LIKES
- Brawny looks
- Track-ready performance
- So very much power
- Room for four
- Beautifully appointed
DISLIKES
- Can feel claustrophobic inside
- Transmission can get confused
- Six-figure price
BUYING TIP
Powerful, track-ready, and comfortable, the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe can do it all.
With the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, Mercedes elevates its performance pedigree to take on the likes of the Porsche Panamera and BMW M8 Gran Coupe. Like those cars, the AMG GT offers prodigious power and track-ready handling, as well as room to carry four in comfort (though not five). It also boasts new technology such as the 48-volt mild hybrid system for its base model. Higher-end models feature twin-turbocharged V-8s that deliver minuscule 0-60-mph times. Its combination of comfort, power, and performance earns it a high rating of 7.2 out of 10.
This report covers the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, which is actually a hatchback. For our review of the AMG GT roadster and coupe sports cars, see our 2018 writeup.
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe comes in three models based on engine choice, the base 53, the V-8-powered 63, and the line-topping 63 S. Changes for 2020 are limited to options and equipment shuffling. The AMG Performance Exhaust is now standard on the 63 model, the 63 S now offers a carbon-fiber roof, and a panoramic roof is available for all models.
The base model actually has the most-advanced powertrain technology. Its twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 produces 429 horsepower and is aided by a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that adds power, improves fuel economy, runs the water pump and air conditioning, and provides smooth operation of the stop/start system. The AMG GT 53 can hit 60 mph from a stop in just 4.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 174 mph. That’s mighty quick for a “base” car, but then again few base cars start around $100,000. Fuel economy isn’t bad either, at 19 mph city, 24 highway, 21 combined.
A twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 powers both 63 models. It makes 577 hp in the 63 and 630 hp in the 63 S. The V-8 drops the 0-60 mph sprint to as low as 3.1 seconds and the top speed to 195 mph. Both 63 models are rated at 15/20/17 mpg.
All engines are mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission that works well on the track but can get confused on the street.
Those features, plus a strengthened body and platform, make the AMG GT track-ready. It’s more agile than would otherwise be possible for its size and weight. It turns in crisply, rotates through corners like a smaller car, and puts its amazing power to the pavement efficiently. It’s still big, so it isn’t as jitterbug-agile as smaller cars, but it attacks a track with confidence.
The AMG GT’s cockpit combines luxury, technology and comfort in a package that fits four adults. However, high door sills, a wide center console, and the sloping roofline can make those occupants feel closed in.
Every AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is well-equipped, though the 53 model comes standard with synthetic leather upholstery. Standard features include power-adjustable heated front sport seats, a sunroof, a power liftgate, wireless charging for smartphones, 19-inch staggered tires on alloy wheels, and an adjustable rear spoiler. The 63 models add leather upholstery, a drift mode, launch control plus the performance features mentioned above. Buyers can also get active engine mounts, carbon-fiber interior and exterior trim, carbon-ceramic brakes, a 23-speaker Burmester sound system, Mercedes’ soothing Energizing Comfort system, and an Executive Rear Seat package with a rear touchpad and folding rear seats.
The GT 4-Door Coupe also comes with a healthy helping of standard safety features, and even more are on offer. Standard equipment includes forward-collision warnings with automatic emergency braking and cross-traffic and pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitors, and automatic parking. A Driver Assistance includes a variety of features that control the steering, braking, and throttle. However, the car has not been crash tested.
Styling
Brawny on its exterior and sumptuous inside, the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is an aspirational luxury performance car.
Mercedes may call it a coupe and treat it like a sedan, but the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is actually a hatchback. Its sharply angled roofline, long hood, short overhangs, and big wheels give it a commanding presence on the outside, while inside it marries sportiness with luxury. We rate it an 8 for styling in recognition of its bold body, luxurious yet sporty interior, and eye-catching interior details.
The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is based on the same platform as the CLS- and E-Class sedans, but it’s a hatchback with a greater focus on performance.
The car announces that character with its large, convex Panamericana grille, which it shares with the AMG GT sports car. From there, large air intakes sit at the corners with cat’s-eye LED headlights above them. The central portion of the lower front fascia has vertical louvers that serve as an active air panel to work in conjunction with the multi-stage rear spoiler.
At the rear, slim taillights sit above side-mounted air extractors, large exhaust outlets, and a diffuser that becomes more noticeable on 63 models.
Mercedes paints the cabin in equal portions of luxury, technology, and sportiness. A pair of 12.3-inch screens on the dash scream technology, while the materials whisper luxury. This is all complemented by heavily bolstered seats, a wide center console, a small-diameter steering wheel, and available carbon-fiber trim that all denote performance.
Small details help, too. The turbine-shaped air vents move with precision and look great, ambient lighting traces the lines of this beautiful cabin, and available diamond-stitched seats add to the the feeling of exclusivity.
Performance
Powerful, track-ready, and street friendly, the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is a master of many traits.
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is an all-arounder. It combines power with performance in a car that is also comfortable on the street. Its ready (or bodacious) power, agile handling, track-ready performance, and strong brakes earn it a 9 for performance.
Every 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is powerful. The question is if you want ready power or prodigious power. In its base form, the 53 model’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 creates 429 hp and 384 pound-feet of torque, aided by a 48-volt mild hybrid system that also runs the air conditioning and water pump. This so-called “base” car reaches a top speed of 174 mph and hits 60 mph from a stop in just 4.4 seconds.
But that’s child’s play compared to the 63 models. The AMG GT 63 spins up 577 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque from its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8, rockets from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds, and tops out at 193 mph. The 63 S model uses a different version of the same V-8. It cranks out 630 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque, cuts the 0-60 mph time to 3.1 seconds, and ups the top speed to 195 mph.
