The term "bro" has a bit of a loaded meaning these days, as its come to embody the behaviors of any group of young men who tend to enjoy each other's company in the presence of EDM DJs and top-shelf alcohol. For the most part, there's not been a signature vehicle for this set, since it spans the range of income levels; you're as bound to see a tribe of bros in a Jeep Wrangler as you are a Range Rover Sport.
Yet if there's a type of car that appeals almost exclusively to the well-heeled brocephus, it's the luxury SUV four-door "coupe," as personified by the BMW X6. So far, BMW has held this niche on its own, but that will change next summer with the arrival of this car, the 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 AMG.
To be sold on these shores solely in AMG form for now, the GLE 450 has a single engine choice — a 3-liter, twin-turbo V-6 making 362 hp and 387 lb-ft of torque — paired with a nine-speed automatic and all-wheel-drive. The drive system will have the requisite multi-mode selector, from "slippery" to "sport+," but the fact that Mercedes provided information on the 11 color choices and various wood and leather treatments for the GLE's interior but no estimated 0-60 mph time probably indicates just how sporting it will be.
Stylistically, the GLE does a slightly better job, at least in photographs, of trying to make the heft of an SUV seem sleek with a plunging hatchback roofline. It will take a real-life test to determine just how much cargo room and rear head space has been compromised in the name of style, but Mercedes does claim 58 cubic feet of hauling space, beating the X6 and, in a bit of puffery, "the world record for luggage compartments in coupes."
Such distinctions will mean only so much; like the X6, the GLE is meant for hauling a handful of adults, not toting children and their accoutrements. Around the world, SUVs have become the vehicle shorthand for luxury, and whether its Shanghai, Barcelona or Vegas, the GLE 450 AMG will likely find a welcome spot in the valet line at higher-end dance clubs. Bro, do you even coupe?
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