Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 2024 Review

The all-new 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance SUV is priced from $191,814 plus on-road costs.

That compares to $186,470 plus ORCs for the previous first-generation V8 SUV when it was retired. So considering the level of change on offer here, that’s a mild price rise by modern Benz standards.

The SUV is the slightly more popular and ‘cheaper’ of the two GLC 63 models on offer as the Coupe – five-door hatch to us luddites – is priced from $198,415 plus ORCs. That’s up from the previous model’s $190,270.

This pricing keeps the GLC 63 twins in a sort of no-man’s land above the segment competition like the BMW X3 and X4 M and below relevant performance rivals like the Audi RS Q8.

Picking the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance SUV out from lesser GLCs is achieved via its vertically slatted front grille, substantial lower intakes with air curtains and 21-inch alloy wheels.

It also comes with a black pack that Mercedes-Benz dubs Night Package II (sound like a movie sequel).

Other exterior notables include a panoramic sunroof, a powered tailgate and aluminium-look running boards.

Inside, the GLC 63 twins are distinguished by AMG sports front seats in Nappa leather. Like lesser models, they are powered and heated and have four-way lumbar adjust.

Dual-zone climate control with adjustable rear vents is also standard, along with an interior ambient light package.

As usual, Mercedes-Benz is hyping plenty of options for its latest AMG, culminating in the limited-edition $12,900 Edition 1 launch pack.

The GLC 63 comes protected by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and six-year/100,000km coverage for its high-voltage battery. Service intervals are 20,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first.

Benz’s service plan will set you back $5025 for three visits to the workshop, $6455 for four and $7180 for five.

Like the car itself, not cheap.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance SUV is not covered by the five-star ANCAP safety rating – based on 2022 protocols – that applies to the GLC 300.

The 63’s swag of sophisticated driver assist systems includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, active lane keeping, blind spot assist, traffic light assist, adaptive high beam assist for its LED headlights, a 360-degree camera and parking sensors and active parking assist.

The GLC also comes with Benz’s Pre-Safe system that does things like tighten seat belts and close the sunroof when it anticipates an accident is about to happen.

It also has nine airbags that react when the accident is happening.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance adopts the car-maker’s latest MBUX infotainment system and follows on from the C-Class and mainstream GLC in having a large 11.9-inch infotainment touch-screen take over the centre stack and a configurable 12.3-inch instrument panel sit on the dashboard in front of the driver.

A configurable head-up display is projected onto the windscreen.

The infotainment system includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, satellite navigation and digital radio. Audio is broadcast by a Burmester surround-sound system

Being AMGs and plug-in hybrids, the GLC 63 models add a number of additional performance pages to the infotainment screen including Track Pace data logging.

Being all-wheel drive, there is also an off-road page that advises of things like inclination and yaw.

Smartphones can be wirelessly charged on a pad at the head of the centre console. There are at least three USB-C points for front seat passengers, but none apparent in the rear seat.

The switch by the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance from 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine to 2.0-litre turbo-petrol plug-in hybrid is the major talking point of the car.

It’s the same system as the latest C 63 debuted, with the 350kW/545Nm engine, belt starter-generator e-motor and AMG MCT nine-speed wet multiplate clutch auto sitting under the bonnet.

A 6.1kWh battery pack and 150kW/320Nm e-motor are mounted on the rear axle. There’s a 65-litre fuel tank back there as well.

A combined 500kW/1020Nm output eviscerates the old V8, although the torque output gets a mathematical boost because the rear e-motor drives through a two-speed gearbox.

You can keep track of how the aspects of the powertrain are performing via various screens that show such things as engine and e-motor rpm, power and just which bits are being utilised.

There are multiple Formula 1 technologies exploited here. The engine gets an electrically assisted turbocharger to reduce lag, while the battery is power-focused and able to cycle quickly and expel up to 150kW in 10-second bursts. It always has at least 80kW on hand.

One difference compared to the C 63 is the all-wheel drive system can’t be locked in rear-wheel drive for drifting and burnout purposes. Damn!

One of the key reasons for the swap from V8 to plug-in hybrid for the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance SUV is the efficiency advances it delivers.

The new GLC 63 claims a 7.3L/100km fuel economy average versus the old model’s 12.2L/100km. The new model requires the most expensive 98RON fuel, as did the old V8.

The new 63 also claims the ability to run for 14km on electricity alone.

The battery, which has only 4.8kWh of usable space, is regenerated through four different levels of recuperation. Emphasising its fast-cycle nature, it never emptied out or filled up during our hundreds of kays of driving across city, suburbs and countryside.

Plug-in recharging is limited to lower-speed AC and can be completed at a maximum rate of just 3.7kW. A cable to plug into a domestic outlet is standard.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 is weird to drive – at least initially. Having driven various generations of AMG SUVs through the decades, the expectation of a V8 beat is intrinsic.

Instead, when the throttle is pressed here it’s easy to wonder where the A 45 hot hatch is hiding nearby. Or is that a cammy BDA Escort?

That soundtrack kinda takes away from the gravitas of driving a 2.3-tonne behemoth like this.

For a lot of people, that is going to mean a lot. I mean, how often have you been standing on the kerb and watched someone go proudly rolling through the intersection at low speed in their V8 AMG with the exhausts belching and farting.

Hmmm, okay maybe this new powertrain is a good idea!

It’s certainly a good drive and in more ways than you might think. That electric turbocharger initially makes itself felt along with the e-motor by smoothly and rapidly responding to low-throttle inputs.

