This stylish SUV is Mercedes' new weapon against Audi and BMW

Hollis Johnson

Mercedes-Benz changed the luxury-SUV market in 1998 with the M-Class. Never before had the automotive world seen a vehicle with such ruggedness, civility, and performance wrapped in Mercedes-Benz packaging.

But only recently did the German brand go all in on SUVs. Mercedes-Benz now offers six SUVs/crossovers for sale in the US, with a seventh model arriving early next year. At the bottom of the range is the entry-level GLA crossover; the venerable G-Wagon is perched atop the lineup.

The vehicle leading Mercedes' SUV revolution is its new compact GLC crossover. The GLC debuted late last year as the replacement for the boxy GLK crossover (and, yes, we know the whole "GL" nomenclature is confusing — we actually have a chart stuck to the wall to make sense of it). Although the GLK was an appealing vehicle, it could never quite successfully go toe-to-toe with rivals Audi and BMW.

Things have changed with the arrival of the GLC. In 2015, the Mercedes GLK and early-production GLC models accounted for 5.7% of the US market for compact luxury SUVs. So far this year, that number is way up, to 9.1%. Through April, the GLC has outsold both the Audi Q5 and the BMW X3 by a significant margin.

Mercedes-Benz recently dropped off this 2016 CLC300 4Matic test car clad in a groovy matte "Magno Dakota Brown" paint job for Business Insider to drive (matte-finish cars are something of a trend now). Though the 2016 GLC300 4Matic starts at $40,950, our options-laden test car left the showroom with an as-tested price of $64,530.

Photos by Hollis Johnson unless otherwise credited

With the arrival of the GLC, Mercedes has a new weapon to take on the segment-leading Audi Q5 and BMW's X3, as well as Porsche's high-performance Macan.

The GLC is an upgrade from the outgoing GLK in every respect. That starts with the styling.

The GLK's Tonka-truck looks have been replaced by an elegant design based directly on the Mercedes C-Class.