Mercedes AMG GT 4-door review

Introduction

We reckon the designers of the Mercedes AMG GT 4-door have a poster of Concorde on their wall. After all, the car and the supersonic jet were created with the same aim: offering luxury, practicality and mind-blowing speed in one svelte package.

The GT 4-door Coupé has a lot on its plate, though, because not only does it need to compete with rivals including the Porsche Panamera but it must also live up to being a genuine AMG that's more than a mere plaything for the wealthy. In other words, it has to be a performance car you can use every day.

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When we say "genuine AMG", we mean that it's been developed by Mercedes’ high-performance division from the outset – unlike those AMG-fettled models, the Mercedes AMG C63 and the Mercedes AMG E63.

The GT 4-door Coupé actually shares its underpinnings with the Mercedes E-Class but has some crucial upgrades to deliver its astonishing pace. They include work on the suspension and brakes, plus – most importantly – the installation of a hand-built twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine under the heavily contoured bonnet.

That’s not all, though. You can also have the same V8 engine but with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology strapped to it. That version, called the 63 S E-Performance, boosts power to more than 800bhp and cuts the 0-62mph sprint time and CO2 emissions.

So, does the Mercedes AMG GT 4-door live up to its badge, and is it better than rivals including the Audi RS7 and the Panamera, as well as two-door performance coupés such as the BMW M8 and the Bentley Continental GT? That’s what we’ll tell you in this review, which rates it for performance, practicality and more.

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What’s new?
- October 2023: revised AMG GT four-door goes on sale, with either V8 or PHEV engine options
- March 2018: all-new four-door version of AMG GT unveiled

Overview

AMG’s four-seat grand tourer sounds amazing and is very fast. It's also more fun to take out on a Sunday blast than some versions of the Porsche Panamera, plus it's relatively practical for a coupé. It's firmer than the Panamera and its poor refinement — due to road and suspension noise — are its biggest failings by far. The so-so interior quality (for the price) is next on the list.

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4.0 55 V8 BiTurbo (Premium) Coupe 2dr Petrol SpdS MCT 4MATIC+ Euro 6 (s/s) (476 ps) review

RRP £143,700

Pros

• Big-hitting, great-sounding engines
• Playful handing
• Decent boot for a coupé

Cons

• Unimpressive interior quality
• Terrible road and suspension noise
• Much more expensive than rivals

Our pick

4.0 55 V8 BiTurbo (Premium) Coupe 2dr Petrol SpdS MCT 4MATIC+ Euro 6 (s/s) (476 ps) review

RRP £143,700

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Performance & drive

What it's like to drive, and how quiet it is

While the Mercedes AMG GT 4-door has been designed to mix performance and luxury, AMG certainly didn’t compromise when it comes to power. Its beating heart is a fabulous 4.0-litre V8 that’s been tweaked to produce 630bhp in the 63 S variant and a barmy 831bhp if you go for the 63 S E-Performance plug-in hybrid (PHEV). The result is blistering performance and a 0-62mph sprint of 3.2sec or 2.9sec respectively.

That’s supercar fast. In fact, it means the 63 S is quicker than the Audi RS7 and matches the sprint time of the BMW M8 and the fastest Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. The 63 S E-Performance beats all of them and instead shares its pace with the V12-wielding Ferrari 812 Superfast.

Amazingly, it's not even tricky to achieve those acceleration figures, where it's safe to do so. That's thanks to the highly effective launch control software, which synchronises the engine's output perfectly with the traction available from the 4Matic four-wheel-drive system.

Then there's the noise. While the Panamera's V8 makes a mellifluous woofle, AMG's V8 — while achieving its ridiculous levels of energy output — emits a sound that's something akin to maniacal thunder. That’s not a criticism, by the way. It’s quite joyous.

Despite all of that power, there’s no getting away from the fact that the models weighs more than two tonnes. Even so, it's a bit lighter and nimbler than hybrid versions of the Panamera. It leans a bit more when you really push it on a track, but on a road you can delight in the hunkered-down feel.

If you switch the adjustable air suspension to Sport or Sport + modes, the vertical body movements are beautifully controlled for a car of its mass, even over humps taken at high speed.

There's no shortage of fun here: the four-wheel-drive system delivers added playfulness compared with the Panamera's, which feels technically very proficient but not that exciting. You can revel in the feeling as the rear end squats and squirms as you prod the accelerator with enthusiasm out of turns, or you can to rear-wheel-drive mode — if you’re determined to smoke it.

The only slight issue is the steering. It gives you a decent sense of connection to enable you to place the car easily, but it's not as consistent as the BMW M8's in the way weight builds up. That car gives you more feedback through its steering wheel so you have extra confidence to corner quickly.

So, does it deliver the ride comfort that's demanded by luxury car buyers? No, it's nowhere near supple enough to compete with the regular Mercedes S-Class. We're not saying it's a boneshaker, or that it crashes over calloused town roads, but it is firm enough that rippled motorways have it bobbing up and down like a sugar-fuelled child. The Bentley Continental GT and the Panamera seriously outshine the GT 4-door in this area.

