Body Control suspension.

Few cars manage to quell road imperfections being transmitted to the car’s occupants as well as the GLC with the system switched to Comfort driving mode, although it can prove to be too soft for the tastes – and stomachs – of some passengers. Even in Sport mode (Sport+ is the firmest), it remains satisfyingly compliant.

Despite the roofline suggesting otherwise, it’s a spacious cabin, with ample room in all directions for four passengers – five is manageable but inevitably more of a squeeze in the back. Rear-seat occupants who are around 6ft tall may well feel their hair rubbing against the headlining but for the majority it’s fine back there.

Opt for the Premium package which includes an opening glass roof and the sombre-hued cabin has light flooding in, although there’s a significant degree of wind noise with it open. Other than that the interior’s quiet with little exterior or engine noise permeating through to disturb the hush.

Dual-zone climate control comes as standard – and it works very effectively – while the front seats are heated. Ventilated, air-conditioned seats are also available at extra cost.