2016 Mercedes GLC Coupe unveiled at the New York motor show

Now for a small sporty coupe-like SUV from Mercedes-Benz.

Drivers around the world must really crave a tall driving position, or we are become a planet of short people.

Just when you thought there were no more SUV niches left to fill, comes a small coupe-shaped faux-wheel-drive from Mercedes-Benz.

It's yet another car pretending to be an off-roader when all it's really designed to do is give the driver a commanding view of the road ahead.

A coupe shaped body is designed to make SUVs more acceptable to young singles -- and couples who don't yet have kids

The GLC Coupe is based on the company's compact SUV, but the tail has been docked and it has a hoop shaped roof.

It's a much more elegant design than earlier takes on the coupe-like SUV theme, such as the garish original BMW X6.

According to marketing experts, a coupe shaped body is designed to make SUVs more acceptable to young singles -- and couples who don't yet have kids.

Apparently a wagon body style screams "kids", "prams" or "soccer mum" to the outside world.

But by making the rear of the SUV much less practical it instead says "no room for kid's stuff in here, in fact I'd be lucky to fit a mountain bike without taking the front wheel off". Or so we imagine.

Expect to see it in Australian showrooms in December 2016

If this type of car is for you, expect to see it in Australian showrooms in December 2016 with a starting price close to $70,000 -- a modest premium over the regular GLC SUV, which in turn is a modest premium over the C-Class sedan on which both SUVs are placed.

Are you starting to see a theme here? Car makers have discovered new ways to charge top dollar for models buyers desire -- to make up for heavy discounting on less appealing models.

The car unveiled at this week's New York motor show was a GLC 43 AMG, powered by a twin turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine driving all four wheels through a nine-speed automatic transmission.

This edition is likely to cost in excess of $100,000 but will be joined by more affordable models from launch.

Here's hoping they drive more like the latest C Class sedan and not like the new GLC SUV. After we gave the GLC SUV a rave review based on a European test drive last year, we have since discovered it does not drive as well on the standard suspension on Australian roads.

Eventually, the GLC SUV and the GLC Coupe are expected to be available with full blown V8-powered 63 AMG versions (powered by the same twin turbo 4.0-litre V8 used in the C63 sedan), although this is yet to be confirmed.