Another area where the Continental and Panamera better it is road noise. Neither is free of road noise, especially at 70mph, but the GT 4-door is something else entirely, with roar from the tyres on a motorway and consistent loud twangs from the suspension over sharp bumps. It’s not what you’d expect from a luxury grand tourer that costs well over £100,000.

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

Dominated by twin glossy widescreen displays, the Mercedes AMG GT 4-door’s interior hasn’t changed over its lifetime, which means it’ll remind you of Mercedes’ higher-end saloon cars before they were all recently facelifted. Inevitably, that means a slightly chintzy mix of gloss-black plastic and knurled chrome. Thankfully, buyers are given the option of open-pore wood, glossy carbonfibre or matt carbon, all of which look a fair bit classier.

Of course, interior style is a matter of taste. More concerning is how closer inspection reveals a few creaky panels and stitching that doesn't line up where the doors meet the dashboard. It has improved over the model’s lifetime but, mixed with various cheap-feeling plastics, it’s still a little disappointing given the price tag.

The driving position is higher than in the Porsche Panamera and feels similar to the Mercedes E-Class set-up. There's also quite a lot of transmission tunnel encroachment in the footwell area, which takes some adjusting to after the Panamera's largely excellent cockpit. Still, there’s loads of adjustment, so, whether you’re built like Danny DeVito or Arnold Schwarzenegger, you’ll be able to get comfortably seated. The sports seat's deep side bolsters and supportive cushions are great, and there's lumbar adjustment on all versions.

The centre console features toggle switches and buttons that control the car’s drive modes, air suspension, active exhaust, stability control and more. Each switch or button has its own small display to indicate which state the function is in. They make it easy to flick between the many and various settings by obliging you to look away from the road only briefly. The Panamera's touch-sensitive buttons are far harder to operate on the move.

The steering wheel gets a pair of rotary dials – one for switching between drive modes and one that gives you two assignable slots for settings of your choice. These are spot-on in terms of usability, and something that most of the AMG range now shares.

The infotainment system uses a 12.3in touchscreen that sits next to the 12.3in digital instrument screen. Both are clear with good graphics and, unlike in most new Mercedes cars, you still control them through the central touchpad or another touchpad on the steering wheel. That makes it easier to use on the move than the Panamera’s touchscreen-only system, but still isn’t quite as easy to use as the Audi RS7 or BMW M8 infotainment.

Visibility isn't as bad as you might imagine for a coupé and you get standard front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera and bright adaptive LED headlights.

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

Up in the front of the Mercedes AMG GT four-door there's a good amount of head and leg room available, so, even if you're pushing past six feet tall, you'll fit easily.

There's plenty of width on offer to spread yourself sideways. It's roughly a match for the Porsche Panamera in this regard.

The amount of people you can seat comfortably in the rear depends on which version you go for. The standard 63 S version comes with three rear seats, while the 63 S E-Performance comes with two. That said, while both have loads of head, leg and shoulder room for two adults in the rear, it’s a struggle to fit three side by side.

The GT 4-door impresses far more when it comes to boot space. The tailgate provides a wide aperture (although the load lip is high) and the 63 S gives you enough space for seven carry-on suitcases. The 63 S E-Performance gets slightly less space, due to a hump where the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) battery is stored under the floor, but it’s still a good size.

The only issue is that the two-seat rear bench in the PHEV version can’t be split and folded down, as the three-seat bench in the 63 S can.

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

Even the entry-level (if you can call it that) Mercedes AMG GT 4-door 63 S looks pretty pricey as a cash purchase, costing way more than the Audi RS7 and the BMW M8 and around £10,000 more than the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. Meanwhile, the 63 S E-Performance plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version is even more expensive, costing almost as much as the Bentley Continental GT.

The PHEV should help to reduce some of the monstrous fuel bills you can expect from the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 under the bonnet.

As well as adding to the power output, the 6.0kWh battery can boost efficiency and even allows you to drive on electricity alone for around eight miles. The system improves the fuel economy figure to 35.8mpg compared with 21.1mpg from the standard V8-only version.

That also lowers the CO2 emissions from 302 g/km to 180 g/km, which would usually save company car drivers money on their tax payments – but the list price means that it still isn’t exactly cheap.

Regardless, however you choose to indulge in the GT 4-door, both versions come with loads of standard equipment. You get 21in alloy wheels, Nappa leather seats, heated and cooled electrically adjustable front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, three-zone climate control, a head-up display, wireless phone-charging, a Burmester 14-speaker stereo system and lots of other kit. The PHEV also gets high-performance ceramic brakes.

We don’t have reliability data for this model, but Mercedes as a brand wasn’t particularly impressive in the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey. It came in joint 23rd place (with Vauxhall) out of 32 car makers, placing it below BMW (16th), Porsche (19th) and Audi (21st).

The GT 4-door hasn’t been crash-tested by Euro NCAP but it comes with plenty of safety kit to give you peace of mind. That includes automatic emergency braking (AEB), active lane-assist, blind-spot assist, traffic-sign assist, speed-limit assist and a system that monitors driver attention.

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