The GLC 43 Coupe looks quite different from the regular GLC, The design and looks department is where the AMG GLC 43 will make you go weak in your knees. The SUV gets a diamond-finished grille which is flanked by the LED projector headlights with LED DRLs on either side and the huge three-pointed star logo in the middle. There’s enough chrome detailing on the car, for instance, on the grille, front lower bumper and on the rear profile. At the side, is where the drama is all about.
While the sloping roofline is the design highlight of this SUV, the 19-inch dual-tone AMG wheels and the wraparound LED tail-lights are also bound to catch your attention in a jiffy. The quad exhausts and the aerodynamics aiding lip on the boot lid tell you that this no regular GLC. The vehicle is available in a total of six exterior colours – Designo Hyacinth Red, Brilliant Blue, Obsidian Black, Diamond Silver, Selenite Grey and Polar White and is marginally longer and lower than the regular GLC.
While the cabin is reminiscent of the regular GLC, there are visual differentiators between the standard GLC and Mercedes GLC 43 AMG. For starters, the cabin adopts an all-black theme with piano black finishes in the centre console. There is red double stitching on the dash, seats, steering wheel and the door pads and if that’s not too colourful, you also get red seatbelts.
The front seats are great in terms of support and comfort and get electrically adjustable squab length while the rear seat isn’t as good as the front. First, the headroom is tight for a person measuring 5’11” & above and second, the windows aren’t that large, so you might end up feeling claustrophobic. That said, leg room at the rear is ample.
Features on offer include an electric sunroof, 13-speaker Burmester sound system, 8-inch COMAND infotainment system with Bluetooth (not a touchscreen!), Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, electrically adjustable front seats with memory and heating function. The 491-litres boot ironically has very little space as the space saver tyre eats up all of that space. So before driving, you will have to decide whether you need the space saver or your luggage.
The Mercedes GLC 43 AMG isn’t a hard core AMG because, well, it is a 43 and not a 63, meaning it comes powered by a 3.0-litre V6 engine. The powerplant churns out 367 HP at 5500-6000 RPM and 520 Nm at 2500-4000 RPM. The engine starts off with a mild grunt and the settles down to a consistent rumble that isn’t really loud. The mill also feels very refined and vibration-free.
Dab the throttle and the car will react to inputs instantaneously and will pick up pace quite swiftly and 0-100 km/hr comes up in a claimed 4.9 seconds. Turbo lag isn’t really felt and the Mercedes GLC 43 AMG is quick off the line. The mid-range is powerful and the surge continues till the redline, and that’s when the exhaust note sounds sporty too, urging you to push the car further.
The Mercedes GLC 43 AMG comes with a stiff suspension set up. The ride is felt quite hard inside the cabin and because of this, every small pothole or bump filters inside loudly. However, the body feels very controlled due to the stiff set up and in spite of the car being so bulky and large, body roll still feels very much under control. The air springs also allow you to increase the ride height of the car.
Talking about the steering, it is a tad heavy and offers good feedback too. The Mercedes GLC 43 AMG feels extremely confident when you push it around corners and while there is slight understeer, the car feels planted and offers an engaging driving experience too, Looks really cool and unlike many other SUVs.