Thanks: Global Motorsports
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Tested: 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLE63 S Bolts to 60 in 3.4 Seconds

What the redesigned 603-hp GLE63 S lacks in cornering prowess it makes up for with cosseting refinement and thundering acceleration.

Mercedes practically invented the factory-built high-performance luxury SUV in 1999 when it stuffed a 5.4-liter V-8 into its ML-class ute and christened the ML55 AMG. That vehicle's stats and figures—342 horsepower, 376 pound-feet of torque, 60 mph in the mid-sixes—seem quaint two decades later. But at the time, the company was able to call it the fastest ute in the world. With more than half of Mercedes-AMG's sales today being utility vehicles, it makes sense for the performance sub-brand to keep pushing its SUV bar ever higher. The redesigned 2021 GLE63 S is among the latest to faithfully adhere to that mega-horsepower tradition.

HIGHS: Stonking acceleration from the twin-turbo V-8, smoothest stop-start system around, impressive ride and handling balance.

Swallowing up to 18.9 psi of boost, the GLE63 S's twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 produces 603 horsepower at 6500 rpm, 627 pound-feet at 2500 rpm, and the deep, snarling roar that we expect from a hand-assembled AMG V-8. That's 26 more horses and 66 more pound-feet than the previous version's twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8. The GLE63's 4.0-liter is also the first AMG V-8 to get Benz's 48-volt EQ Boost hybrid system that mounts a motor-generator between the engine and the standard nine-speed automatic transmission.

Along with powering the V-8's accessories, including the electric air-conditioning compressor and electric water pump, the motor-generator can briefly kick in up to 21 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque to reduce the engine's lag and, in theory, improve its fuel economy. That extra power is administered with silky refinement just off idle, during gear changes, and in a handful of other situations when the V-8 might pause while its turbos spool up. The additional electrons also make for one of the quickest and seamless engine stop-start systems we've experienced. But, let's be clear: It does not increase the engine's output. Although the system's torque does occasionally overlap with the V-8's, the motor's boost never exceeds the engine's max output.

The somewhat lazy calibration of the nine-speed transmission in the GLE63 S can be frustrating on challenging roads. Even in its most aggressive Race drive mode, the gearbox tends to upshift entering corners and is often caught napping in too high a ratio. Activating the nine-speed's manual mode remedies this by allowing you to hold gears to the engine's 7100-rpm rev limiter, but downshifts are still lazier than we'd like.

Pace and Space

Despite its bulk, the 5568-pound GLE63 S thunders out of corners with authority, thanks to a standard limited-slip rear differential and a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system that never sends more than half the engine's torque to the front wheels. At the test track, our test car needed just 3.4 seconds to reach 60 mph and it blitzed the quarter-mile in 11.9 seconds at 117 mph, making it one of the quickest mid-sized high-performance SUVs we've evaluated. Compared to the last GLE63 S we tested, which weighed 253 pounds less, the new model is 0.3-second quicker to 60 and 0.2-second and 2 mph quicker through the quarter. The new AMG's acceleration figures also just edge out those of the latest 541-hp Porsche Cayenne Turbo, although the 670-hp Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid beats it by a couple of tenths to 60 mph and stomps it down the quarter-mile by nearly a half-second and 4 mph. We've yet to test the updated 2020 BMW X5 M, which can pack up to 617 horsepower in Competition trim, but we expect it to make similar performance gains as the AMG and hew closely to the GLE63 S's times. We smell a comparison test brewing.
Read More https://www.caranddriver.com/r....eviews/a31144615/202

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