2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance Review: Going for the Gold

I’m not saying this is the finest car I’ve ever driven—in my lengthy, lucky time doing this, I’ve managed to drive some pretty decent stuff—but if I was whipping up a top 10 of all time, this 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance sedan (long name, but wait until you see how long it’d take you to pay for one) would be on the list.

I’ve always been impressed by cheap cars that speak to me, like the Buick Envista or the Honda Civic Si or the Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86. Then you ratchet up to, say, $75,000 or $100,000 vehicles, and you think, it really doesn’t need be get much better than this.

At $150,000, you figure well, this is as good as it gets.

But at $223,670, you are elevated to an entirely different bracket. Doors close like the proverbial bank vault. You quit dodging moderate potholes because you know the air suspension will cushion them down to barely noticeable blips. You find the perfect position in the Nappa leather massaging seat (and oh, this Nappa leather, especially with the optional $3650 MANUFAKTUR interior package). The steering wheel is just right. The ceramic composite brakes—wow. So linear, no surprises. And that engine note…

With the Burmester surround sound off, and it wasn’t off very often, you hear the sounds of silence like never before. Part of it could be that rock ‘n roll and John Force have robbed me of some of my hearing, but I don’t think so. I can sure as heck hear road noise on a lot of other cars. (Kids! Hearing protection! Don’t make me say that again! Unless you’ve already lost your hearing!)

On the visceral entertainment front, there’s all-wheel-drive and a combined 831 horsepower, mostly from the 4.0-liter V-8 Biturbo engine, with 1032 lb-ft of torque. Yes, adequate for your daily commute. That extra dose of horsepower and torque comes from a couple of batteries and an electric synchronous motor on the rear axle that Mercedes says is Permanently Excited, as was I.

Check this out: “The automated two-speed transmission at the rear axle with its specially calibrated gear ratio ensures the spread from high wheel torque for agile starting, to safe continuous output at higher speeds. An electric actuator engages second gear at around 140 km/h (87 mph) at the latest, which corresponds to the electric motor’s maximum speed of around 13,500 rpm.” Even the electric motor gets its own little Powerglide.

Combined, the EPA rating is 18 mpg and the car requests premium, please. It’s unlikely that the owner of this car would pay much attention to the EPA’s warning that you’ll spend $7250 more in fuel costs over five years than the average car. That said, the more you plug in this plug-in hybrid, the better that mileage gets. The main lithium-ion battery is 6.1 kWh, and can add 201 horsepower for up to 10 seconds. You will not go far on electric power alone, though.

This Mercedes is built, to obvious exacting specifications, at Valmet Automotive in Uusikaupunki, Finland, pronounced “FIN-land.” It was introduced in 2021 in Europe, and the U.S. two years after that. As now, seven driving modes were available at introduction: Electric, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, RACE, Slippery and Individual. We’d like to hear from owners who are well-heeled enough to race, or RACE, this car; it seems likely the only time it would be placed in RACE mode would be by your 18-year-old grandson, who just wants to borrow the car to run up to 7-Eleven for some Haagen-Dazs. If the phone rings while he’s gone, be frightened.

Specs: 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance

• Price: $194,900 / $223,670 (base / as-tested)
• Powertrain: 4.0-liter turbocharged V-8; nine-speed automatic transmission; electric motor attached to the rear axle
• Combined output: 831 hp; 1032 lb-ft
• Layout: Front-engine, four-door, four-passenger, all-wheel-drive sedan
• Weight: 5258 pounds
• 0–60 mph: 2.7 seconds
• Top Speed: 196 mph
• EPA Fuel Economy: 25 mpg overall gas-electric; 18 mpg gas only
• Competitors: Tesla Plaid, Lucid Air Sapphire, Bentley Flying Spur Speed, Rolls-Royce Ghost

One drawback: This is a heavy car, weighing in just 422 pounds shy of a Chevrolet Suburban. Only 196 of those pounds come from the smallish drive battery. Mercedes doesn’t like to trumpet the car’s heft, but Motor Trend, in a surprisingly negative review, puts the weight at 5258 pounds. That’s the central criticism of the car: Since the electric aspect doesn’t really add that much weight, you get the feeling that this car has been built with ultra-beefy components.

Which is fine by me—I love a lightweight Lotus, sure, but if I’m dropping over $200k, I want that car built very, very strong. The suspension, rear steering and Michelin Pilot summer tires do all they can to make you forget the weight when you’re cornering, but you can’t entirely fool Mother Nature’s twin darlings, gravity and lateral mass. But again, fine. As one of my old editors used to say (roughly quoting the 17th-century’s Comte de Bussy-Rabutin, but I don’t think he knew that), “Providence is always on the side of the big battalions,” and this Mercedes is a big battalion.

Outside, the styling is pretty purposeful and is getting a bit dated—even with some 2023 updates—and the fixed rear spoiler, part of the $2850 Aerodynamics package, looks a little Pep Boys. But it’s there for a reason: The car’s top speed is 196 mph, and 0-to-60 mph is reached in a rocket-takeoff 2.7 seconds, not bad for a vehicle that weighs more than two and a half tons.

The paint hue on this tester was Moonlight White Metallic, another MANUFAKTUR package option, costing $1750. Other notable options: The two-person Executive Rear Seat package, should you prefer to be driven, $3350; the Acoustic Comfort Package, with additional sound deadening and sound- and heat-absorbing membranes on the windshield and side windows, $1100; 21-inch AMG forged cross-spoke wheels, $3300, and a fixed Panorama roof for $2100. Base price was $194,900, with an out-the-door total of the aforementioned $223,670.

At that price, you’d think the car should almost drive itself, and it sort of does, with the $1950 Driver Assistance Package, which includes: Active Distance Assist, Active Steering Assist, Active Lane Change Assist, Active Emergency Stop Assist, Active Speed Limit Assist, Active Brake Assist, Cross Traffic Assist, Evasive Steering Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active Blind Spot Assist, Pre-Safe Rear-End Collision Assist, and Route-Based Speed Adaptation. There are 11 “assists” there, but they aren’t nearly as obtrusive as you’d think. For some of them to make themselves known, you, or some other driver, must be doing something pretty stupid.

On the road, the Mercedes is rock-solid stable. We kept the driving mode in Comfort, mostly, and why not? Most of the nannies available with the sportier modes automatically kick in if they’re needed. The firm but smooth ride Comfort provides seemed right, especially on the highway.

Cornering is flat and predictable to the limit. Acceleration is instantaneous; the electric assist means no need to wait for the turbos to spool up. Which they do almost instantaneously, anyway.

It stops, it turns, it goes, it massages your backside. I’m not entirely sure what else you can ask of a car. The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance sedan would likely be one of my Powerball-winning lottery purchases. Along with a 3000-pound Lotus Emira i4.

2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance

Price: $194,900 / $223,670 (base / as-tested)

Highs: Remarkable powertrain, equally remarkable exhaust note from the V-8. Comfy interior. Massaging seats!

Lows: The price. The weight. Limited all-electric range. Trunk space modest. Rear spoiler looks a bit boy-racer.

Summary: A Swiss Army knife from Finland. (And Uusikaupunki is pronounced “OO-si-cow-pun-key.” It means “new town.” You’re welcome.)