Fans of ThruMyLens know that for the last year I’ve been researching a replacement for my 2022 BMW X3 M.  As much as I very much want to stay with the BMW brand that I’ve been with for over 20 years, BMW has successfully ruined all their SUVs. Technically speaking, still very sound vehicles.  But beaten to death with an ugly stick.

Last month, I test drove the new 2027 Mercedes AMG GLC 53 Coupe.  I liked it – perhaps more than I expected.  There were however a few dealbreakers on that model.  The dealer had ordered it with the AMG Performance Seat Package.  Personally, I liked them a lot, but my wife is considerably shorter than I, and the integrated headrest is curved downward, pushing her head down and forward in a unnatural seating position, with no way to adjust it.  Additionally, the rounded back end of the Coupe means you lose quite a bit of storage space, as well as considerable visibility.

Fortunately, Mercedes offers a non-coupe SUV version of the AMG GLC 53 – my local dealer got one in and I was able to test drive it.  The first thing I noticed is that it has a more traditional SUV presentation than the coupe – Particularly from the back:

The SUV version solves two of my biggest dealbreakers – There’s much better visibility and it appeared to have a great deal more useable cargo space (more on that later).

The biggest problem with the coupe I drove were the optioned AMG Performance Seats.  Fortunately this car was specked with the default non-performance seats:

The seating reminded me of what I have in my BMW.  They were perfectly comfortable and very supportive.  Best of all, they worked fine for my wife, who drove the car this time.

You’ll note in the above photo that the SUV version also has the fingerprint magnet piano black center console, which is probably the only thing I don’t like.  Well, that and the digital steering column stalk gear shift.  I guess locating it on the steering column frees up a lot of room for the center console storage, but I’ve got at least 30 years of muscle memory reaching down and right to put the car in the park or drive or reverse.  That’s a lot of muscle memory to overcome.

Another option that I got to see on this car that was not optioned on the previous GLC 53 Coupe I drove was the choice of wheels.  This car was optioned with the more expensive Y spoke wheels. which I greatly prefer, particularly with the Obsidian Black color.

The performance of this vehicle was virtually indistinguishable from the Coupe.  Same great engine sound coming from the new inline 6 cylinder turbo, non-plug in hybrid engine that produces 443 HP (23 HP from the electric motor).

It feels like an absolute rocket when you’re in Dynamic Mode.  Though it has less horsepower than my current 2022 X3 M,  the AMG feels lighter, more nimble, and more competent at speed.  I was curious how the AMG GLC 53 Coupe and non-coupe Compared to one another, as well as my BMW, so I put together the following chart and the data surprised me:

Click on the image to enlarge to a readable size

Perhaps the biggest surprise to me was how similar my X3 M was to the AMG GLC 53 non-coupe.  The length, width, and height dimensions are all within an inch of one another.  And the AMG actually weighs about 85 pounds more than the BMW – Possibly the batteries for the electric motor were contributing to that.  And despite feeling dramatically faster, the AMG is actually about a tenth of a second slower to 60 mph per the manufacturer 0 to 60 times – both Mercedes and BMW are historically and significantly understated.  Most published tests on my car show it to be a sub four second 0-60 car.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the AMG was closer to 3.5 seconds.  It’s possible that the boost provided by the electric motor just makes the power delivery curve feel quite a bit different  than the pure internal combustion power plant of the BMW.  Despite my aesthetic disdain for the current models, you have to hand it to BMW.  Mercedes AMG is only able to produce a sport-ute with essentially equal performance capability as the X3 M five years later.

The only apparent area of comparable loss between my BMW and the AMG is in cargo space.  With the back seats up, It’s about 7 cubic feet of cargo space loss, which is significant.  Lay the seats back and the difference is only about 3 cubic feet.  Given the significant variance despite the similarities in height, length, width and weight, I double-checked and I suspect the apparent gap in the chart is largely a measurement-method mismatch.  BMW’s published U.S. 28.7 cu ft figure is labeled an EPA volume; Mercedes’ 21.9 cu ft figure is reported to the lower windowline. BMW’s metric technical data lists the X3 M at 550–1,600 liters, while the GLC’s published figures convert to about 620–1,680 liters. Those metric figures suggest the GLC is in the same ballpark, possibly slightly larger, rather than having 6.8 cu ft less usable cargo space.

I was also curious when comparing the AMG to my current BMW, what kind of fuel economy savings there might be had with the AMGs. electric motor running in the background.  Based on the EPA figures published on both vehicles, it’s a significant difference.

The GLC gains 5 mpg city, 6 highway, and 5 combined. At 15,000 miles a year, that’s roughly 200 fewer gallons based on the combined ratings—about 23% less fuel for the same distance. Both require premium gas.

Having now gone on two test drives with this new Mercedes AMG GLC 53 platform, I’ve come away with an undeniable conclusion.  BMW left to a considerable gap in the marketplace when it decided not to make a  M version of the new X3, and Mercedes AMG has exploited that gap in its revamped GLC 53.

The evening after my test drive of the Mercedes AMG GLC 53 SUV, I decided to jump on the MB USA website and build a vehicle.  Having built several vehicles on  the websites of BMW, Porsche, and now Mercedes, I think I like the Mercedes website build process the best.  With BMW, you can build a car in five minutes – I really don’t give you that many options to choose from. so it doesn’t take long.  And because of the way BMW groups options, you often have to accept things that you don’t necessarily want to get the things that you do want. For instance, one of the reasons why I didn’t get the competition version of my 2022 BMW X3 M is because doing so would’ve made me have to get “shadowline” or blacked out trim options that I didn’t think went well with the color that I chose.  The Porsche optioning process is among the more complex and complicated of any manufacturer in my opinion.  It offers an unprecedented amount of customization. which is impressive, but also costly.  Mercedes sits squarely between BMW and Porsche.  I was able to option a level of customization that you just don’t get with BMW on my Mercedes build.  I was literally able to opt in at exactly the way I wanted.  And surprisingly, the price was pretty much right in line with what I paid for my 2022 BMW X3 M, accounting for some modest inflation.  The Porsche Macan is the most comparable vehicle, and of course the internal combustion engine version has been discontinued for 2027.  But having optioned previous Porsche Macans on their website, I’d be paying about $30,000 more for a comparably equipped and optioned Porsche Macan.  $30,000 more for a dated body style that uses a Volkswagen platform.

Unless something radically changes, I think my decision has been made:  Next year I’ll be driving a a Mercedes AMG GLC 53 SUV.