A group of South Korean reporters covering automobiles picked Mercedes-Benz’s latest sports utility vehicle, the New GLE, as the car of the month, they announced Tuesday.

According to the Korea Automobile Journalists Association, the SUV from the German luxury carmaker earned 18.4 points of 25, taking the top spot for the monthly award. It competed against GM Korea’s Chevrolet Traverse and Kia Motors’ Mohave the Master.

The association assesses finalists in five categories. The New GLE had 3.68 points on average for each category, it said.

Mercedes-Benz’s the New GLE

“Mercedes-Benz’s the New GLE is a premium SUV that adopted new design in and out as well as next-generation infotainment system for intuitive experience,” said Lee Seung-yong, chairman of the Car of the Year committee of KAJA.

“The vehicle offers the pleasure of driving through its latest powertrain that demonstrates powerful performance and fuel efficiency.”

(christory@heraldcorp.com)