Automotive

Mercedes New AMG GLC43 Coupe Model 2017

Mercedes New AMG GLC43 Coupe Model 2017

Portugal, Mercedes flipped me the keys to the AMG GLC43 automobile for an hour-plus tour around the mountainous countryside. Nothing too extreme or unusual – simply the type of back roads you might find yourself on throughout a weekend getaway with the partner or the whole family. Or by yourself, as a result of those damn holidays really took their toll. We can’t judge.

Now, the automobile for such a breakout would be the high-performance version of the fastback four-door “Coupe” version of a vehicle that’s effectively the crossover SUV version of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. There is simply newer a flow chart around once you need one. Yet, as I detected, the 2017 Mercedes-AMG GLC43 car is not as nonsensical as its name and origins would indicate.

Mercedes New AMG GLC43 Coupe Feature

Though the mountain roads around Portimao are well paved, those around the hotel aren’t. There are cracks, potholes, and stretches that are ripped up to be redone at some purpose in the future. Such unpleasantness draws attention to the GLC43’s commonplace Air Body management adaptive suspension. Compared to the GLC300’s optional version, the GLC43’s is coming back and changed with special steering knuckles and supporting joints to extend rigidity and comes with lighter spring elements to scale back unsprung mass.

There’s additionally some further negative camber dialed in in any respect four corners. It’s all finished the sake of legerity (more thereon later), however once left in Comfort mode, the suspension most likely will not beat you up over potholes. There’s actually some further impact harshness from the 20-inch wheels, however, those air dampers do their typical magic of providing a comfortable ride despite all that go-fast gear.

Mercedes New AMG GLC43 Coupe Model 2017

With the city behind me, I swing the GLC43 through an indirect and get a brief taste of the body control ABC provides before charging onto the highway. The 3.0-liter turbocharged V6  produces 362 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque. I don’t think it’ll make you giggle like an AMG V8 will – it’s not quite as torque-rich or loud for that – but the engine represents a clear performance improve over an impressive turbocharged four-cylinder in the GLC300.

Mercedes says the 43 will hit 60 mph in 4.8 seconds, which compares with the GLC300’s estimate of 6.4 seconds (just for some perspective as 0-60 times are otherwise a bit silly). Up to this point, all noted about the AMG GLC43 regards to both the Coupe and the regular-roofed version. Much like their respective GLC300 counterparts, they are essentially dynamic equals. Functionally, they differ, but not as much as you might expect.

Mercedes New AMG GLC43 Coupe Performance

Mercedes New AMG GLC43 Coupe Model 2017

Ingress height plus shoulders, elbows, and legroom are all identical. Of course, rear headroom is defeated in the Coupe proper to the sloped roofline, but at 6-foot-3 I was surprisingly still able to sit upright back there. Better still, Mercedes didn’t lower the back seat to make that possible as BMW did with the compromised X4. As a result, the GLC Coupe’s back seat is a far more convenient place to spend time, and most occupants are unlikely to care about the difference between GLC Coupe and GLC, uh, sedan?

So, the AMG GLC43 is a moderately compelling high-performance SUV. I’m not entirely convinced that the Coupe version looks better than the regular one – particularly when the latter is done up as an AMG – but if you want to be bold and make a stand, you can put your mind at ease that it’s not as compromised as other SUV “coupes.” Damn it, and here I’d made it this whole time without quoting “In the Navy.

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