The lone transmission is a 9-speed automatic with a split personality. It fires off quick shifts on the track, but tends to hunt for gears on the street, especially in stop-and-go traffic.
The AMG GT isn’t just fast in a straight line, it’s also fast around a track. It’s large, but it’s outfitted with the features needed to help it handle the rigors of a track, including big brakes, adjustable dampers, rear-axle steering, staggered tires, and a limited-slip rear differential.
On a track or twisty road, the AMG GT turns into corners alertly, puts its power to the pavement efficiently, and can drive smaller than its size and 4,400-pound curb weight would suggest. It’s at or near the top of four-door performance.
Mercedes gives the AMG GT a variety of drive modes that amp up the powertrain and suspension. However, opt for the Comfort modes, and the car provides a firm but comfortable ride.
Comfort & Quality
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe will get you there quickly and in comfort.
The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe’s interior serves both the car’s luxury and performance personalities. It features the typical high-quality materials appropriate for the brand and seats four in comfort, but it also has sporty buckets, a cocoon-like feel, and a racy personality. We rate it a 7 for comfort based on its high-end ambience and supportive front seats.
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is a big car that packages its space only reasonably well. It seats four instead of five and feels snug despite decent space. The high door line creates a closed-in feel, and the door openings feel smaller than they are due to the fast roofline and thickly bolstered seats. The rear seat also lacks head room and leg room for tall passengers, but average-sized adults will be perfectly happy. The rear seats are usually fixed in place with carbon-fiber backs, but the Executive Rear Seat Package allows them to fold in a 40/20/40 split and adds a touchscreen for the infotainment and climate systems. The folding seats make the hatchback body style more useful because they open up more room for long items.
Up front, the driver and front passenger sit on supportive, sporty seats. The seats in 63 models keep an even tighter grip on occupants. They’re not too tight for wider backsides, but the wide center console contributes to a somewhat claustrophobic feel.
Safety
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe hasn’t been crash- tested, but it is equipped with a wide range of standard and available safety features.
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe hasn’t been crash-tested, but it does come with a full spate of active safety features and it’s built around a solid structure. However, we can’t rate it for safety without those crash-test ratings.
Mercedes outfits the GT 4-Door Coupe with a variety of safety features and offers more as options. Standard safety equipment includes forward-collision warnings with automatic emergency braking and cross-traffic and pedestrian detection, a driver-attention monitor, active headlights that point into turns, blind-spot monitors, and automatic parking. A $2,250 Driver Assistance package adds active lane control, adaptive cruise control, active blind-spot monitors that intercede if you change lanes into traffic, and evasive steering assist that applies more steering torque when you swerve to evade a pedestrian and helps stabilize the car afterward. The package also recognizes speed limits and adapts the cruise control accordingly, and the cruise control slows down for turns or toll booths.
Features
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT is loaded with equipment to enhance both its performance and luxury.
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is a big hatchback with the cosseting luxury expected in a Mercedes sedan teamed with thrilling performance. Mercedes equips the car accordingly, and makes even more features optional. We give it a rating of 8 out of 10 for features, adding points for its long list of features, extensive options list, and its massive and useful infotainment screens.
The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe comes in 53, 63, and 63 S models. The AMG GT 53 is well-equipped, as it should be for a car that just edges over $100,000.
It comes standard with two 12.3-inch screens, one for the instrument panel and one for the infotainment system, plus navigation, HD and satellite radio, Apple CarPlay compatibility, and a 14-speaker Burmester audio system.
The 63 model, which costs more than $141,000, improves upon that with a multi-chamber air suspension, a drift mode, launch control, rear-axle steering, an electrically controlled limited-slip rear differential, the AMG Performance Exhaust System, and red-painted brake calipers. Inside, it features nappa leather upholstery, cooled performance front bucket seats, and an AMG Performance steering wheel.
The top-end 63 S model tops $160,000 and gets yellow brake calipers, a synthetic suede headliner, 20-inch wheels, the AMG Dynamic Plus Package with active engine mounts, AMG Drive Unit steering wheel controls for the various drive modes, and 20-inch wheels.
Buyers can get chrome or gloss-black exterior trim, two carbon-fiber exterior packages, and an Aerodynamics package with a larger front splitter, a fixed rear spoiler, and a unique rear diffuser. Other exterior and performance options include 21-inch wheels, carbon-ceramic brakes, high-performance tires, and a carbon-fiber engine cover.
For 2020, a panoramic roof is offered for all models and the 63 S model gets an optional carbon-fiber roof.
For the interior, buyers can opt for an Executive Rear Seat package with a rear center touchpad and two folding rear seats. Also offered are a 23-speaker Burmester sound system and the Energizing Comfort system that adjusts the climate control, fragrance system, ambient lighting, and seat heaters/massagers in a variety of relaxation programs.
Those who take the AMG GT to a track can use the AMG Track Pace feature built into the infotainment system to record and analyze lap times.
Fuel Economy
The 2020 AMG GT 4-Door Coupe can drink fuel or consume it at a reasonable pace thanks to an available mild-hybrid system.
The least-expensive AMG GT 4-Door Coupe features a 48-volt mild hybrid system that balances power with a modicum of efficiency. We rate the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe a 4 out of 10 based on the 19 mpg city, 24 highway, 21 combined rating of the Mercedes-AMG GT 53 model.
The AMG GT 63 and 63 S models are much thirstier. Both are rated at 15/20/17 mpg. All AMG GT 4-Door Coupes require premium fuel.
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