MB GL63 Tested

This month's Car and Driver had a short article on their road test of the GL63.

2013 Mercedes Benz GL63 AMG Test Review


To sum it up in my book, it's slower, has even worse fuel economy, and costs about $25 grand more. I had considered the GL550 (I never liked the ML) while truck shopping last month and wondered if I should wait to see how the GL63 performs. I am really glad I didnt wait.


GL63 AMG
Base price: $120k
Power: 550hp
Torque: 560ftlbs
Weight: 5812lbs
0-60: 4.8s
1/4 mi: 13.2s@109mph
70-0: 162ft
Skidpad: 0.84g


2012 X5M
Base price: $96k
Power: 555hp
Torque: 500ftlbs
Weight: 5289lbs (2010 C&D 5329lbs)
0-60: 4.0s
1/4 mi: 12.5s@113mph (2010 C&D 12.5s@112mph)
70-0: 172ft (2010 C&D 162ft)
Skidpad: 0.90g (2010 C&D 0.89g)

Originally Posted by dunderhi

This month's Car and Driver had a short article on their road test of the GL63.

2013 Mercedes Benz GL63 AMG Test Review


To sum it up in my book, it's slower, has even worse fuel economy, and costs about $25 grand more. I had considered the GL550 (I never liked the ML) while truck shopping last month and wondered if I should wait to see how the GL63 performs. I am really glad I didnt wait.


GL63 AMG
Base price: $120k
Power: 550hp
Torque: 560ftlbs
Weight: 5812lbs
0-60: 4.8s
1/4 mi: 13.2s@109mph
70-0: 162ft
Skidpad: 0.84g


2012 X5M
Base price: $96k
Power: 555hp
Torque: 500ftlbs
Weight: 5289lbs (2010 C&D 5329lbs)
0-60: 4.0s
1/4 mi: 12.5s@113mph (2010 C&D 12.5s@112mph)
70-0: 172ft (2010 C&D 162ft)
Skidpad: 0.90g (2010 C&D 0.89g)

Two completely different cars. The GL 63 would be better compared to the Range Rover Supercharged. I too felt the x5m was the best choice in this segment. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo would be my second choice, but the price tag is way too high IMHO. If the Cayenne Turbo was 100k nicely equipped then my decision would have been tougher. Even the ML63 costs about 6k more than the x5m and comes with a lot less power. Add the power kit to get x5m power and you are looking at almost 12k premium over the x5m. Our cars are the performance bang for the buck in the high hp SUV class.

Hey thanks for posting this. Interesting read. Great truck, amazing that it's doing the 0-60 under 5 seconds and according to the article has braking equal to the X5M (from the 2010) test. I am sure there is some acceptable variation in those numbers.

We have the 2012 GL550 and I totally agree, would not compare to the X5/X6. Totally different class of car. With the 3rd row folded, you can fit a refrigerator in there. Or in our case, a behemoth foldable double stroller on top of luggage for road trips and such.

The thing is, when we don't need the strollers anymore, for slightly more cash I think my wife would opt for a G63 instead. GL is necessary for the family hauling with infants/very young kids which come with big strollers and enough changes of clothes to fill a laundromat!

I'm adding the X6M to the GL550 and they serve two very different purposes. For family day trips, the X6M; for longer overnight trips, strollers, and luggage, GL550 all the way.

On the fun to drive factor, the size of the GL550 can't compete with an X5/X6, hands down. I seriously doubt the AMG version will change that.

Originally Posted by ddk632

Hey thanks for posting this. Interesting read. Great truck, amazing that it's doing the 0-60 under 5 seconds and according to the article has braking equal to the X5M (from the 2010) test. I am sure there is some acceptable variation in those numbers.

We have the 2012 GL550 and I totally agree, would not compare to the X5/X6. Totally different class of car. With the 3rd row folded, you can fit a refrigerator in there. Or in our case, a behemoth foldable double stroller on top of luggage for road trips and such.

The thing is, when we don't need the strollers anymore, for slightly more cash I think my wife would opt for a G63 instead. GL is necessary for the family hauling with infants/very young kids which come with big strollers and enough changes of clothes to fill a laundromat!

