Page 36 - Silver Lakes 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 not lacking in power or performance. The the inner cowboy takes over. The Driving
family SUV that's capable of 63s is a completely different ball game Assist Package Plus ups the governed
Hsprinting from 0 to 100km/h in 3.8 though. maximum speed from 250 to 280, totally
seconds and to a top speed of 280km/ meaningless in reality but priceless when
hour? Then, on the other hand, it's quite The V8 engine is a proper AMG creation. it comes to bragging rights.
capable of pottering around town in sheer Hand built by a single man in the AMG
comfort although it never lets you forget factory, it blasts out 450kW and 850Nm, It’s almost pointless to quote fuel economy
its true potential. delivered to all 4 wheels through the with a car of this level. Firstly, if driven with
AMG Speedshift 9-speed automatic verve on a regular basis, you had better
As the second largest SUV in the transmission. Again, the transmission can have a fuel card with no limit. I tried to
Mercedes range, the GLE is a large and be docile in normal driving or almost neck- restrain myself as much as possible during
very substantial vehicle. As the runner-up snapping when in angry mode. this test although it's impossible to pull-off
in the SA Car of the Year in 2019, it has a from a robot slowly in any mode. The on
proven track record. We have previously The AMG steering wheel looks like a board computer showed 12.9 l/100km for
tested both 300 and 400 diesel versions standard Mercedes wheel until you notice my test period. This included our standard
and the 400, in particular, was definitely the extra knobs near the bottom. Twist open road cruise to Hartebeespoort.
the knob on the right and you can change
from Comfort to Sport, Sport+ and then The GLE63s is one of those cars that makes
Race mode. Twist the other way and you no sense YET, it's a car that is incredibly
see Slippery, Sand and Off-Road for the All- desirable. At a standard price of R2.9million
wheel drive system. before extras I think I need to go and sign
a few government tenders or invest in
The two extra buttons on the left are for the cryptocurrency before I place my order.
exhaust and suspension settings. Race mode
with performance exhaust creates noise Click here to see our video review:
levels that must be rated as noise pollution! www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKZOd2fnwHs
Obviously at this price level the GLE
comes packed with almost every possible
luxury, safety and go-faster option that
you can imagine. Yet there was still room
for a few optional extras on the test car.
The Multicontour front seats with climate
control are superbly comfortable but do an
amazing job of holding you in place when

34 INTRA MUROS JULY 2021