2016 Mercedes-Benz GLC: First Drive

What it is: 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLC, five-passenger compact luxury SUV

Price Range:  $38,950 and up

Competitors: Audi Q5, BMW X3, Lexus RX

Alternatives: Volvo XC70, Acura RDX, Audi Allroad

Pros: Comfortable, full of technology, tows 5,300 lbs, and can haul adults easily in the back seat

Cons:  The U.S. won’t get the amazing off-road package (that’s only $750!) available on models in Europe.

Would I Buy it with My Own Money: Yes — no ifs, ands or buts.

American enthusiasts are finally getting one of their deepest desires, and it only took a former engineer for the CERN atomic particle accelerator project to get it done.

Sure, the wagon may go under a different name, and ride a little high, but it’s a wagon (just squint), and it’s coming at the end of the year. Meet the new Mercedes-Benz GLC – the God Particle of luxury cars.

Uwe Ernstberger is the head of product for the Mercedes C, E, and S Class vehicle lines. He began his career as an engineer working at CERN, the Swiss particle accelerator that discovered the Higgs Boson among others. After a turn at McKinsey where he did some work for Mercedes-Benz, he was hired into the German automaker, where he has been ever since. His focus of late is on the launch of Mercedes’ new mid-size SUV, the GLC, and from what we’ve seen, he’s helped created an alchemical vehicle — the stuff that might just kill off our desire for the wagons of yore.