Mercedes-AMG stamps price on facelift GLE 53 and 63 S

Having disclosed pricing of the updated GLE and GLE Coupe last week, Mercedes-Benz South Africa has now done the same with the AMG-tuned 53 and 63 S derivatives.

What has changed?

Building on the changes applied to the standard GLE, both the 53 and 63, regardless of bodystyle, receive a restyled Panamericana grille, new air intakes on the side of the front bumper, the AMG badge in place of the Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star on the bonnet, and new LED taillight clusters.

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A new option reserved solely for the GLE 63 S Coupe though are 22-inch diamond-cut AMG alloy wheels. For the standard GLE 63 S and pair of the 53 models, a 21-inch wheel size comes standard.

Inside, the revisions applied to the regular GLE and GLE Coupe are backed-up by AMG graphics and readouts within the instrument cluster and MBUX infotainment system, a new selection of colours and materials ranging from lime wood and piano gloss black to imitation carbon fibre, optional Head-Up on the 63 S and the latest AMG steering wheel.

In addition, Stuttgart has made more feature standard, namely heated and ventilated front seats, the Multibeam LED headlights and panoramic sunroof on the 53, with the 63 S benefitting from temperature-controlled cupholders and multi-contoured front seats.

As an option, only the regular GLE 53 can be had with five or seven-seats whereas the GLE 63 S is a five-seater only. On the coupe variants, seating is a strict four-seat affair.

Underneath, the adaptive AMG Ride Control air suspension now features on both models, with the 48-volt Active Roll Stabilisation system being standard on the 63 S and optional on the 53.

Standard hybrid assistance

On the power front, the 63 S joins the 53 in being fitted with the 48-volt EQ Boost mild-hybrid system as standard, which unlocks 15kW/200Nm for short spells.

In both instances, the AMG-optimised 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system sends the amount of twist to all four corners via the nine-speed TCT transmission.

Excluding the electric hardware, the 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six in the GLE 53 and GLE 53 Coupe develops 320kW/560Nm, and the bi-turbo 4.0-litre V8 in the 63 S cranks out 450kW/850Nm.

In terms of performance, both 53 models will get from 0-100 km/h in five seconds and on to a limited top speed of 250 km/h, while the 63 S will dispatch the benchmark sprint in 3.9 seconds before hitting the electronic speed buffers at 280 km/h.

Price

Now available, all five models in the local line-up’s sticker prices include a five-year/100 000 km maintenance plan from the off.

• AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ – R2 400 000
• AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ 7-seat – R2 419 400
• AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ Coupe – R2 525 850
• AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic+ – R3 799 000
• AMG GLE 63 S 4Matic+ Coupe – R3 799 000

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