Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance 2024 review – power over substance

A year and a half ago we drove AMG’s new C63, the one without a snarly V8 but a beefed-up variant of the A45 S’s 2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Which means it is also a year and a half since we came away underwhelmed and rather disappointed with Affalterbach’s answer to BMW’s M3. 

A couple of days spent with the new Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S E Performance, a crossover/junior SUV that shares much with the C63, and it’s hard to determine where the recipe has been improved. Powerful? Good grief, yes. There’s a combined 671bhp from the hybrid powertrain and as much as 752lb ft of torque, which means even this obese 2235kg machine will reach 62mph in a claimed 3.5sec, which feels as absurd as it sounds. 

> Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance 2024 review

Such outputs come courtesy of said M139L turbo four delivering 470bhp and an electric motor capable of producing up to 201bhp alone, depending on the drive mode selected. The petrol engine also has its own electric motor to control the exhaust-gas turbocharger. Said to draw on experience with the AMG Formula 1 team, the set-up drives the turbocharger’s shaft directly, spinning the compressor up to speed before the exhaust gases take over. The result is a sizeable improvement in response rates from idle and across the engine’s power and torque bands. 

Cooling for the hybrid battery pack also uses technology ‘inspired’ by AMG’s Formula 1 team. The 6.1kWh-capacity unit provides 107bhp of continuous power with the headline 201bhp available in ten-second bursts when you select Race mode – one of nine drive modes available, which coincidentally is the same number of gears you’ll find in the automatic gearbox. There’s also a two-speed gearbox on the rear axle for the electric drive unit. 

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It’s a hugely complex drivetrain and the numbers it produces are impressive if borderline insane, but unless you ramp it all the way up to the full 671bhp, it doesn’t feel as quick as the numbers suggest. Despite producing 262bhp/ton outside of Race mode, there isn’t the punch of the A45 S, which has a similar power-to-weight ratio. The GLC’s initial surge feels sharp but the performance quickly tails off. Even with the full 671bhp dialled in for 305bhp/ton, it feels a long way off the thrilling sensation you get when you let, say, an M3 or an Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio off their respective leashes. 

On an autobahn, to use as a device to climb into the boot of the car you’re trying to burn the paintwork off with your headlights, the GLC63 delivers the sort of in-gear surge that adds 50mph to whatever speed you are travelling at in what feels like an instant. But as a vehicle in which to sprint down an enjoyable road, its powertrain lacks the engagement factor that brings a good car to life. It feels very much like a powertrain to do the numbers rather than one to create memories. 

It’s a similar story with how it drives in general. Steel springs are combined with adaptive dampers and active anti-roll bars, rear-axle steering, three-stage speed-sensitive steering and an electronic diff in the rear axle. And they all come together to produce a car that feels so locked down you want to send it for some counselling to discover why it’s so uptight and unwilling to let people into its life.

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Having both axles assisting in the turn-in process does provide the GLC with unexpected agility and rate of response, the nose tucking in where you need it, the tail following faithfully. But it feels a one-dimensional process, one that offers little indication or feedback about what’s going on beneath nor any invitation to get involved with the process. Yes, the 4Matic four-wheel drive can send 100 per cent of the torque to the rear axle but it feels inert and as engaging as you’d expect a two-ton-plus SUV to be. It makes a Macan, F‑Pace SVR or Stelvio Quadrifoglio feel like finely honed sports cars in comparison. In the AMG you simply hold tight and hope the systems don’t power down. And that the brakes hold out, because they have an incredibly solid feel but provide no modulation, and even if you’re using only the mildest performance on offer they feel a touch weak and under-endowed. 

Leaving aside how it drives, the interior works well, the ergonomic layout intuitive, the seats supportive both when you press on or settle to a cruise. Too many of the functions require using the large central screen, although buttons are provided for quick-fire shortcuts including switching off the ADAS systems. But the steering wheel is overburdened with switchgear, and parts of the trim will be too OTT for some. 

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Ultimately, for a car with so much potency, the GLC63 S E Performance offers very few ways in which to engage with and to enjoy it beyond a short, sharp, ten-second drag race. The V8s might be a thing of the past for all but the GT models in the AMG portfolio, but surely that doesn’t also mean the fun and character that Affalterbach has spent decades cultivating has to be thrown out, too? And what of the electric range courtesy of the chunky hybrid system it carries around all the time? Just 7.4 miles. A figure that’s as hard to stomach as the £108,000 asking price.

Price and rivals 

The Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance has a price tag that’s equal to its performance output, weighing in at an absurd £108,995, which is considerably more than the £92,320 BMW charges for its 503bhp X3 M Competition. Alfa Romeo’s 520bhp Stelvio Quadrifoglio at £87,000 and the £85,180 Jaguar charges for the 542bhp F-Pace SVR look like bargains in comparison, and are the two we would choose along with the £71,700 Porsche Macan GTS. Or an M3 Touring, RS4 Competition or even the cheaper (£91,000) C63 S E Performance estate…

Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance specs