Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ Debuts

Mercedes is celebrating a reworking of its trendy SUV, the GLE, by making a GLE 53 4Matic+. Yes, it’s a long name, and so go the pretenses of German automobiles these days. That and it’s ridiculously powerful for reasons that don’t even make remote sense. Buy hey, people will line up to buy it.

Powering this hot SUV is a 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder with twin turbos and an electric auxiliary compressor. That setup is good for 435 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque. There’s an EQ Boost starter generator that can give a temporary performance uplift, adding about 21 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. Basically, this means you get immediate boost from the electric compressor, then more power with the twin turbos, plus a temporary top-end boost from the starter generator. It’s an interesting if not complex way to keep the SUV “dynamic” throughout the RPM range.

Oh, and this setup means the SUV is technically a hybrid, which is going to be much more of a thing these days.

One has to ask just how does something that is inherently top-heavy handle so much power, especially through turns? Part of the answer is an AMG Active Ride Control suspension, which has its basis on the AMG Ride Control+ air suspension. It adds two electro-mechanic actuators for active roll stabilization. Those actuators are on the front and rear axles, working independent of each other. Exactly how that will perform remains to be seen, but it sounds interesting.