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Kitzbühel - first test
Yes, it looks like the soft rinsed brother of the BMW X6. And no, no one needs an inflated SUV coupe whose performance data sounds like steroid abuse in the gym. Again, yes, the whole combination is completely devoid of any meaning. And yet - it's great fun!
There is a new bad boy in town
First test drive in the new Mercedes-AMG GLE Coupé 63 AMG S.
Let it boil
From Kochelsee in the direction of Walchensee, the B11 winds up the Kesselberg. Kesselbergstraße, that's the name of the track. Those who have just recently climbed into the 63er GLE Coupé will be frightened of the first corners. The force with which the fat coupe throws into the curves, can cause fear. You sit on a raging highchair, thanks to active roll stabilization, however, all the attempts of the body to tilt in the curve with the mirrors towards asphalt, in the frame.
Torque? 760 Newton meters fall over the 22-inch tires of the large SUV coupe ago. Absurd, one thinks at the start. One is impressed after a few meters.
Of course, none of this makes sense. This mountain route would also knock down a small and much lighter car with much less horsepower and much less chassis effort. But - small-small does not live here. With the large GLE Coupé, just as 63 AMG and with the fast S on the badge, you throw the whole thick stone into the pond.
Dare sports? Somehow load-power car!
585 PS - If so, then do it right!
In order to properly balance the 2.2 tons of the large four-door car through the area, a neat unit is required under the hood. Nuclear fusion would have been an option - at AMG, however, they opted for the classic 5.5 liter engine with the two turbochargers. Classic because it is now the smaller one 4.0 liter engine with the "Hot-V" gives. But GLE Coupé and GLE (ML successor) are only a mild revision of the actual W166 platform and so it remains the “classic” with a decent displacement. 585 PS as the S variant and 760 Nm from 1.750 to 5.250 revolutions. The violence that goes to work under the hood works.
Power plant headquarters
Of course, the GLE coupe, in the style of the Stuttgart house, has now also got the large display (still without touch function!). However, the monitor was inserted extremely well into the cockpit. Between the ventilation nozzles, it lies at eye level and can be operated from the wrist using the Comand rotary control. More or less. A new department in the Comand system is fun to entertaining: Vehicle or engine data can be used to read engine power, torque and acceleration values - but not just something with entertainment value for the passenger, not only when there is a risk of aquaplaning.
The tires have to work properly so that the climb on Kesselbergstrasse does not turn into a ride into the Pampa by force dictation. 325 rubber socks even roll on the rear axle. You may not believe that you can come out of the corner with power-over steer - but it does.
And then came the rain
ESP off is announced in the test drives, one wants to know and feel how the whole apparatus works. With torrents over the road a little smart decision. Nevertheless, aquaplaning in a dynamic ride makes all the fun stop short. The dynamic steering system of the AMG has a direct effect in S + mode and provides a residual amount of feedback from the wheel arches.
Chassis Fixed
Even with the rough pace, the 2.3 ton truck cannot be upset. 585 HP might be able to clump in here via the drive train, the Affalterbacher X6 storms undeterred through flora and fauna - and asphalt - if it has to. Because the base cannot quite deny its roots in the “ML realm” of its predecessor, all the tricks had to be redeemed in Affalterbach. The active air suspension works highly dynamically in its settings, active roll stabilization keeps the horizon straight and with the plump footwear no macrometer asphalt escapes its liability. In the AMG models, all-wheel drive always assigns 60% to the rear axle.
To put the Stuttgarter-X6 in dynamic mode, you can do it by turning the knob. Once on Driving Experience Control switched into Sport + and the white elephant gets in the sharpest gait and ducks 10 mm again towards the asphalt.
S or not?
585 HP or “only” 557 HP? For the target group of buyers in Dubai, China and the heroes of lawn sport, that shouldn't be a question. Base prices are likely to be irrelevant. The V-Max remains the same in both cases and even the standard consumption is calculated to be equally low. 0.1 seconds better acceleration and optical trimmings remain outside. And an additional intercooler in the front left.
You can expect that from the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupé
Hannibal's ride couldn't have been more impressive. You can like the look of the GLE Coupé. Or not. However, what was knitted in Affalterbach from the almost five meter (4.92 m) long “SUV without headroom in row 2” earns you real respect. Of course, the sharpest pace is at the expense of consumption. 2.3 tons in the wind and over hundreds of meters? The prospectus values can quickly be tripled (NEDC: 11.9).
The nine-speed automatic is reserved for little colleagues for the time being, in the AMG trade the “Speedshift” 7-speed automatic machines work with a wet start-up clutch instead of a torque converter.
But don't be shy about all of this. The GLE Coupé already attracts the eyes of the surrounding area as if you were a naked blue whale in rush hour traffic. That doesn't get any less with the war paint on the AMG models - and if you are a fan of the well-groomed roar of exhausts and the flatulence of gearshift breaks, then in city centers the best thing to do is to say “Yes, it was me, yes I suffer from ADHD” tattoo the forehead.
Between the Cafe Pushkin and the Tverskaya Boulevard, the sound and appearance of the AMG GLE 63 Coupe should simply be in good shape.
Conclusion
The big cutlery unpacked
Thousands of kilometers away from Cafe Pushkin, the big SUV from Stuttgart is appealing - and that you really can't talk about the meaning of an “SUV coupé” based on results - the Success of the BMW X6 has proved it impressively.
Let's stop thinking about whether such a car makes sense. Let us treat those who can afford such an egg-laying wool milk sow in the testosterone affect.
If you don't like it quite as extravagant, not quite as rough and not quite as powerful, you can deal with the little brother of the AMG. In addition to the “not S”, there have recently been so-called AMG sports models. They bridge the gap between the massive AMG guns from Affalterbach and the sometimes more pragmatic series from Stuttgart. The GLE Coupé is also available in a 450 version. More about this “little brother” shortly. Here on my-auto-blog.
[=” ” ] Photos: Mercedes-Benz