Video: 2017 Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43 Review

But SUV's of all shapes and sizes are popular right now and consumers still love performance. The convergence of these two things has led to a rise in performance SUVs like this one here, the GLC 43 is based on Mercedes' GLC class compact luxury SUV, but it's been extensively modified by AMG and it drives like a completely different, and much sportier, SUV. The GLC 43 retains the GLC classes smooth lines, and that's a design theme Mercedes has been rolling out as it redesigns its lineup, but there are various differences between the two and most of them you can see up front. The grill has a single crossbar instead of the regular GLC's dual crossbar. And there are also numerous Chrome finished pins in the grill. The lower bumper opening is bigger and has a different design and the wheels are bigger too. The standard wheels measure 20 inches but our test car has the optional 21-inch wheels. Where the GLC 300 emphasizes luxury, smoothness, and isolation, the GLC 43's driving experience is considerably more direct and connected and the suspension tuning plays a big part in that. The GLC 43 has a standard adaptive air suspension that's been tuned by AMG, and using the Dynamic Select system, you can choose different modes like Comfort, Sport, and Sport Plus, to vary suspension firmness. The Comfort setting though is a bit of a misnomer because even in this mode you feel road imperfection and bumps quite clearly. The Sport setting is slightly firmer and Sport Plus takes things up considerably, the ride is hard and there's very little damping. That said, the SUV corners very well with limited body roll, even in the Comfort setting. The suspension isn't the only thing that's adjustable, Dynamic Select also can vary the steering, gas pedal responsiveness, and the transmission operation. In the most aggressive Sport Plus setting the transmission upshifts later and stays in lower gears overall, it also downshifts more aggressively. The 362 horsepower twin-turbo V6's power doesn't blow you away like some high-performance engines but it's more than adequate. Whether scooting out onto a road ahead of approaching cars or merging with fast moving highway traffic, it gets this SUV up to speed swiftly. And Mercedes cites a zero to 60 mile per hour time of 4.8 seconds. The GLC 43s focus on performance is evident in the cabin in aesthetic ways, like this red stitching on the dashboard and elsewhere. And also in more functional ways, like these bolstered sports seats, they're finished in simulated leather and suede and they do a good job keeping you in place through quick corners without feeling too confining on the commute home from work. I was surprised though, by how snug the front of the cabin feels. This model has the optional panoramic moonroof though and that's a feature that tends to decrease headroom. Despite the greater focus on performance, luxury still has a home here. There's standard aluminum trim in the interior and our test car has the optional carbon-fiber trim. There's also an optional in-cabin fragrance system that perfumes the air coming out of the vents. The cargo area measures 19.4 cubic feet and with the rear seats folded, there's 56.5 cubic feet of space. I really like how Mercedes has designed their folding rear seats. They're spring-loaded and there are switches that release them both in the second row and in the cargo area. And when they're folded they're flat with the cargo floor. There's a shallow hidden storage area underneath the cargo floor for small items. And the rear of the SUV can be lowered by about an inch and a half at the touch of a button. That might not sound like a lot, but it noticeably lowers the lift-over-height. The move up from an all-wheel drive GLC 300 to the GLC 43 is about $14,000 for a starting price of around $56,000. With optional features and packages, the as-tested price of this one though is a heady $69,520. And not that far in the future, a more expensive performance version of the GLC will debut in the GLC 63, which will have a 469 horsepower V8 under the hood. This all might sound a little kooky to sports car traditionalists, but we're in a time where the SUV is king and auto makers are coming up with new ways to try and entice shoppers by offering subcompact versions, ones with coop like styling, and performance models, like the GLC 43. Could this be the sports car of the future? It's starting to look like a real possibility.