2015 Mercedes-Benz S63 Coupe offers excellent excess.
Out back, I want a marble-lined Pacific-blue pool, flanked by gushing tequila fountains — with a couple of shiny personal assistants to occasionally pluck me and my pretty guests from the pool. Just as the mid-size M-Class was rebadged a GLE as part of Mercedes-Benz’s new naming strategy announced late last year, the full-size GL-Class has now been rebadged a GLS.MERCEDES-Benz has finally brought its compact SUV advocate, the GLC, to the local market and, at the same time, has also introduced the updated GLE, the replacement for the M-Class.
Mercedes-Benz has joined the ranks of automakers troubled by airbag malfunctions, recalling about 126,000 vehicles in the United States, according to a report from the automaker posted this week on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.Derrick Halvorsen, vice-president of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services of Canada, said shoppers need to determine for how long they intend to keep their new vehicle. Thus the AMG Sport Models from Mercedes-Benz, a series of high content, breathed upon vehicles positioned between Stuttgart’s usual fare and the seething tar dragons of AMG, the performance division in Affalterbach, Germany. This is quite an important vehicle for the company as it is the first time that it competes with its compatriots in this segment, at least in the South African context. The automaker said a control unit in the airbag could malfunction in one of two ways: The airbags might not deploy in a crash, or they might deploy without being in a crash.
As I discovered, the world sort of steps aside when you’re plying its cobbled streets in a dazzling tank of a coupe awash in horsepower and white leather. In fact, the automaker describes the GLS as the “S-Class among SUVs.” The changes implemented in the GL’s transformation into the GLS have focused on improving efficiency as well as the handling and dynamics. 4Matic all-wheel drive remains standard but the engineers have also fitted the latest 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic transmission across most of the lineup (the high-performance GLS63 from Mercedes-AMG sticks with a uniquely-calibrated AMG Speedshift seven-speed automatic).
Its predecessor, the GLK, which was only available in left-hand drive, never made it to our shores, which was a pity when one considers the fact that the segment remains a competitive and popular one in our market. “Our new GLC represents a further, systematic step in the implementation of our successful SUV philosophy. Customers who plan to hold onto the vehicle long-term might be tempted to lease first to get lower monthly payments, but Halvorsen said this almost invariably increases the cost of purchase overall.
It combines the ultimate in driving comfort with a sporty touch, impresses on the road and off it as well, and appeals to the eye with the new design and equipment line,” says Florian Seidler, co-CEO Mercedes-Benz SA and executive director, Mercedes-Benz Cars. The new model is offered locally in four derivatives, comprising the GLC 250 with a 2.0l turbo petrol engine making 155kW and 350Nm and a GLC 300 with the same capacity, but pushing out 179kW and 369Nm. Up front, a large, blunt, satin-finish grille featured a giant Mercedes-Benz star in its center — ready to leave its three-point imprint on slow-moving Sentras and Civics if necessary. Diesel variants will be offered in the GLC 220d and GLC 250d boasting a 2.1l turbodiesel engine and mustering 125kW and 400Nm and 150kW and 500Nm respectively. The car’s long, broad hood extended like a banquet table to its raked-back windshield, while scowling twin-projector headlamps anchored muscular front fenders.
If it’s not that clean, if there are cigarette burns on the upholstery, worn areas of carpet, rips in the headliner, unrepaired paint nicks, door dings or windshield chips or missing or damaged underbody shields and plastic covers, you might be setting yourself up for failure with a lease. Though kind of thick, the S63’s sides wore prominent character lines up high and down low above the rocker panels that gave them a chiseled look, aided by slightly flared wheel openings. That’s a rung above the C300 (241 hp, 2.0-liter I4, for $40,950); but a nearly equal interval below Mercedes-AMG C63 (469 hp, 4.0-liter V8, for $65,250). Motor News got to drive the models in Switzerland and Lerato came away impressed to the point that he deemed it easily the benchmark of the segment, save for the lack of a V6 turbodiesel in the line-up. And did I mention that it’s a true two-door hardtop with no B-pillar between the front and rear side windows, making it as open and inviting as a ’57 Chevy?
A shorter term for a lease also helps prevent the dreaded “upside down,” when you owe more than the car’s worth, a typical occurrence when financing long-term with little money down. Like all S63 models in the U.S., the car sported all-wheel drive, theoretically meaning you could zip downtown even on an icy day or romp around sand dunes in the Sahara. But the big news, and your best friend if you sell Mercedes-Benz, is the GLE Coupe, the dolphin-backed, four-door sport crossover with the optional and mega-bratty 22-inch wheels. Under federal safety regulations, once a manufacturer is aware of a safety problem it must inform N.H.T.S.A. within five business days of its plan for a recall or face civil fines. The auto industry continues to deal with a staggering series of airbag problems, involving at least 12 automakers and 19 million Takata-manufactured airbags worldwide.
