Well, speak of the devil! We have been privately talking about this SUV every day of this week, and here it finally is. Mercedes has revealed the GLC 43 AMG with 4Matic and the same 367 PS twin-turbo V6 engine as the C 43.
We are supposed to treat this as a real performance SUV, not a watered-down version of the real model. However, we know that the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 with a V8 is happening, since we saw a wider prototype yesterday. However, we are perfectly happy with this model.
We know everything about the engine since it's been around since the GLE 450 AMG and its C-Class relative. Mercedes replaced the old 3.5-liter naturally aspirated unit with a new twin-turbo 3.0-liter, and this is the performance version of that. Output remains the same at 367 PS (270 Nm or 362 bhp) and 520 Nm of torque.
No matter what engine Audi uses for the SQ5, it should have less power. The Mercedes way of putting brute first ahead of everything is working well, as the GLC 43 uses its 4MATIC system and the 9G-Tronic to accelerate to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds (60 in 4.8s). The top speed is limited to 250 km/h (155 mph), and that's perfectly fine.
Just like the Audi SQ5 that it will rival, the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 is cosmetically upgraded but stops short of the full kick-to-the-face AMG treatment. We love pretty much everything we see, including the design of the new 20-inch wheels, the star explosion grille and the new bumper that looks like it came from the E 43. The front and rear diffuser look like they are made from a polished metal and extend the full width of the car.
But our favorite bit is the interior. In place of wood veneer, AMG used carbon fiber for the entire center console. It's got bucket seats and red seatbelts. What more could you want?
Mercedes engineers have made a long list of upgrades, ensuring that the GLC 43 doesn't feel like an ordinary SUV with a big engine. For example, the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system has a 31-69 rear-biased split of power. They also installed their Adaptive Damping system ADS PLUS, one of the several features that can be configured.
The four-link front axle was fitted with special steering knuckles and load-bearing joints. If you are worried about stopping a heavy and fast SUV, know that it has ventilated compound brake discs, perforated at the front with a diameter of 360 mm, and with a diameter of 320 mm at the rear.
Considering it weighs just 1,845 kilograms with the driver and a tank of gas, we'd pick this over a BMW X5 M50d every day of the week. We know they are not from the same class, but just think what the handling and braking are like with almost 350 fewer kilos to pull. Yeah, we are getting excited here!
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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