• Boot is well-sized and seatbacks fold flat
• Access to it is restricted due to high loading sill
• Luggage cover seems unnecessarily fiddly

View the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe alongside its SUV sibling with a more traditional, estate car-esque rear end, and you’ll immediately appreciate that this is less practical. The Coupe’s lower by 42mm than the GLC SUV, slightly compromising rear seat headroom, but is also longer to the tune of 76mm, benefiting boot space.

Perhaps remarkably, with the rear seats in place, the Coupe’s 500-litre boot is only 50 litres shy of the SUV’s figure; fold them over and the difference is more stark, with the Coupe offering up 1,400 litres to the SUV’s 1,600-litre volume.

Statistics only tell part of the story, though. Open the Coupe’s large tailgate – thankfully that’s electrically-assisted – and two things immediately strike you: 1) that the boot loading sill is very high and 2) the high boot floor makes it appear very shallow, not great if you need to carry taller items.

The secret is that the floor is false, with the volume of space beneath it effectively doubling its depth, but it would prove awkward lifting heavy cargo back out of that well. Usefully, the false floor’s lockable and when it’s in place and the seatbacks are folded over, the boot floor’s long and flat.

We were less impressed by the recoiling luggage cover. It doesn’t rise up in unison with the tailgate, instead you have to un- and re-hook it from toggles near the boot opening. With no track for the runners to feed along, it’s somewhat fiddly.

Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe safety

• Standard safety equipment impressive
• Optional extras lift it even higher
• LED headlamps are part of the standard kit

It’s unlikely the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe will be safety-tested by the experts at Euro NCAP as a separate model but the regular SUV version of the car received the full five stars and a best-in-class title when it was examined. Standard safety equipment is impressive but this can be bolstered further with the optional Driving Assistance pack as well as the excellent head-up display unit.

It’s worth saying that you can get the Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control system, which is an excellent driving aid to help keep you a safe distance back from the vehicle in front when cruise control is set. In addition, Steering Assist helps the driver maintain their position within a clearly marked lane. It’s not quite autonomous driving, but it’s not far off.

Brake Assist Plus (BAS) with Cross-Traffic Assist helps you avoid accidents at junctions, too – normally by applying the brakes if it detects you’re about to pull out in front of on-coming traffic. The Mercedes GLC Coupe also has pedestrian detection built into its safety systems and by applying the brakes automatically the car can entirely avoid impacts with pedestrians at up to speeds of 31mph.

For more details about the Coupe’s safety, read the Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV review.

Mercedes-Benz GLC EuroNCAP crash test