Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 Coupe review

The GLC 43 Coupe is an evocative design and although it’s just a minor update on the last generation, it does look like it’s spent some extra hours in the pilates class. It’s sinewy and yet somehow it has a more seamless flow from the front to the rear. From the large, imposing Panamericana grille to the connected tail lights, the high-tech silver magno matte grey paint job of our review car only accentuates its fine lines and the stupendous 21in wheels are the best-looking things Mumbai potholes have kissed this year. 

Amongst the changes include the headlights, now with a new DRL signature and boasting of a million pixels from their digital projection. They compensate for different topographies and even have an ultra range feature on the high beam that illuminates even further. The tail lights do get a connected bar, but strangely doesn’t get a lighting element that joins them.

Step over the useless running board and the cabin has been spruced up with the new Mercedes portrait format 11.9in MBUX touchscreen and a 12.3in all digital driver display. What’s more impressive though is the HUD that lets you select different views and styles, just like you can with the main instrument cluster. Standard, Supersport, Race, Track Pace, Off-Road and Eco, each providing a slightly different set of vital stats, in full colour! All of this can be instantly toggled via the capacitive controls on the AMG steering wheel stalks which work well for skimming through options but not so much for volume control, ironically. But the AMG steering itself is another masterpiece of design and build quality. A superb blend of carbon fibre with Alcantara grips and shortcut dials to Drive modes on one side and exhaust/traction control on the other makes it possible to keep your hands on the wheel at all times.

Stuffed with almost every new trick that we have seen on other recent Mercs, the GLC 43 Coupe comes with Transparent bonnet to give you “eyes” directly under the hood in case of light off-roading (or just driving in Mumbai), memory seats with heating (no cooling option though), digital key handover, wireless charging and phone mirroring. ADAS support comes in the form of Active Brake Assist, Lane Keep Assist, Park Assist and as usual, the 360-degree camera quality and resolution are outstanding. A couple of omissions compared to the EQA that we drove last month were Dolby Atmos in the Burmester sound system and the Augmented Reality maps. Neither of these is a deal breaker though, as we reported in our EQA review.

Choosing between the 15-speaker, 710W of Burmester sound or the “real performance” sports exhaust is a tough call, but let’s file that under first-world problems. The real tech though lies in the mechanicals of the GLC 43 Couple. The 4Matic 4WD system is heavily rear-biased, preserving its sports-car-ish feel and with rear-wheel steering, it manages to be super sharp around the corners. Sure, it’s stiff and the sports seats don’t hold any sensations back but it all helps to make this 4-cylinder AMG feel at least like an inline-6, if not a V8. Acceleration is relentless and almost instantaneous using the e-turbo tech borrowed from Formula One. It uses a 48V motor that always keeps the turbo under optimum pressure, ready to deliver power on demand, eliminating the need for it to spool up. In reality, it decreases the turbo lag instead of eliminating it, although there’s hardly any reason to complain. The GLC 43 Coupe gains triple-digit speeds in under 5 seconds and for a 4-cylinder engine lugging such a heavy car, it’s nothing short of impressive. Mercedes has mercifully eliminated one big annoyance though - the speed limit buzzer. Long dreaded for its intrusiveness and even attenuating music playback to make itself heard, finally the GLC 43 Coupe is free of its crutches. The throaty exhaust can be enjoyed in all its glory and while it doesn’t have the guttural low-end rasp of its V8 siblings, it is still a very addictive sound nonetheless.

Comfort around the city is acceptable and admittedly, running into a patch of rain-ravaged tarmac, the 21in wheels shod with low-profile Continental rubber handled it pretty well. You keep feeling the underlying stiffness of the chassis and the lack of cushioning from time to time, but after a 200km round trip, we weren’t returned to our better halves broken in half. Road noise is on the higher side and you’re constantly reminded that you’re not in an E-class, but then the assumption is you signed up for the AMG experience.

In essence, it doesn’t feel like a watered-down AMG experience. Not for Indian conditions anyway. With our strictly imposed speed limits on every flyover and highway, the 400hp and quick gearshifts that the 9G AMG Speedshift offers are more than adequate to raise the little hair on the back of your neck. Mechanically sophisticated, technically loaded and aesthetically right on the money, the GLC 43 Coupe is a practical everyday anti-sportscar.