Back in April of this year, I wrote about the then-just-announced 2027 Mercedes AMG GLC 53.  As I continue to car shop for my next daily driver, I have to admit that the AMG GLC 53 has remained the front runner in my search.  Which saddens me because after 20 years of continuous BMW ownership, I know of no current BMW model that appeals to me.

When I went to see my local Mercedes dealership about the new AMG, we built one – at that time dealers had build options not available on the public MBUSA website.  As it turns out, they liked my spec so much, they went ahead and ordered it.  Fast forward to last week and I got a text that the car was now in country, and they were expecting to see it within a week.  Which brings us to yesterday when I got the call that they had the car, and invited me to come down and take a test drive.  The following are my first impressions after spending about an hour with the car.

If you’ve read or watched any reviews on this car, you’ll know the headline grabber is the new engine.  The new GLC 53 uses a 3.0-liter longitudinal inline-six.  Enthusiasts are applauding this return to form – the four-cylinder powertrain used in the outgoing GLC 43/63 generation was considered a terrible decision on the part of Mercedes.  Here are the complete specifications of the new engine:

AMG redesigned the engine with a new cylinder head, revised intake and exhaust ports, a new intake camshaft, a larger-volume intake system, and a new charge-air cooler. AMG explicitly says the objective was improved torque buildup, faster response and greater willingness to rev. During the test drive, the raw power/speed was certainly impressive, but it was the throttle response that truly blew me away – better than many electric vehicles I’ve driven.  The engine sound was phenomenal – take a listen to this short clip – if you’re not smiling afterward, check your pulse.  You might well be dead or dying:

It’s aggressive, but tasteful – I love it.  My current BMW X3 M sounds phenomenal so it’s important to me that my next vehicle does as well.  Handling was extremely car-like – this did not feel like an SUV/crossover.  Very sporty – but remained civilized.  Only when you put the car into “race” mode did you really feel the drama and theater pushed into something beyond a daily driver and more into a high-performance weapon.  I did note that much like my X3 M, the suspension didn’t change much between “comfort” and “race” – it changed the steering feel and engine response/shift performance, but not the ride – that remained fairly stiff.  But I’m well used to that in my X3 M.

The next thing that took my breath away was the interior – black leather with red stitching, and red seat belts.  They ordered the car with sport seats – something the dealership rarely does.

Unlike BMW’s tortuous sport seats that you’d never order for a daily driver, these seats fit me incredibly well, and the adjustable side supports could really be dialed in to keep you stationary in your seat.  The ONLY problem with them is the lack of any head adjustability.  My wife is quite short and the top of her head hits the bottom of the head rest, forcing her neck and head forward – not at all comfortable.  So I’d likely have to forgo the sport seats in my actual build.  But I’m happy we had the opportunity to try them before we ordered mine.

In addition to the red accents in the interior, the car also had red brake calipers.  I would also most certainly get all-black wheels on my build:

I also had carbon fiber components on the exterior which looked fantastic – again, I’m really happy I got the opportunity to see them in person:

Probably the biggest negative for me on the vehicle was the piano black finish on the center console – an absolute fingerprint magnet.  My 2022 X3 M also had a piano black center console area, but I was able to source a 3rd party carbon fiber replacement which matched the rest of the carbon fiber in the interior perfectly.  I’d be willing to bet a 3rd party will do the same for this AMG.  The rest of the interior is positively gorgeous.  I’m also not a fan of the steering column gear selector stalk.  REALLY wish the gear selector was in the center column.  The vehicle also doesn’t have nearly the room in the rear as my current vehicle, which may be a problem.  In two weeks the dealership is getting in a non-coupe version of the GLC 53 which I’ll need to check out.  It obviously won’t be as sporty, but might better meet my needs.

I have a few more months to decide – I’ll be making my final choice and ordering early to mid next year.  Right now the AMG GLC 53 really has no peer since BMW in their infinite stupidity decided not to make an M version of the X3.