“To each their own” might as well be the Mercedes motto. The company offers much of its lineup in Benz and AMG varieties, often with several powertrains to choose from. Even after you’ve picked one, the choices keep coming. In the AMG GLE and GLS, you can dial up entertainment through a touchscreen, a touchpad, another touchscreen, an AI assistant, the steering-wheel controls, or the right pedal. For 2027, a revised interface makes it easier to get what you want, while new powertrains give you more reasons to ask.
Same Profile, Updated Style
These extra-sporty utility vehicles—SUV and Coupe variants of the GLE53 and GLE63 S, plus the GLS63—have been refreshed along with their Benz-badged brethren. The bumpers and grilles are new, as are the wheel designs, and the AMGs’ head- and taillights get the three-pointed-star treatment to match standard versions of the GLE and GLS.
An updated electrical architecture brings things to S-class spec and supports the latest version of MBUX infotainment, as well as over-the-air updates—the latter soon to deliver Level 2 hands-free capabilities. Screen addicts will appreciate the addition of a second touchscreen, this one for the front passenger, that measures the same 12.3 inches as the driver display and the main interface in the middle. Superscreen is not able to leap tall buildings, but it will let you know when the AI assistant is listening, and it even discerns between driver and passenger voice inputs, as well as placing its avatar on their respective screen. The system struggled to explain quantum physics regardless of whether the request came from the left or right seat, but that likely has more to do with spotty cellular service than a lack of intelligence. There’s still a touchpad on the center console for those who prefer to make adjustments more subtly.
We’re glad to see some—although not all—of the touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel have been binned. A physical rocker switch now handles adaptive cruise speed modulation, while a roller adjusts audio volume—welcome changes as automotive human-machine interfaces continue to favor complexity. At least the steering wheels are still mostly round.
Mighty Morphing Power Ranges
The more substantial changes concern the powertrains, and they’re the epitome of complexity. Last year’s GLE53 is replaced by the GLE53 Hybrid, which is a plug-in. Where there once was a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six making 429 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque now sits a massaged version of the same engine that produces 577 horses and 553 pound-feet with the assistance of a big electric motor in place of the torque converter. It’s related to the 2027 Mercedes-Benz GLE500e’s powertrain; both plug-ins use the M256 Evo engine, which gets a new block and heads. As before, the AMG version uses a giant exhaust-driven turbo, but rather than be augmented by an electric compressor, the big e-motor is responsible for turbo-lag-negating thrust off the line.
Given the power increase, something like GLE58 might be a more appropriate name, but Mercedes stuck with 53, the number used when this powertrain was announced as a coming attraction in 2023. On the plug-in side, the 53 can now cover an estimated 45 miles without firing the engine, and you can glide along in relative silence up to about 87 mph without being too precious about accelerator-pedal inputs. AC charging at 9.6 kilowatts is standard, as is 60-kW DC juicing that’s probably unnecessary.
The hybrid’s max output figure is surprisingly close to the 63 powertrain’s 603-hp rating, a number that, along with torque output of 627 pound-feet, is unchanged despite the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8’s switch from cross-plane to flat-plane crankshaft. We won’t get into the nerdy technical details, of which there are many. Mercedes says the overhaul reduces emissions while improving response and refinement. From behind the wheel, the latter two claims hold up, and the engine delivers the benefits of a flat-plane crank without any obvious increase in vibration. The 63s also get a new selectable exhaust system that goes from a purr to a guttural thrum with a change of drive mode.
Response is near-seamless with both powertrains. You can dial back in some seams by switching to Sport or Sport+, both of which make gearchanges more palpable. There’s no waiting at initial throttle tip-in, and the various thrust-enhancing aids hand off to one another with no clunks or accelerative spikes.
Should you want to dial up maximum entertainment, AMG includes launch control for the first time on the AMG GLE and GLS. It’s available only in Sport+ mode, summoned using the dial/button in the steering wheel’s lower right quadrant, and tightens your seatbelt in preparation. We can confirm that it works. The ensuing sensation is less a violent manhandling and more of an authoritative shove back into the seat, and the pretensioning belt takes some of the fun out of it. Mercedes claims 4.1 seconds to 60 mph for the GLE53, 3.9 for the GLS63, and 3.6 for the GLE63 S; we saw 4.4 when we tested a 2024 GLE53, 3.6 seconds for a 2021 GLS63, and 3.4 seconds with a GLE63 S of the same vintage at our track, so the 2027 manufacturer numbers are likely conservative.
