Page 21 - The Villager July 2021

Motoring

mercedeS amg gle63S 4matic+

teSt review

Super SUV, Hyper SUV or just plain manic?

By ALAN ROSENMEyER
ow do you describe a large,
luxury family SUV that’s
Hcapable of sprinting from
0 to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds and to
a top speed of 280km/hour? Then,
on the other hand it’s quite capable
of pottering around town in sheer
comfort although it never lets you
forget its true potential.
As the second-largest SUV in the
Mercedes range, the GLE is a very
substantial vehicle. As the runner-up in
the SA Car of the year in 2019, it has a
proven track record. We have previously
tested both 300 and 400 diesel versions
and the 400 in particular was definitely
not lacking in power or performance.
The 63s is a completely different ball
game though.
The V8 engine is a proper AMG
creation. Hand built by a single man in
the AMG factory, it blasts out 450kW Race mode with performance exhaust It’s almost pointless to quote fuel
and 850Nm, delivered to all 4 wheels creates noise levels that must be rated economy with a car of this level. Firstly,
through the AMG Speedshift 9-speed as noise pollution! if driven with verve on a regular basis,
automatic transmission. Again, the Obviously at this price level the you had better have a fuel card with no
transmission can be docile in normal GLE comes packed with almost every limit. I tried to restrain myself as much
driving or almost neck-snapping when possible luxury, safety and go-faster as possible during this test although
in angry mode. option that you can imagine. yet there it’s impossible to pull-off from a robot
The AMG steering wheel looks like was still room for a few optional extras slowly in any mode. The on board
a standard Mercedes wheel until on the test car. The Multicontour front computer showed 12.9 l/100km for my
you notice the extra knobs near the seats with climate control are superbly test period. This included our standard
bottom. Twist the knob on the right comfortable but do an amazing job open road cruise to Hartebeespoort.
and you can change from Comfort to of holding you in place when the The GLE63s is one of those cars that
Sport, Sport+ and then Race mode. inner cowboy takes over. The Driving makes no sense yET, it’s a car that is
Twist the other way and you see Assist Package Plus ups the governed incredibly desirable. At a standard price
Slippery, Sand and Off-Road for the maximum speed from 250km to 280km, of R2.9 million before extras I think I
All-wheel drive system. totally meaningless in reality but need to go and sign a few Government
The two extra buttons on the left are priceless when it comes to bragging tenders or invest in cryptocurrency
for the exhaust and suspension settings. rights. before I place my order.

Click here to see our video review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKZOd2fnwHs

The Villager • Issue 7 2021 • 19