2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43 Review -- Odd Yet Fun

I tried to look to the interior for the answer -- but that's typically confounding. I like MBux infotainment more than other car testers I've talked to, and I find the haptic touch in M-B products to be not as bad as in other vehicles, but MBux still requires too much menu diving and the haptic touch is still, well, haptic touch. At least the cabin looks good, and bigger screens are easier on aging eyes, if not on post-warranty repair bills.

The cabin also gets a little tight in the rear, at least for taller adults, especially since the sloping roofline cuts into the rear seat and rear-seat headroom. Front passenger room is plenty ample.

A quick note here -- this model was a 2024, but I drove it earlier in 2025. That's the way the fleet works sometimes.

Like I said, power wasn't a problem, and this rig is more fun on road than you might expect. Still, there are limits. It feels as heavy as it is -- and the steering is a bit too light and distant. The ride is on the stiff side -- not so bad on good pavement, but frustrating on Chicago's rough-and-tumble pothole-strewn streets.

Such is life with an AMG-trimmed car -- you sacrifice comfort for fun.

I guess Mercedes' buyers want to have their cake and eat it too -- get the SUV with the four-door-coupe styling and its raised ride height and extra utility without giving up fun.

But size and weight inevitably lead to compromises, and while the AMG treatment does its best to bend the laws of physics, the GLC's size takes away from the fun quotient.

Not that you won't be coddled, feature-wise. The base price here is $70,600 and standard features include satellite radio, Mercedes Me connected services, panorama roof, heated front seats, AMG steering wheel with shift paddles, AMG door-sill lighting, active-brake assist, and blind-spot assist.

Options included carbon-fiber trim ($975), piano-black center console (no charge), red stitching for the seats (no charge), heated steering wheel ($450), Nappa leather and microfiber for the steering wheel ($500), all-season tires (no charge), 21-inch wheels with black accents ($1,600), a Track Pace package ($250), USB package ($300), Burmester audio ($910), driver-assistance package ($1,950), and AMG Dynamic Plus package ($2,000). With destination and delivery ($1,150), the total came to $79,985.

Again, I found this thing enjoyable to drive, but I just can't figure out who the buyer is. I suppose maybe the parent of young children who has a need for speed, since older kids will lose some headroom in the rear. Or maybe the person who just wants whatever they drive to perform at the max. Even if that car is really a crossover called a coupe.

But the price, at least by MB standards, isn't an eye-popper, and the level of luxury is about right. There are other Benzes that do luxury and/or performance better, but the GLC AMG could be a cynical exercise in overpriced underperformance, had Mercedes not held the pricing line. At six figures, this would've been a hard pill to swallow.

Whoever the customer is, he or she will find this one to be a tad odd, but fairly fun to drive. There are worse ways to compromise.

[Images © 2025 Tim Healey/TTAC.com]

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