2021 Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 Hits $70K in Two Minutes If You Know What You’re Doing

At the beginning of the month, as part of our AMG month coverage, we started taking apart the Mercedes-AMG configurator to see how expensive these three letters can make an otherwise decently-priced luxury Mercedes car. Not an easy journey, seeing how there are no less than 35 AMG models and variants available for the American market, but we’re getting there.

Our trek through the world of the AMG passenger cars ended last week with the S 63 Cabriolet being crowned, so far, the king of all things AMG, with a price tag of $230,680 when fully loaded, down to the headlamps with Swarovski crystal accents.

This week, we’ll be focusing on SUVs, and we’ve already seen how big the gap between the entry-level GLA 35 and the fully-loaded GLA 45 is: $27,000, which is about the price of an entry-level Chevrolet Blazer.

For the boxier GLB, we tried a different approach. Now that we’ve got the hang of the Mercedes configurator and have set up more AMG models than we’ll ever own, we consider ourselves experts and wanted to see how long would it take to get from the stock, entry-level AMG GLB to the most expensive version we can create. The answer: close to two minutes, during which time the price of the thing went up by $19,945.

That short time comes from how easy it is to play around with your dream AMG online. For the exterior, you have nine colors to chose from, seven wheel designs, seven standalone options, and only one package. We checked the boxes on all of them and ended up spending $6,470 on exterior upgrades only.

Moving inside, there are six upholstery choices and just three trim variants, two options relating to seats (including one allowing you to add a third row of them), three steering wheel choices, and AMG illuminated front door sills. All of these add an extra $2,750 to the price of the GLB.

We spent the most money (virtually, of course) equipping the thing with all the option packages known to man. We’ve got packages for multimedia, driver assistance, parking assistance, garage door opener, Burmester surround sound system, a panoramic roof, and a SiriusXM 6-month All Access trial, which, oddly enough, you have to pay for.

In the end, we were left with a $69,445 (including destination charge) high-performance SUV on our hands, one that is capable of accelerating from naught to 60 mph (96 kph) in 5.1 seconds, and packing an engine rated at 302 hp and 295 lb-ft (350 Nm) of torque. It’s painted in Patagonia Red metallic, comes with 21-inch AMG multispoke, matte black wheels, and three rows of seats, and we simply love it.

Overall, in today’s day and age and considering all the financing options out there, paying $70K for an AMG Mercedes might not seem such a bad deal. Yet, consider that $70,000 is more than what a great deal of the people in this world make in a lifetime, and you can get a better perspective on things.

Also, keep in mind that this is considered a rather cheap AMG SUV, with the top of the range, the G-Class, starting off at more than double the price of the loaded GLB 35 we have here. Stay tuned, as we'll get to the mighty G by the end of the week, and that should be a lot of fun configuring.