Mercedes GLE AMG 63 S is the Big Daddy of the range
new technological development) as Sports Direct-Steer. The new steering system proves more ideal for guiding, as opposed to trundling, this sporty but nevertheless bulky coupé deep into mountain terrain.
Okay, so the chassis has been given a big workout. What about power? Well, further to Merc’s belief that this new car will not disappoint in any sort of sporty context, the international launch drive of the coupé saw only its two top-powered models available for selection. The small South African group first sampled the new GLE 450 AMG Coupé, powered by a twinturbo V6 petrol engine, good for 270kW and 430Nm, and fitted with the seamless new nine-speed automatic ‘box known as the 9G-Tronic, and mating to the 4Matic all-wheeldrive system standard on all GLE models.
However, whilst torque split on the less-endowed models in the GLE range is 50/50, on the GLE 450 AMG Coupe the split is 40 front, 60 rear, for a more “pointy” attitude. The engine on the 450 was quite surprising in its vocal presence, emitting a beautiful soulful sixcylinder song that echoed off the mountains. And this is, of course, enhanced when selecting one of the Sport modes on the dynamic driving programme, which is easily achieved via a rotary knob on the centre console.
Performance on the GLE 450 AMG Coupé is brisk to say the least, especially for a petrol V6. It runs the 0-100 km/h gauntlet in a claimed 5.7 seconds and races on to an electronically-limited 250km/h, so it more than deserves its grandsounding “450” name-plate, despite employing an engine displacing only 2 996cc. Such is the new world of engine downsizing that we live in, where numbers attached to models don’t mean anything specific anymore. But talking of numbers, if you want to get really serious then go for the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupé. This is the Big Daddy of the range, with its 5.5-litre V8 bi-turbo V8 easing out a solid 412kW and 760Nm of torque. The numbers for sprinting include a 4.2 second 0-100km/h time, and this model is quite comfortable with a “mere” seven speeds on AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic gearbox. Fuel tank sizing, by the way, is 107 litres but if you treat it gently (not likely) you may even get close to the EU-rated consumption of 11.9 litres/100 km.
As for looks we’ll leave you to make your own judgements, but I liked its un-fussy lines.
Interestingly, Merc is claiming its luggage space is the “biggest for any coupé anywhere”, and it measures at 650 litres/1 720 litres. The new GLE Coupé is scheduled for launch here in October/November 2015 and pricing for the 450 AMG (without the CO2 tax) is set for R1 099 900, with the 63 weighing in at a hefty R1 859 900. For the more modest, there will be a GLE 350 d Coupé selling for R999 900.