Does anyone find this to be true? Even with sport handling and sport + everything else, power will suddenly cut out with throttle input in mid corner. I‘ve owned M cars and they would allow a little wheel spin and drift when placed in M mode but without turning traction control completely off. And they were RWD. This car being AWD should be much safer to throttle through a corner and not drift. Thoughts?

 

I tried to do AutoX and even with ESP completely off, the car killed power out of every corner where my steering was not straight. Somebody in Germany forgot the GLC63 was an AMG because when you turn off ESP in a C63S, it is full off.

I just watched an M340i review and even though the thing was AWD, it could be thrown sideways like there were no front axles. Perhaps we all should complain.

 

I wonder if it has anything to do with center of gravity. It's still an SUV and doesn't have the same limits as a coupe or sedan.

 

I have similar experience with the ESP on my GLC63. I am not sure what MB was thinking but they build the GLC63 track oriented and than decide to kill your cornering experience with this horrible ESP. For an AWD SUV it is a big FAIL in my book. Previous i had Subaru STI and just before the GLC63 i had 640whp Cadillac CTS-V. No ESP on the Subaru but the CTS-V had 3 modes. One of them will let you slide the car for like 2 seconds and than kill the power which is perfect for street driving. It has completed off as well if you want to slide the car on the track all day long. I understand that the GLC63 is a compromise between different categories ( daily driver vs track oriented ) but it should not be a compromise within a category. What i am trying to say is if you build it with a track oriented suspension build the rest around the track performance. It is an average daily driver as the suspension does not really have a comfort mode.

 

I can get mine to go a bit sideways and then it reals me back in with a violent jerk. It is actually kind of cool.

The key seems to be knowing when to feather the throttle. If you just mash it, it kills power. It takes some practice but you will figure it out, it takes just the right amount of throttle involved.

Drives me more crazy on straight shots like street racing(in Mexico). You want a little spin to get the rpms up and keep boost going but on a poor street, it takes off with the power of a Ford Focus.

 

Agree with all the comments. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. I also have found that a little more finesse with throttle input does allow a tiny bit of drift. I still would love to be able to slide it at will with a more abrupt input or at least not have the throttle not cut out so abruptly. Ah well, at least it’s keeping me out of trouble.

 

Are you holding the esc button for a few seconds to completely disable and acknowledge it is off via steering wheel controls? Sport + alone does not completely deactivate esc in our cars...

 

I can't specifically answer the question as I really don't have experience with the GLC, however, I just want to provide some thoughts. While the GLC63 is an AMG, I wouldn't exactly call it a track car. It's still an SUV with a high center of gravity. Also, the GLC63 doesn't have the Race mode, so I would expect there to be a difference between the GLC63 and GLC63S in regards to the ESP, especially if the S is in Race mode. The non-S is really a street car mostly. If you want more track performance, then I'd think you need to step up to the S.

The AMG SUVs are definitely compromised. They don't get the drift mode from the E63 and GT63, either. An SUV isn't exactly for drifting. If you suddenly hook up with the rear wheels mid drift, there's a much higher chance of flipping the car over than in a 2+2 coupe or sedan with lower center of gravity. It's probably a good thing it doesn't allow you to drift it.

The non SUV AMGs definitely allow quite a bit of freedom in Sport Handling mode. They are meant to drift, but there are also distinct differences between the S and non-S. For example the FL C63S gets the 9-stage traction control from the GT R, whereas the non-S has the old traditional traction control system, so the S is much more of a drift monster. With its adjustable traction control, one can dial in the amount of desired wheel slip to control the drift to some extent. It's definitely a lot of fun. We drifted the 2019 C63S Coupe at the AMG Driving Academy with the traction control at various levels. It's a great car to learn how to drift. I drive my C63S in Sport Handling mode in the canyons and there is never any intervention, unless I exceed the allowed drift angle and then it helps bringing it back in. It's fun to slide it around and I really love how the 9-stage traction control primarily uses the engine management to maintain traction instead of the rear brakes. It's much more fluid and dynamic when driving at the limit of grip.

Also, something to be aware of, AMGs like Porsches reactivate ESP if you step on the brakes, even if it's fully turned off. The idea being if you lose control, you can always step on the brakes and ESP will help you get the car back under control. It does mean, though if you do wanna slide make sure you are not touching the brakes.

 

Well put. It is an suv and the engineers were likely right to make the handling different for that reason. I have to say though that it handles really well and corners very flat without any noticeable body roll. It would be nice to be able to plug into it and modify its handling characteristics.

QUOTE=superswiss;8063564]I can't specifically answer the question as I really don't have experience with the GLC, however, I just want to provide some thoughts. While the GLC63 is an AMG, I wouldn't exactly call it a track car. It's still an SUV with a high center of gravity. Also, the GLC63 doesn't have the Race mode, so I would expect there to be a difference between the GLC63 and GLC63S in regards to the ESP, especially if the S is in Race mode. The non-S is really a street car mostly. If you want more track performance, then I'd think you need to step up to the S.

The AMG SUVs are definitely compromised. They don't get the drift mode from the E63 and GT63, either. An SUV isn't exactly for drifting. If you suddenly hook up with the rear wheels mid drift, there's a much higher chance of flipping the car over than in a 2+2 coupe or sedan with lower center of gravity. It's probably a good thing it doesn't allow you to drift it.

The non SUV AMGs definitely allow quite a bit of freedom in Sport Handling mode. They are meant to drift, but there are also distinct differences between the S and non-S. For example the FL C63S gets the 9-stage traction control from the GT R, whereas the non-S has the old traditional traction control system, so the S is much more of a drift monster. With its adjustable traction control, one can dial in the amount of desired wheel slip to control the drift to some extent. It's definitely a lot of fun. We drifted the 2019 C63S Coupe at the AMG Driving Academy with the traction control at various levels. It's a great car to learn how to drift. I drive my C63S in Sport Handling mode in the canyons and there is never any intervention, unless I exceed the allowed drift angle and then it helps bringing it back in. It's fun to slide it around and I really love how the 9-stage traction control primarily uses the engine management to maintain traction instead of the rear brakes. It's much more fluid and dynamic when driving at the limit of grip.

Also, something to be aware of, AMGs like Porsches reactivate ESP if you step on the brakes, even if it's fully turned off. The idea being if you lose control, you can always step on the brakes and ESP will help you get the car back under control. It does mean, though if you do wanna slide make sure you are not touching the brakes.[/QUOTE]

 

Just wanted to add a couple things.
GTR does not have a nine speed transmission.
the ability to control traction is only through the nine stage dial that is standard on the GTR and is becoming more available on other s models. Otherwise there’s no way to directly adjust traction control. ESP, while has a traction control component is a multi module stability monitoring system that is given three general stages in most AMGs and for each model it is tuned differently to prevent the average driver from getting in trouble. As mentioned it is not possible to completely disable it. It doesn’t surprise me that it is more intrusive in the GLC than say in a C63s.

 

Correct, but I don't think we mentioned the transmission anywhere. Traction control has nothing to do with the transmission. The GT R, GT R Pro and the 2019+ C63S are the only models currently with the 9-stage traction control. The upcoming GT Black Series will most likely get it, too. I'm not aware of any other models and with future AMGs going AWD, I doubt it will be found on any future models. It really only makes sense for RWD models. 4Matic+ manages traction by appropriating torque between the front and rear axles mostly and the E63/GT63 drift mode only becomes available if ESP (and therefore TC in those models) is completely turned off. In the SUVs the 4Matic+ system can't be turned off, which means even if you get it to drift, power will get sent to the front wheels to pull the car straight. The E63/GT63 do allow some drifting even with 4Matic+ on, before it sends more power to the front to straighten the car.

Indeed ESP in AMGs is a three stage system and it should be clarified that in order to manually adjust traction control in the above mentioned models, ESP first needs to be turned off (Stage 3) and only then can one select one of the 9 TC levels. However, the computer selects an appropriate relaxed TC level in ESP Sport Handling mode, allowing more tire slip than with ESP fully on, and the new AMG DYNAMICS system which is standard in the 2019+ C63S and the FL GT models also affects the TC level. The GT R has a dedicated yellow knob to adjust the traction control (still requires ESP to be fully off), whereas in the C63S the drive selector knob on the steering wheel changes in order to adjust TC once ESP is fully turned off.

Basically ESP off turns off what's known as yaw control. Meaning if you spin out, it won't save you. On many models turning ESP off, also turns off or relaxes TC, but TC is really a separate and somewhat standalone function. The unique thing about the GT R derivatives and the FL C63S is that it doesn't fully turn off TC if one turns of ESP. It sets it to level 5, so halfway, and then the driver can adjust it up or down from there.

 

Well, I am not looking for GTR performance out of a GLC. all I am saying is that this car is the equivalent of a C class hatch with even more adjustable air suspension than the static stuff in the C.

I am not even looking for a drift, I want to be able to come out of a corner in an autocross without cutting power. The vehicle is not all that high in AMG form and we are also able to lower it further.
The less potent Macan can throw all of its weight sideways.
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