The Mercedes-AMG GLE is a megabucks upscale luxury SUV from a manufacturer that makes superb engines and lush interiors. It’s the go-faster development of the popular Benz-badged GLE, and continues this line of top-flight Range Rover rivals pioneered by the German firm in the late 1990s, when it was branded an M-Class before BMW told them to stop.

The current generation of GLE was launched in 2019 and facelifted in 2024 to keep it on the pace of its younger rivals with the arrival of the new plug-in hybrid AMG GLE 53 Hybrid. Which ever flavour you choose, being an AMG, you do know what you’re getting – it’s a focused offering, so long as you’re in the market for something that’s big, comfortable, fast, obnoxious, and can easily turn into a six-figure purchase.

If that sounds pretty niche, then you might be surprised to learn the AMG GLE has plenty of rivals. For starters, there’s Mercedes’ own mighty G-Class, also available with the same engine. Then there’s the BMW X5 M, Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Range Rover Sport and Audi RS Q8 too.

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What’s it like inside?

Step up and into the cabin and you’re greeted with a vast space full of toys and leather, as you’d expect. The steering wheel has a slightly flat bottom but it’s a good size and is pleasurable to hold. However, the controls contained within it are sub-optimal – the haptics and touch-sensitive sliders are dreadful, being near-unusable. Bring back buttons, please, Mercedes.

Unusually, there’s a scroll wheel on the right hand side that controls the driving modes and a couple of buttons on the left-hand side to control individual setup components such as the exhaust noise level and stiffness of the suspension. If that doesn’t impress you then this isn’t really the car for you. Both of these are fantastic shortcuts, saving you time by not scrolling through menus on the infotainment screen.

Speaking of which, there are twin 12.3-inch screens. The one on the driver’s side houses the usual driving infomation and is endlessly configurable. Unsurprisingly the ‘classic’ display, complete with sporting dials is our favourite. The screen to the left is used as the main infotainment screen. It all works well enough, and of course, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are provided – but given the car’s in-built MBUX system is so good, we’d forgive you eschewing the car’s unrewarding touch controls by the driver’s left elbow.

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Unsurprisingly for a car that occupies such a large footprint, there’s plenty of room for people and their luggage. Up-front, the driver’s seat has near-infinite levels of adjustment, and is also superbly supportive. There’s decent storage for nicknacks up there, too, and we particularly like the useful centre cubby, which complements the huge sized glovebox and door pockets.

Behind the driver, things are also good. The GLE’s rear seats are comfortable with plenty of space, and even those sitting in the middle seat will benefit from a reasonable amount of shoulder room. Those in the rearmost row are also treated to their own dual-zone climate control, with USB charging another standard feature. Sadly, you can’t spec the GLE 53 Hybrid or 63 S as a seven-seater.

That said, the boot is bigger than BMW X5’s, and a two-seat capacity of 2,055 litres is bigger than all of its rivals. The rear seats can be folded down in a 40:20:40 split using switches in the boot – a handy feature, especially when you’re laden down with shopping.

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What’s it like to drive ?

There are three models to choose from – the GLE 53, the PHEV GLE 53 Hybrid, and the GLE 63 S. The range-topping GLE 63 S in a mighty thing, and we can confirm it’s hugely quick. The 0-62mph sprint is loudly completed in 3.8 seconds and it has an electronically limited top speed of 175mph. This brute force comes from a 4.0-litre V8 biturbo engine pumping out 612hp. It’s a peach of a power unit. It swells with power and easily feels ready for anything.

It sounds amazing too. Deep and powerful but also with a few pleasantly obnoxious pops and bangs when you’re really gunning it. This can all be calmed down at the flick of a button, of course. Technically it’s a mild-hybrid. Mercedes reckons it adds 22bhp and helps out with stop-start, helping to reduce emissions. It also has a cylinder shut-off system that allows it to turn off four out of eight of its cylinders when being driven at a sedate pace on the motorway.

Next up, the GLE 53 Hybrid is quite different – and a lot more usable for many people, being a plug-in hybrid with a large 31kWh battery pack on board. Instead of the 63’s 4.0-litre V8, it has a 3.0-litre straight six shoehorned into the front, and allied with an 136hp e-motor, generates a combined maximum power output of 536hp. It’ll sprint from 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds, and make it to 90mph on battery power alone. We’ve yet to drive the 449hp mild-hybrid GLE 53, but it’s still quick, with a 0-62mph time of 5.3 seconds.

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Of more relevance, though, is its ability to run on battery alone for extended periods – we were able to do 50+ miles as an EV, which is a game-changer for many AMG owners. Realistically, many people would be able to drive it as a BEV in daily use. However, when it’s not charged up, fuel economy is pretty diabolical – with the battery depleted – it was doing low 20s, even high teens. Not great.

The steering is light for such a heavy car. This makes it easy to flow through traffic and tight streets, but a bit less involving on a fun stretch of road. It’s still pretty fun and despite the four-wheel drive the rear end does have a bit of movement to it. A Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5M feel a bit edgier and more extreme. Whether you think that’s a good thing or not is up to you.

It’s exceptionally comfortable, especially on the UK’s typical mixture of poor road surfaces. In full-on comfort mode (suspension set to its pillowiest setting) it absorbs the best of what Britain can throw at it. It’s especially good at motorway speeds, with little noise or vibrations translating into the cabin. But why so many driving modes – it suffers from overcomplication.

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What models and trims are available?

As explained earlier, there are three AMG GLEs to choose from. At the entry-level point is the GLE 53, and it does have one advantage over its more expensive counterparts. These cars only come with seven seats, but you do have two trim levels to choose from: Premium or Premium Plus.

As you can imagine, Premium Plus costs more but you get more stuff. This stuff includes a Burmester sound system, 22-inch alloys, and keyless go. There’s only one GLE 63 S to choose from. This is top-spec and it comes fully loaded. The only way you can spend more money is on paint. There’s only one standard colour, and that’s white.

So, would be recommend buying one, and if so, which version? Click through to our verdict to see what we think of the AMG GLE. You can also find out more about how we test on Parkers via our dedicated explainer page.