No lag, no hint of lumpy high-stressed four-cylinder here, although every now and again response was accompanied by a thump from the rear-end.

At highway speeds, press the throttle for astounding response. Let’s just say a couple of quick overtakes on a Queensland country highway were quicker than intended.

Part of the astonishment is driven by just how understated the whole thing feels. There’s no rising V8 bellow, no rough patches, peaks or troughs. It just keeps going and going … and then going some more.

AMG says 0-100km/h is achieved in 3.5 seconds (down 0.5sec) and the top speed is allegedly now up from 250km/h to 275km/h. The extra 25km/h is delivered by something called the AMG Driver’s Package which comes standard in Australia.

The sharper you wind the modes the more urgent the response to the throttle and the more active the auto becomes. Yet it’s still good fun to clack through the gears using the flappy paddles because they offer some feel and therefore satisfaction.

And what of fuel economy? Well, on the steepest and tightest mountain roads, with Sport+ selected and the car being hunted along, consumption rose into the high teens. Back on the highway cruise it fell to under 10L/100km.

Attempts to run in electric-only mode were shut down after only a kilometre or two. So much for the 14km range.

Our unintended high-speed overtakes also demonstrated the stability and integrity of the dynamic package. It sits on the road as solid as a rock.

A lot of this surety is a result of digital oversight. Let’s see… there’s the electrically-assisted all-wheel drive that can split torque 50/50 or up to 100 per cent rear, electronically-controlled limited-slip diff, adaptive suspension, electro-mechanical body control, three-stage speed-sensitive steering, rear-wheel steering and eight – yes, eight – drive modes with the ability to set individual sub-modes in a fiendishly complex matrix that would make Agent Smith proud.

You could have some really weird combos here – like battery save mode for the powertrain combined with maximum permissible slip angle (AMG calls it Master mode).

What these choices deliver if used logically is an ability to have – at one extreme – a vehicle liveable if not supple for the day-to-day and – at the other – one that ties down its height and weight impressively to be a cogent and kinda entertaining drive.

“Kinda” because it’s too big to hide its bulk, rides with some tautness and intrusiveness even at its most relaxed and sends plenty of tyre noise rumbling into the cabin, even on smooth surfaces.

It’s noticeable, too, the big composite brakes require a solid press to respond – thankfully they do – and that’s a reminder of what you’re dealing with here.

It is all expertly tuned, no doubt. The 63 deals with tight corners nimbly and the steering weight is never excessively heavy, not even in Sport+. However, some tram tracking is an unavoidable byproduct of the sizeable rubber.

Benz points to the new generation’s 49:51 weight balance as proof this is a better vehicle dynamically than its nose-heavy predecessor. It’s undoubtedly true.

But my memories of the old V8 are pretty positive. It was one of the first of these hyper-SUVs that actually felt like it had some dynamic chops and its V8-driven personality was pretty cool.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance has a nicely presented interior, although it’s clearly closely related to the standard GLC 300.

The single-piece seats are the big deal here and they are large, comfortable and especially generous under-thigh. These are seats for substantial people, not skinny little things. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton could probably squeeze together on one seat.

Otherwise, there’s not a lot here that screams $200K-plus.

The wood, piano black and metal-look trims are nice enough, the screens are big and bright and full of sub-menus (even for things like the AMG store and IWC watches), the AMG steering wheel has more functions and therefore spokes than most cars and hang a couple of tuning dials off them as well.

Touch pads on the spokes control many functions, such as cruise control and instrument panel menus. But it’s a learned process to brush the pad with your thumb in just the right direction to achieve the desire outcome, such as a 1km increase in cruise control speed rather than a reduction or picking which of the nine instrument panel faces you want.

It would also be great if there were more hard buttons on the centre stack. The volume and air-con has to be accessed via touchpoints on the screen. At least they are permanently on view.

On the positive side, the embedded sat-nav with its pinch-and-zoom screen is one of the best-executed and clearest I’ve come across. Good enough to eschew Apple’s choice of maps.

Mounting the gear selector on the steering column in that now-common Benz style has ensured there’s plenty of space in the centre console.

In the rear seat there is also plentiful passenger space but not that much else. There’s no sign of any USB ports, for instance.

The boot is down in size compared to both the GLC 300, GLC 43 and the old GLC 63 because the battery and e-motor sit underneath the rear floor. There’s not even room for a space-saver spare tyre.

This is a concern on Australia’s deteriorating roads where many a pothole can destroy a wheel and tyre. It would stop me taking this car anywhere remote.

Sitting around somewhere for days waiting for a new wheel and tyre is no fun.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance is a mighty engineering achievement. It throws a huge amount of tech at the challenge of managing 2.3 tonnes at high speed and succeeds in doing so.

It also completely transforms the powertrain into something that manages good economy – at least when it’s not being thrashed.

But for all the good stuff this new-generation GLC 63 delivers, it is an impressive vehicle rather than an exciting and involving one.

I miss that blarty, farty AMG V8 and I reckon I’m not alone.

2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance SUV at a glance:
Price: $191,814 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol-electric
Output: 350kW/545Nm (electric motor: 150kW/320Nm)
Combined output: 500kW/1020Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Battery: 6.1kWh lithium-ion (4.8kWh usable)
Range: 14km (ADR)
Energy consumption: 9.8kWh/100km (ADR)
Fuel: 7.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 166g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested