New user here, first time buying into the MB brand. Please be patient with me for a while as I explain the situation that I'm in and how it influenced the decision I've made to purchase a GLE 63 or 63S.

I'm currently dailying an Audi Q7 50TDI which is a company lease about to expire in 4-5 months. Because I was given this back in the day, I used the opportunity to spoil myself with a 718 Cayman S and enjoyed it on the weekends and occasional trips. On average I commute over 100kms in a work day, about 20 of it in traffic and occasionally work requires that I visit remote sites which can be described as mildly off road, especially in bad weather. Since the Q7 is going to be returned at the end of the lease, I'm thinking of selling the Cayman and buying an all-rounder vehicle that I can enjoy at least for the next 5 years or so. Company will compensate me some for using my own vehicle, as well as providing insurance, paying for maintenance etc. which helps me quite a bit in swallowing the cost.

The natural solution for my needs (a daily mild off-roader that is also fun to drive) is a fast, sporty but also luxurious and comfortable SUV, so here I am asking a few questions before I visit the dealer in the following days. First question is about the actual differences between a 63 and a 63S. There seems to be a $15K difference between the two when configured identically and aside from the 280km/h limit and the 40 some hp and 100Nm of torque differences, that I'm not sure I'll ever utilize, I'd rather spend that money on options if the two vehicles are mechanically identical as well. It'd be a downer to find out that my vehicle lacks some drive/fun enhancing feature such as dynamic engine mounts or upgraded suspensions etc. Are the two vehicles identical in every aspect when spec'd identically, except for the speed limit increase and a more powerfully tuned engine? Should I know about one must-have feature that I won't ever get with the 63?

Another one is about interior materials. I'm opting for the nappa exclusive leather. The Q7 had a habit of getting dirty during visits to remote sites, the leather took some punishment because I usually picked up supervisors who work on the field, mud and water were regular features of such trips. I used protective products and kept it as clean as one could on the road and at the end of the day, no major harm was done but I don't want that to happen to a vehicle that I'll buy for myself. How is the nappa leather quality, how resilient is it to regular cleaning and to natural elements? Any particular tips that I should be aware of specific to MB upholstery?

Finally a few about ceramic brakes, rims and glass tinting. Since it's a heavy vehicle, do you recommend ceramic brakes for aggressive driving (which I do to keep to a schedule)? Does the 21"+ rims hurt ride comfort or even driving dynamics with less than stellar b-roads? My worst complaint about the Cayman is that the stiffer ride partly as a result of a thin tyre wall, it's balance could be upset easily by smallish potholes round corners at speeds over 140kph. Ideally, I'd like to get it with 21" as it seems to provide enough tyre wall as well as looking good. About the tint, I hate mismatching front and rear windows tint, it's a personal thing which is why I'm not ordering it with any factory applied tint. Is there any issues about the application of aftermarket tint and the particular heat/noise insulated glass that comes with the GLE?

 

the easiest question to answer is the tint. Good quality 20% is really close but 18% is probably a perfect match if you can find it.
Carbon ceramic brakes on a daily is just a waste of money IMO. I have 22’s on mine and not really an issue. They do have much more sidewall than you would have on the cayman

Ive had not issues with the interior quality and cleans very easily. However I did have it ceramic coated when I bought it. I was a little skeptical when it was offered but compared to my previous X5M it’s a night and day difference

I don’t recall all of the differences between the two models. I have the S in coupe and got just about every option and there wasn’t much that was different on the order form. Probably just wheel and trim options and maybe the AMG performance exhaust too (must have for me)

what you really need to look at is the maintenance cost. It’s going to be significantly higher than the Q7 if memory serves but make sure they are aware of the differences so they don’t back out or have a problem with it. If you get the summer tire option those only last about 10k miles. Brakes are pricey at the dealer as well. Tires for me (22’s) run about $2500 a service $800 B service $1000. Rear rotors and pads $900 front rotors and pads $1500. Tranny service @ 50k was I think $1500. Just had it done a few months ago but don’t recall exactly. And don’t forget about the mileage. I think my average is about 15mpg.

hopefully this helps

 

Thanks a lot, it's really helpful.

I understand your statement regarding the ceramic brakes but the 63 (non S) seems to come with somewhat inferior brakes, how much I have no means of testing because no dealer within a reasonable distance have an AMG GLE available for test driving. The 63S has "AMG High-performance Braking System w/red calipers" as standard because it comes std with DYNAMIC PLUS PACKAGE. This package costs around $3100 for the 63 non-S and also includes things like track pace and microfiber dinamica steering wheel and AMG buttons on the wheel. Of all of these, I only really want the better brakes, which aren't available on their own. I can do without the F1 style clutter on the steering wheel and I'm not a man of refined taste to feel the difference between most types of cloth, tbh. I worry about stopping with a 3 ton vehicle which takes 15 seconds to reach 200kph from a standstill, though. In this sense I can get the ceramic brakes for $6000, for about $2900 more than the high-performance braking system. Perhaps some GLE 53 AMG users with and without the high performance brakes can shed some light into the differences between the standard brakes and the ones which comes with the DPP.

That's good news about the interior. I'll ask the dealer for their ceramic coating pricing and also look around for recommended specialized detailing shops. I wish I had done that with the Q7. I think your skepticism is healthy in this instance. You can never know when they're being truthful about the value of such, mostly expensive services they try to shove down your throat just after you've finalized going over speccing and ordering your vehicle. It's like "I want this, this and this and so and so...." and once you have your long process towards delivery started, they hit you with the most nonchalantly delivered questions regarding paint protection/leather protection etc. which if you just nod through would instantly increase the cost of your car by 3-5 percent, meanwhile I'm contemplating the worth of the upgraded sound system for about an hour, reading online forums etc.

I'll get the performance exhaust too, as well as the "Tartufo/Black Exclusive Nappa leather" upholstery option which seems to leave some options regarding steering wheel and brakes as the only difference if I choose not to tick those boxes too. This particular dealer does frequent business with a lot of upper management types in my workplace so if they give me a good price perhaps I might be inclined to have those less expensive options thrown in for free and relieve any fomo anxiety which might come up in the future.

Maintenance and other operating costs such as fuel, washer fluids etc. will be covered by my employers because I'll be using the SUV for business mostly and my personal mileage (in kms) will be less than 10K annually. The company leases a fleet and have a deal with some service shop nearby headquarters and they do things like tyre repair, alignment, checking brake fluid, oil, washer fluid as well as cleaning and basic detailing etc. for all of our cars and I'm completely covered including the scheduled MB service checkups and parts replacements which they also pay for. That's part of the reason why I thought I should get a more expensive SUV, I'm being compensated because they're already paying for my transportation and this way I get a really high end car subsidized by my employers and because it's my own, I'm taking good care of it on the road.

addendum: Just one more question about those 22" wheels, do you think you have enough tyre wall for b-roads with potholes. I'm imagining a costly repair if you damaged a wheel because you didn't see a pothole filled with water, not to mention more expensive tyres overall. This is partly why I wanted to go with the 63 over the 63S, if I were to get the 63S, I'm paying for some things that I feel I'd rather downgrade - like larger wheels - and if I downgrade, there's obviously no discount and in some instances they charge more for the lesser of the two options because it's non standard and there's apparently some labor involved with replacing some trim here and there.

 

I don't have a GLE and we only get the S here in the USA, but some general guidance on the S vs non-S. The S models are basically a higher performing version and besides increased power have some other upgrades that go along with that increased power. Those upgrades are dynamic engine mounts, better brakes, Race mode and in the past the non-S had a mechanical LSD while the S had an electronic locking rear differential, but I believe AMG moved away from the mechanical LSD on all models. Recently the non-S models are also getting the electronic diff, but you should double-check. The ceramic brakes should only be an option on S models. At least that's the case with the other AMG models. Non-S can't be had with ceramic brakes. Besides the performance upgrades, the S comes with more standard options and the price difference usually shrinks significantly as you start adding options to a non-S as many options are standard on the S or cost less if you add them to the S. For a fully loaded build, it's usually somewhat of a no-brainer to just go with the S and enjoy all the performance upgrades, but it might vary with the models. More recently they have started to offer packages for the non-S models that add some of the S features to the non-S. That might be the case with the Dynamic Plus package you are mentioned. I haven't looked at it, but several of the newer AMG non-S models have packages that add things like Race mode etc. to a non-S.

 

I can't answer some of your comparative questions, but I have the Dynamic Plus Package on our GLE53 SUV. The brakes (red caliper) are a substantial upgrade from the AMG silver caliper brakes - very powerful and confidence-inspiring with hard stops from 100Mph. And IMO the Active Suspension makes the car. It's a better ride, plus MUCH more dynamic handling.
I, too, rejected the AMG steering wheel, with what I thought had nothing but marketing buttons and "who cares" Dynamica. But I actually use the steering wheel knobs by enabling my Individual settings, which I have set to decrease the nanny-isms in the Dynamic Modes - push of the button. And I now prefer the Dynamica grip to leather - better control is true.

Regarding the High end 3d Burmester - get it. Had it on our 2020 GLE450 and miss it greatly.
Our 21" wheels seem to have plenty of sidewall for the few trails I have followed so far. (Too much mud for extensive exploring.) The DPP seems to reduce impacts, although I don't fully understand the function.
And BTW the 21" Conti's that came are the first Conti's I have owned that I thought deserved the name "tire." Had about 300 miles of intense rain at speed and good grip, no hydroplaning even in what appeared to be standing water.

I only wanted the DPP for the suspension, but I enjoy the brakes and the steering wheel. Haven't been to a track so I haven't gotten into the learning curve of fine-tuning my lap times with the Race Pace. Looking forward to a track day if one occurs this year after COVID.

 

I bought the wheel protection pack. Was well worth the money just for peace of mind. Here is a pic of the 22’s with the new Pirelli all seasons. Hoping they last a lot longer and won’t have to quickly change to my winter set up.

 

@superswiss Thanks for the response. The AMG GLE 63 Non-S can be optioned with the ceramic brakes and it has AMG ACTIVE RIDE CONTROL as standard. I wish I had more time these days so I could visit the dealer personally and get some first hand information but it's a 2hr trip and we're dealing with curfews and lockdowns over the weekends. Anyways, health above all so I'm not really complaining.

I also have found this page which generally explains dynamic engine mounts in the context of 53,63 and 63S models without specifically explaining which ones have it and which ones don't.
https://www.mercedes-amg.com/en/vehicles/gle/suv.html

A lot of the options I want are the same price for both the S and the non-S models, like panoramic sunroof, aux heating (remote), driver assistance pkg plus, illuminated running boards, memory package etc. which makes me think that I can go for more options rather than additional power that I'm never going to be able to differentiate from the less powerful setup. Some people might but I think 570+ hp is ridiculous as it is that I'd be lying to you if I told you that I could tell it from the 610+ hp engine. I'm buying the 63 because it's a V8 biturbo, the 53 is a V6 and 580 isn't an AMG and I want the AMG treatment for a car that will do quite a bit of b-road carving for my work.

 

Thanks a lot, this sort of insight is much appreciated, you've pretty much covered it all.

 

@GF7PE , man those are some sick rims, too bad I have to subject mine to quite a bit of "environmental conditions", if I'm being politically correct. We're doing logistics for large construction projects such as dams, bridges, highways etc. and I'm periodically required to be on site, where there aren't much paved roads, there's dust, mud, occasional rock etc. where there are paved roads, they aren't well looked after because trucks move in and out all the time which leaves very little window for maintenance and their weight deforms the road sooner than later.