I'm adding the X6M to the GL550 and they serve two very different purposes. For family day trips, the X6M; for longer overnight trips, strollers, and luggage, GL550 all the way.

On the fun to drive factor, the size of the GL550 can't compete with an X5/X6, hands down. I seriously doubt the AMG version will change that.

The X6M should be fun!

With the seats down, the X5 is surprisingly copious. Before we purchased, we brought our tandem bicycle to the dealership and it fit without much trouble. We had a 2007 GL450 and the tandem barely fit in that truck.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

The X6M should be fun!

With the seats down, the X5 is surprisingly copious. Before we purchased, we brought our tandem bicycle to the dealership and it fit without much trouble. We had a 2007 GL450 and the tandem barely fit in that truck.

Just curious, was that 2nd row in X5 down, or 2nd row in X5 up? If you put down the 2nd and 3rd row in the GL you should not have such issues. GL is longer than X5, so this makes no sense... No comparison on the sportiness of the 2 but for cargo capacity, I am surprised by your observation, that's all.

Only 8 days left before my PCD for the X6M, I've been like a little kid for days now with anticipation!

Originally Posted by ddk632

Just curious, was that 2nd row in X5 down, or 2nd row in X5 up? If you put down the 2nd and 3rd row in the GL you should not have such issues. GL is longer than X5, so this makes no sense... No comparison on the sportiness of the 2 but for cargo capacity, I am surprised by your observation, that's all.

Only 8 days left before my PCD for the X6M, I've been like a little kid for days now with anticipation!

The tandem is quite long, so all back rows needed to be down to fit the tandem in either truck. I didn't really expect it to fit in the X5, but it did. The X5 has a 3rd row seat option, so it is pretty long behind the front seats.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

This month's Car and Driver had a short article on their road test of the GL63.

2013 Mercedes Benz GL63 AMG Test Review


To sum it up in my book, it's slower, has even worse fuel economy, and costs about $25 grand more. I had considered the GL550 (I never liked the ML) while truck shopping last month and wondered if I should wait to see how the GL63 performs. I am really glad I didnt wait.


GL63 AMG
Base price: $120k
Power: 550hp
Torque: 560ftlbs
Weight: 5812lbs
0-60: 4.8s
1/4 mi: 13.2s@109mph
70-0: 162ft
Skidpad: 0.84g


2012 X5M
Base price: $96k
Power: 555hp
Torque: 500ftlbs
Weight: 5289lbs (2010 C&D 5329lbs)
0-60: 4.0s
1/4 mi: 12.5s@113mph (2010 C&D 12.5s@112mph)
70-0: 172ft (2010 C&D 162ft)
Skidpad: 0.90g (2010 C&D 0.89g)

Good info to know about our enemy...haha

And just looking at the AMG, it just doesn't have that sporty appeal that I love about the X5M. It's all preference of course; but to me it's superior not only in performance but aesthetics as well.

But aren't our 1/4 mile times closer to 4.5s than 4.0s? And I think the base msrp is about $88k, right?

Originally Posted by Die Wolfe

Good info to know about our enemy...haha

And just looking at the AMG, it just doesn't have that sporty appeal that I love about the X5M. It's all preference of course; but to me it's superior not only in performance but aesthetics as well.

But aren't our 1/4 mile times closer to 4.5s than 4.0s? And I think the base msrp is about $88k, right?

Car and Driver tested the X5M in the 2010 & 2012 and measaured 4.0 seconds both times. BMW says 4.5 seconds for 0-60mph, but they are usually conservative.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

Car and Driver tested the X5M in the 2010 & 2012 and measaured 4.0 seconds both times. BMW says 4.5 seconds for 0-60mph, but they are usually conservative.

Wow! Holy **** man that's awesome to know! I'm gonna brag this info to my friend who was praising the Cayenne all day long because of the turbo's numbers!

Maybe these links will help:

2012 BMW X5 M vs. 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, 2012 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Comparison Test

2012 BMW X5 M vs. 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, 2012 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Complete Specs and Performance Data

Originally Posted by dunderhi

Maybe these links will help:

2012 BMW X5 M vs. 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, 2012 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Comparison Test

2012 BMW X5 M vs. 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, 2012 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Complete Specs and Performance Data

Awesome articles!