Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic+ Coupe, too much or just enough?
A little while ago, we had the chance to test the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 coupe and we were very happy with it, to say the least. Mercedes gave us the chance to try out the top-tier GLE and who are we to decline? There are worse ways to fill up a weekend!
The white Hulk
The least powerful GLE AMG (53) delivers 435 hp and 520 Nm of torque, one step higher and you end up with the GLE 63 producing 571 hp and 750 Nm. But if you go for the most buff Mercedes-AMG GLE it will give you 612 hp and 850 Nm of torque. The power in the GLE 63 (S) is produced by a 4.0-liter bi-turbo V8 with an integrated starter-generator that not only provides additional trust but also recuperates it! That 48-volt system delivers its torque just above idling. With its 612 hp, AMG Performance 4Matic+ and AMG Speedshift TCT 9-speed automatic gearbox, a time of 3.8 seconds from 0-100 km/h is made possible. A similar time as the Mercedes-AMG GT with 530 hp. But even at a higher speed on the autobahn, you can take on a lot of other sporty cars. A little list of cars trying to take on our GLE 63 S on the German autobahn: Audi RS3, Volkswagen Golf R, first-gen Audi R8, Ford Mustang GT and a Porsche 992. All of them were no match for the awesome power of the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S that could keep pulling until it hits a limited 280 km/h! That German autobahn, the holy grail of speed and the place where the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupe shines. But Germany is also famous for some great twisty roads and can you guess how that went in a “2,3 tons weighing, 2 meters wide” Hulk? It was a lot of work. The brakes aren’t bad, but you’ve got an immense potential of making speed with such a heavy thing. Losing that speed is a lot harder.
When you think about the German autobahn, you also think about miles and miles (in Europe kilometers) of road. So you really need a comfortable car! And except the wind-noise, the GLE is an S-class on stilts. Even those huge rims can’t compromise the levels of pure enjoyable ride quality. Certainly, if you keep the car in its most comfortable setting, the GLE can flow on its huge torque number and doesn’t need to change down from its ninth (!) gear. But, just choose a more sporty setting -our favorite is the race one- and the car gets somewhat more firm and makes a lot more awesome beautiful noises. Other settings consist of the individual, sport, sport +, gravel, … too much!
You could think that the immense power and the big engine capacity will translate into an atmospheric consumption and you are totally … wrong! Thanks to some cool technology, the engine can shut down 4 of the 8 cylinders -yes yes, a V4- to reduce the consumption figures. At a speed of 70 km/h the car will only use 9 liters at 100 kilometers and increase the speed with 50 km/h and it will only use one liter more! In our time with the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S, we could manage an average consumption of just 13.4 liters/100 kilometers. This number includes the moments of our top speed run and half an hour of +200 km/h fun. That’s a legit good number!
Which AMG?
Looking at the outside of the car and there’s a reason why it is hard to keep the three AMG-flavors separate. Just like the 53 and the 63, the 63 S gets the Panamericana-grill with the big star and angry, wide-mouth front bumper. In addition to that, the small Multibeam headlights and strong-looking lines on the hood keep the car in check. Moving to the side and Mercedes reveals a little tip of the “power iceberg”. The GLE 53 gets a turbo-badge, while our 63 S gets the “look at me” V8 Biturbo-badge. But also don’t forget the bigger brakes. Expect for those little things, the GLEs can easily be mistaken for one another. Undoubted, if one specced the GLE 53 and GLE 63 S exactly the same. Same color, same rims, same everything.
With a hight of 1.730 mm, width of 2.010 mm and length of 4.939 mm, the GLE Coupe isn’t a small car and from no angle will you ever think that. Even at the back, the car looks bombastic. You can find the biggest difference, exterior-wise, at that same back in the shape of 4 square exhaust tips. Fake, but behind those, there are real (circular) ones that are possible to create some extreme sound.
Red?
Bold and beauti … no no no, I can’t say it. I love the interior of the Mercedes GLE, you may remember that from the GLE 53 AMG test. But in red? It’s bold but it ain’t beautiful. Maybe a good spec for a footballer but not my cup of tea. Just take an all-black interior and you can’t go wrong. Classy till the end.
Well, I moved past that color and admired the great quality Mercedes delivers time after time after time. Lovely seats for every occasion -heated, cooled and massaged- combined with that awesome multifunctional steering wheel and the highly adaptable digital dashboard. In the center console, a lot of leather, carbon and buttons (the most important one: the controls for the valve in the exhaust). Moving somewhat upwards to the big touchscreen with all the bells and whistles hidden in it. A 360-degree camera, color theme, DAB radio, live-navigation and so on and so on.
The people at the back, at this moment my nine-month-old son, can enjoy the same leather and heated seats. Nine-month-old son and heated seats? No, I ain’t that stupid. But just to illustrate that there is a lot of space and that this space can be enjoyed in all comfort.
Big boy, big price
The Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic+ Coupe is yours for a whopping 159.357 euros (BE). But choosing for the most powerful version, you get some “benefits”. Those advantages result in just a few extra options causing the price to grow by only 5.000 euros. It ain’t cheap, but I have said it before and will say it again: you can sleep in a car, you can’t race a house.
