It isn’t often that Germans admit that they were wrong, but Mercedes-AMG’s ill-fated downsizing to four-cylinder engines was most definitely A Mistake. Having bet the house on its fast-but-anodyne C43/GLC43 and plug-in hybrid C63/GLC63, Affalterbach is now back-pedalling hard by putting a multi-cylinder engine back into Mercedes’ compact executive models, starting with the new GLC53.
This car is practically identical to the GLC43, but instead of the A45’s M139 2.0 litre turbo four-pot under the bonnet, you’ll now find the M256M 3.0 litre straight-six out of the CLE53. It isn’t actually that much more powerful, offering only 28 PS more at 449 PS from 5,800 to 6,100 rpm – although torque is up some 100 Nm to 600 Nm between 2,200 and 5,200 rpm.
As before, there’s a 48-volt mild hybrid system, but instead of a belt-driven starter-generator (BSG), there’s now an integrated starter-generator (ISG) sandwiched between the six-pot and the nine-speed AMG Speedshift TCT 9G automatic gearbox. This produces 23 PS (+9 PS) and 205 Nm (+55 Nm) in additional accelerative power and allows the engine to switch off while coasting and smoothens the stop-start operation.
Floor the throttle and you get an extra 40 Nm (640 Nm) for up to ten seconds, enabling the car to sprint from zero to 100 km/h in just 4.2 seconds – more than half a second quicker than the GLC43 – on its way to an electronically-limited top speed of 250 km/h (270 km/h with the AMG Driver’s Package). But really, it’s the “powerful, sonorous sound” that buyers will be flocking to this model for, further augmented by an optional switchable AMG Real Performance Sound exhaust.
The GLC53 also benefits from several goodies from the GLC63, including an upgraded AMG Performance 4Matic+ all-wheel drive system. This provides increased rear bias with ESP Sport enabled, in addition to decoupling the front axle when not needed to increase efficiency. And, if you opt for the AMG Dynamic Plus Package, you can lock the system into rear-wheel drive in Drift mode and pull lurid, smoky drifts to your heart’s content, supported by an included electronic limited-slip rear differential.
Elsewhere, you get retuned steel-sprung suspension with AMG Ride Control adaptive dampers, three-stage AMG variable steering, up to 2.5 degrees of rear-wheel steering and massive steel brakes with 390 mm discs and four-piston callipers at the front. All this is controlled by the AMG Dynamic Select system with the usual Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Individual drive modes (plus a Race mode with the aforementioned AMG Dynamic Plus pack), as well as Basic, Advanced and Pro driveline and ESP settings.
Just as with the GLC43, the GLC53 is differentiated visually through massive front air intakes, jutting side skirts and a large rear diffuser with integrated quad round exhausts. It’s available in the same regular and sloped-back Coupé versions as before, and for the first year of production, a Golden Accents Package will also be made available.
The name may sound a little loutish but the auric accents are actually pretty subtle, pairing an Obsidian Black or matte Graphite Grey Magno exterior with techgold accents on the ghosted AMG script on the rear doors, along with the lips and centre caps of the 21-inch matte black cross-spoke alloy wheels.
This package also bundles in the extended AMG Night Package II and the AMG Design Package, the latter adding a more pronounced front splitter and tailgate spoiler, plus a gloss black finish for the fake rear vent fairings and diffuser blades.
Inside, the GLC53 retains AMG-specific features such as an AMG Performance steering wheel (unfortunately still with capacitive touch buttons) with built-in drive mode and suspension buttons and displays, AMG sports seats and available carbon fibre decor. With the Golden Accents Package, the latter comes with woven metallic threads, and the entire cabin gains beige stitching.
The GLC53 is set to replace both the GLC43 and GLC63, as AMG prepares to kill off its short-lived four-cylinder experiment. Ironically, despite the M139 being meant as a springboard for higher electrification, that engine isn’t compatible with upcoming Euro 7 regulations without significant modifications, leading to its impending demise.
Meanwhile, the M177 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 that the 2.0 litre mill was meant to replace is being retooled with a flat-plane crank to meet those emissions standards, entering service in the facelifted S580 and a hardcore version of the AMG CLE.
