Mercedes-Benz offers plenty of sophisticated luxury within its range. The AMG CLS models are swoopy, 4-door saloons designed to look like coupes.
The CLS has been superseded, though, by one of Mercedes-AMG’s products, the GT 4-Door. This AMG GT63S 4Matic+ comes with a monster 639hp/900Nm twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine, meaning it can do 0-62mph in just 3.2 seconds.
The 4-Door is related to the AMG GT 2-door models, which come as Coupe and Roadster variants. These don’t carry a 2-digit signifier like the 4-Door does, so there’s the AMG GT with 530hp, an AMG GT R with 585hp and then a monster AMG GT Black Series with 730hp – these are all Coupes. The Roadster has a slightly trimmed-down line-up of the 530hp GT and then a 557hp GT C, although there was an AMG GT R Roadster for a limited 750-unit run.
The other AMGs - A35, CLA 35, GLA 35 and GLB 35 all use a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol developing 306hp/400Nm through 4Matic AWD, which means 0-62mph is achieved in anything between 4.7 seconds (A35) and 5.3 seconds (GLB 35). The A35 is available as a hatch or as the Saloon, while the CLA 35 comes in both Coupe and Shooting Brake formats.
Above the ‘35’ cars are the A45S, the CLA 45S and the GLA 45S. These also use a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine but it’s a wholly different beast to the one used in the 35s. Employing more advanced 4Matic+ AWD, these AMGs will all run 0-62mph in around 4 seconds dead, the A45S hatchback going beneath that marker with a supercar-like 3.9-second run. That’s because the 45S powertrain delivers 421hp and 500Nm, and as a result the 45S is not available in the A-Class Saloon or the GLB, which both come as AMG 35 models only.
43 or 63S engine choices are available in both the GLC SUV and GLC Coupe, giving 4 AMG derivatives of Mercedes’ midsized SUV.
For the E-Class, the ‘base’ AMG is the 53 4Matic+, which uses an inline-6-cylinder petrol engine and a 22hp EQ Boost electric motor for a peak drivetrain output of 435hp. The 53 is used in all 4 E-Class body styles (Saloon, Estate, Coupe and Cabriolet), as well as in the GLE SUV and GLE Coupe.
However, in all of those ranges except for the E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet cars, there’s a 63S 4Matic+ choice. This is still the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 but it now delivers a gigantic 612hp, which is enough to see the E63S 4Matic+ running 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds. The same engine is deployed in the AMG GLS 63 4Matic+, and although it doesn’t get an ‘S’ after the 63 bit of its name, it is still enough to shove such a gigantic vehicle from 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds.
All of the above leaves the Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class models. To many, the S-Class is the epitome of Mercedes; its name means Sonderklasse, which is German for ‘special class’. The current, 7th-generation ‘W223’ S-Class appeared in 2020 and uses an array of strong 6-cylinder petrol, diesel and petrol-electric PHEV drivetrains in the Mercedes-Benz line, while the Maybach models deploys potent V8 and V12 petrol motors. There are 2 body lengths for the S-Class, and also an interior replete with every electronic gadget and gizmo you could think of.