The vehicle is on-road biased, yet can take on mild off-road excursions, particularly if you opt for the off-road package that provides an additional lift of 220mm. The naming convention is part of the company’s strategy to simplify its SUV product range with the last letter denoting the class which the model is derived from — for instance GLA (A-Class); GLC (C-Class); GLE (E-Class); GLS (S-Class), the latter previously known as the GL and which is arriving next year. The general layout of the dash hasn’t changed but there is a new instrument cluster, new multifunction steering wheel and new touchpad-based interface. Very rarely, a vehicle’s value will exceed the residual value (the amount the lease contract dictates you must pay if you want to keep it at the end).
Suddenly, the S63 is in Autobahn mode, ripping to 60 in an astounding 3.7 seconds, according to Car and Driver, its seven-speed automatic clicking off blazing bang-bang shifts like a Formula 1 racer. The Sport line is AMG in all but engine—the badges, the deep-sculpted grille and aero skirting, the argument-ending, optional 22-inch wheels, plus a lot of go-fast gear signed off on by AMG, all available with lower cost and system overhead. These include Collision Prevention Assist Plus, Attention Assist, Brake Assist, Lane Keep Assist, blind spot and cross traffic warning systems, and the Distronic Plus cruise control system with Steering Assist semi-autonomous mode. As a result, the big coupe turns into corners with far more aggression and grace than any cruiser-size vehicle should possess, leaning slightly but clinging to curves with formidable all-wheel-drive grip. Interior options include ginger beige, espresso brown, saddle brown or porcelain, which in combination with black interior elements creates an interesting contrast.
Likewise, the steering felt quick and a little on the light side, as if it was bolted to something smaller.Looking good insideFortunately, life also looks pretty good from inside the S63, though I found more irritations there than the outside. In addition to the standard light longitudinal-grain aluminium, the large trim elements are also available in a version featuring a classy black piano lacquer or various types of wood, including open-pore brown ash wood or the shiny brown eucalyptus, black poplar or brown burred walnut. In the Sport line’s interiors, AMG division tastes can turn distinctly Ottoman, with contrasts of hides and topstitching, glowing wood and carbon-trim options, and extravagances of metallic trim or aluminum paint on switch caps, door pulls, and instrument bezels.
Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers’ own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. Consequently, every time I tried to rest my elbow on the console, I managed to knock the stereo off Outlaw Country and probably sent an email to Hungary or somewhere in the process. The wraparound seats with their form-fitting bolsters squeeze the driver on one side or the other depending on the curve, presumably to provide support in serious corners.
Certain models also get the Active Curve System with active roll stabilisation, which can be combined with the Airmatic suspension package or with the Off-Road Engineering package. Mercedes-Benz loves electronics, and the S63 bristled with features like active cruise control that will slow the car if needed, lane assist, steering assist and braking assist. While there is some concession to rear headroom and luggage space behind the foldable rear seat backs, this design provides space mainly suitable for shopping bags, and I don’t mean from Costco. COST 0.82 % Challenged on a country road, the GLE450 AMG grows a bit limber and floaty, the consequence of a very comfortable air suspension, lots of wheel travel, vehicle weight (4,894 pounds) and plain old CofG, center of gravity.
But that’s a minor flaw in what may be one of the best personal luxury coupes on the planet — a car that offers styling, performance and features usually found in super-luxury vehicles costing $100,000 more. Those with a penchant for performance can look at the AMG variants, available in the 63 AMG and 63 AMG S versions, powered by the 5.5l V8 twin-turbo pushing out 410kW and 700Nm for the former and 430kW and 760Nm for the latter. Fans of the M-Class now have the latest generation on offer, and let’s not forget that Merc has also taken a leaf out of BMW’s book in offering a coupe version. The C450 AMG is the Gentlemen’s Special, the Buddhist’s Middle Way between the austerities of the entry-level C sedan and the tongue-thickening indulgences of the C63 AMG. Critically, the C450 enjoys an upgraded lightweight suspension with AMG calibrations, including: three-stage adaptive dampers; aluminum four-link front and five-link rear; stiffening at the pickup points; and wider front track and more static camber for better handling under high cornering loads.
Zero to 60 mph rolls up in 4.9 seconds, says the company, and the Sport + mode’s harder algorithms help the 7-speed automatic transmission slip ratios convincingly like a dual-clutch.