Written by Alan Taylor-Jones Published: 17 October 2023 Updated: 29 February 2024

Overview

Although AMG carved out quite the reputation for sticking brawny V8s in pretty much everything, the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63S E Performance does things differently. Like the C 63 saloon and estate it moves to a plug-in hybrid powertrain, albeit one geared towards performance rather than efficiency. 

Despite halving the cylinder count and capacity of its predecessor, the 2.0-litre turbocharged four in this generation has 476hp all on its own. With a 204hp electric motor being fed by a 4.8kWh battery, total system output is 680hp. That’s enough for a 0-62mph time of 3.5-seconds, despite this GLC weighing a whopping 2,310kg. 

Its most obvious rival is the BMW X3M. It’s not as fast or as powerful, yet its lesser weight and six-cylinder engine are a tempting combination. There’s also the Jaguar F-Pace SVR if you still fancy a V8 complete with a supercharger. Alternatively, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio is a characterful option that sounds nearly as good as the Jag, and there’s always the Porsche Macan. 

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What’s it like inside? 

If you’re buying an SUV, you probably want some practicality. If we’re talking space for people, the GLC 63 isn’t bad at all, with plenty of head and legroom front and rear. Four tall adults will be comfortable, although the middle passenger in the rear does have a large hump in the floor to deal with. 

Despite having a much smaller battery than the GLC 300e and 300de plug-in hybrids, the GLC 63 has the same 470-litre boot. It’s down on the 550-litres of the BMW X3 M, while the Jaguar F-Pace SVR has a whopping 650-litres. 

At first look and touch things feel premium enough, but there are a few cheap-feeling plastics lower down and flimsy interior door pulls. There aren’t many physical controls with most functions accessed through the 11.9-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen infotainment system.  

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It’s responsive, with sharp graphics and heating controls permanently at the bottom of the screen. Even so, a few more buttons and dials for key features would be welcome. Voice control is standard and activated by saying ‘hey Mercedes’. It works well, but any mention of Mercedes is frequently enough to trigger it. 

To add to the tech fest, you get augmented reality sat nav. This projects arrows on to a camera feed from the front of the car to guide you to your exit. It’s a good idea in theory, but you end up having to keep an eye on the central touchscreen as you’re negotiating an unfamiliar road. Furthermore, it completely removes the map so you can’t see the last command, either. 

It’d be much handier to stick this display in the 12.3-inch driver’s display. The screen’s resolution and crispness of the graphics match the touchscreen, and it’s able to show a wide variety of information clearly. You can pick from a number of themes, although adjusting anything is done by a fiddly touchpad on the left-hand steering wheel spoke. The rest of the wheel’s controls are also touch-sensitive, so you can occasionally trigger functions accidentally. 

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Comfort 

Firm but comfortable electric front seats with heating and memory are standard, with electric steering wheel adjustment also included. This makes it easy to find a driving position that suits whether you’re tall or short. The seats are heavily bolstered and hold you in place well during hard cornering.  

The steering wheel is thick, with a suede-like covering where you’ll naturally hold it. Dialling up the comfort is easy thanks to a rotary drive mode selector below the right-hand spokes, with a configurable selector under the left. This allows you to change settings for the suspension, steering, exhaust, stability control and more. 

Safety 

Euro NCAP crash tested the regular GLC in 2022, giving it a five-star rating. On balance it scores slightly higher than the BMW X3 and Jaguar F-Pace, although these SUVs were tested in 2017 under less strict guidelines.  

You get plenty of safety kit to hopefully prevent and accident. This includes: 

• Autonomous emergency braking 
• Automatic child seat recognition 
• Blind spot assist 
• A central airbag between the front passengers 
• Tyre monitoring system 
• Traffic sign assist 

There’s also an Driving Assistant Package Plus that’s optional on the base GLC 63 and standard on all others. You get: 

• Active blind spot assist 
• Active braking with cross traffic function 
• Adaptive cruise control 
• Speed limit assist 
• Lane change assist 
• Evasive steering assist 

The systems aren’t too intrusive for the most part, and you can easily switch the key ones like lane assist off via a menu accessed by a shortcut button under the screen. 

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What’s it like to drive? 

With launch control engaged and all 680hp hitting the tarmac, the AMG GLC 63 is undeniably fast, feeling absolutely like an SUV that’ll do 0-62mph in 3.5-seconds. The trouble is that you only get the full boost for 10 seconds when you’ve engaged kickdown, so it doesn’t always have 680hp when you’re really pushing on a winding road. 

Don’t get us wrong, it’s still fast, it just makes it harder to plan overtakes and leaves you sometimes feeling a little short-changed. You also miss the bellow of the old V8, with the hot hatch soundtrack loud but not especially stirring even with the exhaust popping and banging on the overrun. 

Despite weighing a chunky 2,310kg, the chassis tech does a remarkably good job of hiding it. Yes, you’ll feel that mass under braking and smell the pads cooking if you’re really pushing on, but the GLC masks it better in the bends. The rear wheels can turn 2.5 degrees in the opposite direction to the fronts at up to 62mph, helping tuck the nose in and making the GLC feel more agile. Active anti-roll bars then do a remarkable job of minimising body lean, with the 63 gripping exceedingly well. 

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Push beyond this and the 63 feels pleasingly rear biased, pivoting slightly with the ESC on. Switch the stability control to Sport mode and you can enjoy sliding the tail a bit more, the four-wheel drive making sure you still get great traction. With a bit of feel through the steering and a largely responsive gearbox, it’s good fun when you’re really on it. 

At more sensible speeds the engine settles into the background and the GLC just feels a bit ordinary. It switches smoothly enough between petrol and electric mode whilst sounding only slightly beefier than lesser engines in the range.  

You do get a firm ride to help remind you of the power under your right foot. On smooth Spanish roads it was picking up on imperfections you couldn’t even see, with rougher stretches of road generating plenty of fidget. This doesn’t bode well for the UK’s pothole-strewn roads. 

Ownership costs and maintenance  

The GLC 63 is pricier than its immediate rivals, although it is faster and comes packed full of kit including that clever chassis tech. If you’re hoping for low company car tax because it’s a PHEV, think again. It only manages 170g/km and 37.7mpg even factoring in the battery. 

Range and charging 

The GLC’s tiny 4.8kWh battery is only good for 9.0 miles according to WLTP testing and less in the real world. You can only charge it at 3.7kWh, although it still takes under two hours to top it up. 

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What models and trims are available? 

At the time of writing there are three trim levels for the AMG GLC 63. Kicking things off is AMG Premium that gets all the clever chassis tech, forged 21-inch wheels, composite brakes, sports seats with electric adjustment and heating up front and two-zone climate control. 

AMG Night Edition Premium Plus adds black highlights on the outside, an aerodynamics package, four-zone climate control, a panoramic glass roof, the Driving Assistance Package Plus and a 3d Burmester stereo but costs an awful lot. 

Finally, there’s the Edition 1 which gets matt paint, yellow brake callipers, yellow detailing inside and a car cover. We’d probably just stick to the base model. 

What else should I know? 

The electric motor gets its own two-speed gearbox that drives the rear axle. It’s able to help with torque vectoring and power can be sent to the front wheels via the propshaft.

Click through to our verdict page to see if we’d recommend the BMW Mercedes-AMG GLC.